Blog Phase 3: Comprehensive Reflection

Blog Phase 3: Comprehensive Reflection

            After re-reading my philosophy of education I have decided that my philosophy did not change after this semester. This is because in my philosophy I mentioned that I wanted to use hands on learning as well as integrate technology into my everyday teaching style and this is still true. I feel like I have more tools in my belt to use in the classroom and that this semester has really taught me great ways and strategies of how I can integrate different types of technology within my classroom and curriculum.

            I will use technology in my classroom every day. I will use it for daily bell work by creating a cute PowToon video for my students to watch each morning that will give them specific instructions. I will use technology to engage my students in their learning by having them do research on the internet or even practice certain skills by using interactive games. There are a lot of great websites that I discovered this semester that have math games for students to work on. I also discovered Kahoot and found that it is a great way for students to practice their vocabulary words. I even got to use this as a strategy in one of my practicum lessons with high school students and they loved it. Finally, I will use GoogleDocs to assess my students with exit tickets. This is a great way to still include exit tickets within my lessons but I love that it can be all paperless and still effective.

Within my classroom, I will continue to use these four standards to help guide my teaching.   

     

Standard 1: Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity

As a teacher I will promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness by always providing my students with examples of what I am expecting. For example, I may have students show me that they understand the sequencing of a story line by creating their own story on Storybird and then writing down at least five events in a story. I would start this assignment by showing my students an example that I created to give them support in being successful.

I will engage my students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources by walking them through problems as they arise. I will teach my students to stay calm and not get frustrated when problems occur such as their computer freezing or the internet not connecting. I will also remind them that they can always ask for help and assistance with their problems.

 I will promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes. I will do this by having my students keep an online reflection journal that they will write in weekly during their bell work time. This will help them to regularly reflect on their learning as well as their thinking in a constructive manner.

 I will model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments. I will do this by having weekly team meetings with my fellow teachers to come up with new and exciting ideas for the classroom. I will also communicate with my fellow teachers through email. I will give my students constructive feedback on their assignments through email or any other source in which they turn in their assignments virtually.

Standard 2: Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments

I will design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity within my classroom. I will do this by showing video clips throughout some of my lessons that will help my students bring their understand to deeper levels. These videos will hopefully spark creativity within my students as well as help them remember the material that is being taught.  

I will develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress. I will do this by using many online tools as well as always providing my students with a rubric. The rubrics will help my students set goals to strive for success and manage their own learning as well as assess themselves before completing assignments.

I will customize and personalize learning activities to address students' diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources. For example, if I asked my students to complete an assignment using Storybird I could easily address my students diverse learning styles. I could require my students to include 5 key events within their story however, I could encourage them to go above and beyond that expectation.

I will provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching. I will do this by having my students complete regular exit tickets on Google Forms so that I know where my students are in their learning. I will then use these results to reteach certain areas of learning as well as move forward if all of my students are grasping the concepts. Also, I will create full tests that my students can take online at the end of each unit in order to assess their overall learning.  

Standard 3: Model Digital-Age Work and Learning

I will demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations. I will do this by always keeping up with new technology ideas. I will work with my fellow teachers to make sure I am keeping up with the new technology as it grows.

I will collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation. I will do this by creating a weekly newsletter that will be sent out to all of my parents through email. I will also upload each newsletter to my online teacher website so that my parents and students can always have access to it.  

I will communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats. I will do this with my weekly newsletter that I described in the paragraph above. I will also communicate with my parents through emails and by phone calls.

I will model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning. I will do this by keeping up on the latest digital tools as well as by attending professional development workshops and meetings that educate me about technology.

Standard 4: Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility

I will advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources. I will do this by always properly citing my sources and teaching my students how to do this as well.  I will also teach and remind my students how to safely use the internet.

I will address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources. I will always be available to my students when they get stuck or need help.

I will promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information. I will do this by always using proper etiquette and being an example for my students.  

I will develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital-age communication and collaboration tools. I will do this by becoming familiar with all of my students and what resources they have available to them on a daily basis as well as at home. If I assign projects that use the internet and technology at home I will make proper accommodations for my students as needed.

In my use of technology statement at the beginning of the semester I wrote, “I believe that I will use technology every day in my future classroom. Technology is growing and expanding and there is always something new to learn. Technology opens many doors in the world of education and students will be able to learn far more than their textbooks could ever teach them. In the future, I wouldn't be surprised if my elementary students were posting and submitting homework online as well as doing a lot of class research on personal laptops that will be provided by the schools. I can't wait to see where technology will take the future of our educational world!”. This statement is still true to my heart and I want to learn and grow with the world of technology as well as use it every day in my teaching.