Throughout this semester, I have gained a great amount of knowledge as it pertains to instructional design and the technologies that go hand in hand with course design. For me personally, I am excited to apply everything that I have learned into my day to day role as a teacher to continuously improve instruction and my craft as a whole. I now feel confident enough to venture into the world of remote teaching if need be.
Some challenges I faced throughout this course consisted of navigating the new technology tools that we had to use in order to be successful. Truthfully, I have never designed a website before this class, thus effectively using Weebly and all its features proved challenging for me. With determination and hard work, I was able to overcome these challenges and complete all assignments. If I were teaching this course, I would personally not make any changes. I feel that the modules and course content provided sufficient information when keeping the course description in mind. All grading was done fairly and in a timely manner. Valuable feedback was provided.
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Being born and raised in the 21st century, I have always been around and exposed to new and emerging technology. Attending K-12 from 2005-2019 and university from 2019- present has afforded me the opportunity to be on the receiving end of many educational technology tools, including during the covid pandemic with the forced transition to online learning that came along with that. I have also had the opportunity to be on the delivering side of technology since beginning my teaching career. In the world of foreign language instruction, using these technologies to their fullest potential is a necessity for student experience and achievement.
In my opinion, the main purpose of investing in and using educational technology in the classroom is to allow students unique and effective learning experiences that would otherwise not be available. Foreign language teachers have the unique opportunity to use technologies designed for multiple disciplines and subject areas due to its uniqueness and flexibility. Given that today’s students have grown up surrounded by technology and are accustomed to using it inside and outside the classroom, educational technology acts as a means to engage students in the learning process. I also see educational technology as a means to connect with other educators to share ideas and best practices, as well as a tool to communicate with students and parents outside of school hours. My personal experience with educational technology is diverse and spans many years of being on the student side and teacher side. On the student side, I have used many different tools, including interactive learning games such as Blooket, Gimkit, Kahoot, Quizlet Live, Cool Math Games, Pictionary and Jeopardy. Since starting my teaching career, I have continued to use all of these tools while including new tools such as Peardeck, Beach Ball as well as Jump and Say. As mentioned previously, I also see educational technology as a means to effectively communicate with parents and students outside of the classroom. In high school and university, I have used Gmail, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Zoom and Skype. Although I don't have experience teaching remotely, I have continued to use all these tools in one form or another and have included the use of Parent Square, Class Dojo and Remind 101. While I do have a diverse set of experiences with educational technology, there are many more tools out there still waiting to be discovered. As stated in a previous assignment, my theory of teaching overall is based heavily on Piaget’s theory of constructivism. Piaget stressed that humans learn through experiences and socialization (Mascolo, 2005). With that being said, I try my best everyday to utilize technology to meet the needs of students in the constructivism approach. For example, I recently assigned a project to students where they had to create a gif in Spanish that used the command form of a verb, a grammar concept that we had been learning about. This project had students using technology, developing their Spanish skills, and working in a manner in which they were ultimately in control of their learning. Constructivism would suggest that this project was far more effective in students developing skills when compared to traditional teaching methods and strategies. While no learning theory is fool proof or perfect, I feel as though Constructivism best aligns with my overall teaching theory and proves to be effective when measuring student success. Resources: Mascolo, M. F., & Fischer, K. W. (2005). Constructivist theories. Cambridge Encyclopedia of Child Development (pp. 49-63). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. VON GLASERSFELD, E. (1982). AN INTERPRETATION OF PIAGET’S CONSTRUCTIVISM. Revue Internationale de Philosophie, 36(142/143 (4)), 612–635. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23945415 Pritchard, A., & Woollard, J. (2013). Psychology for the classroom constructivism and Social Learning. Taylor and Francis. This website and blog was created for ITD602. Stay tuned to see postings throughout the semester.
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