Post 6: My A-Ha Moment!
With this being my last technology class of my Master’s Program, I’m going to apply my A-Ha moment not only to this particular class, but to all my technology classes as a whole. I have discovered that technology is not just another “hoop” for us teachers to jump through and try, but it is a gift to truly enhance our students learning. Starting off in my technology classes, I looked at it as just one more thing to incorporate in my classroom. New applications and tools scared me, and I felt like I didn’t have the time to create all these new activities for my students using something they (and I) were not familiar with. But, as I have gone through these classes, specifically this final class and ReDesigning my instruction, I have seen just how much technology allows for learning opportunities for my students. For example, as I was ReDesigning my unit I looked at ways that allowed more student independence through technology by allowing them the choice in how they wanted to obtain the information and they will also have the choice in how they want to present information to their classmates. At the beginning of this “technology journey” for me, I didn’t give my students enough credit. I thought that teaching them one more tool would do nothing but distract them and I would be troubleshooting more than exploring, but I WAS WRONG. Does student us of technology have it’s challenges, of course.. but so does the Teacher’s Lounge copy machine. There will always be challenges, but I truly feel that incorporating technology is far more a positive than a negative. I feel that through this crazy year that we have endured, I have also gained so much. I have learned that the unknown is scary, but rewarding. That not all technology tools for students need to be super creative in order for them to gain a lot out of it. And most of all, I learned that students + technology = a whole lot of positive learning!
I can relate so very much to the fear of one more thing to add! I also found that the technology courses were a tad overwhelming to think trying to add all of this when struggling to get through the basics using all online instruction. I have found many resources that I now use such as kami, and now wordwall.net. These have changed things and become very exciting additions that I plan to use in the future of my teaching as well as the current pandemic situation.
I’m so glad I am not alone on this!! This job can for sure feel very overwhelming at times, and I sometimes felt the same when starting a new course!
“but so does the Teacher’s Lounge copy machine”
This is so true! I guess the problems we know are less scary than the problems we are not as familiar with. One thing that might help in the future is that although each new app or tool looks and operates differently, now that I think about it, the problems they have are very similar to other apps and tools. So, it’s almost like they are all just different copy machines.
I am so glad to hear that you found a shift in perspective, that it isn’t about adding something on top, but thinking about designing learning experiences, and adding to the tools we have to make those designs happen, and broadening the visions we have for learning experiences along the way!