Part 1: Reflection
This class has been difficult for me to follow since distance learning is not my forte (I know that now), but despite my difficulties following the guidelines and due dates, this class has been pivotal for my personal and professional development. It has completely shifted the way I think about using tech int he classroom and has helped me think outside of my content area, which is something I don't get the opportunity to do often.
Concretely, I have learned so much about the benefits of integrating the right technology into the classroom. For our module on social media, I did some research about why NOT to use social media in the classroom since I was opposed to the idea. In researching this topic that I was very sure of my convictions on, I learned that the benefits to social media far outweigh any of the drawbacks. This class made me rethink my opinion on social media usage... and because of that I joined Twitter and am now using Twitter in my classes.
In terms of my professional growth and personal pedagogy, this class has had a big impact. Through the course of the semester this class has made me really think critically about the tech I was using in my classes. There is such a huge push at my school to make everything tech-y that I thought I was doing it right when I integrated tech. This class got me thinking about value-added technology and now I teach my coworkers how to use the SAMR model to evaluate tech tools before we start integrating them into our classes. Professionally, I am moving into a leadership role on the EdTech committee, thanks in part to the knowledge I've gained in this program.
This class has led me to reassess all of the tech tools I've been using in my classes, and has inspired me to seek out more tools that will do things that traditional paper and pencil cannot accomplish. Specifically, one of the projects I have students do is to create a website with their personal profile. During the course of this class I realized that the technology piece of this project is pretty unnecessary given that what they were writing online was no different than what they would have written on paper. Next year I am going to change this project to involve a broader audience, an audio interview, and videos. That way the students will be interacting with Spanish differently than if they were doing the activity on paper.
Part 2: Blog Self Assessment
Embarrassing as this is seeing as though I am a teacher who prides herself on being relatively tech-savvy, this has been my first blog. It has definitely been an interesting process to write, and I actually think that the times when I allowed myself to rant provided lots of space for growth (despite occasionally veering from the rules). Here is my own assessment of my blog:
Content: 70/70
I think the content of my blog, while at times ranting and others more straightforward, makes it obvious that each and every blog entry involved quite a bit of reflection. In my blog posts I was consistently able to delve deeper into my practice as a teacher, which is what helped me shift my thinking on using tech in the classroom.
Readings & Resources: 18/20
In almost every post I was able to tie in information from outside research and the required reading. I must admit that Roblyer book was frustratingly basic at times, but I am glad I stuck with it since it has quite a few gems.
Timeliness: 15/20
Personally I take some issue with asking students to submit work before the set due date. I feel like the term "early" is difficult to quantify. I scheduled my weeks so that I did all of my BSU work on Sunday and typically turned in my work on Sunday evening or Monday. I am not sure if this qualifies as early. Also, this requirement automatically puts students on the west coast and Hawaii at a disadvantage since everything we turn in will automatically be "later" than everyone on the east coast. A more fair way of asking us to respond to other blog posts might be to have us respond to the previous week's post, instead of that week. Because my blog posts were almost always turned in before the due date, I am giving myself an 18/20.
Responses to Other Students: 20/30
While my intentions were good, I was not able to respond to people's blogs each week. However, when I did do it my comments were well thought-out and were detailed. Also, I think there should be a more uniform way of responding to blog posts, such as in a threaded discussion board where the text of the blog is posted directly.
Total blog score: 123
This class has been difficult for me to follow since distance learning is not my forte (I know that now), but despite my difficulties following the guidelines and due dates, this class has been pivotal for my personal and professional development. It has completely shifted the way I think about using tech int he classroom and has helped me think outside of my content area, which is something I don't get the opportunity to do often.
Concretely, I have learned so much about the benefits of integrating the right technology into the classroom. For our module on social media, I did some research about why NOT to use social media in the classroom since I was opposed to the idea. In researching this topic that I was very sure of my convictions on, I learned that the benefits to social media far outweigh any of the drawbacks. This class made me rethink my opinion on social media usage... and because of that I joined Twitter and am now using Twitter in my classes.
In terms of my professional growth and personal pedagogy, this class has had a big impact. Through the course of the semester this class has made me really think critically about the tech I was using in my classes. There is such a huge push at my school to make everything tech-y that I thought I was doing it right when I integrated tech. This class got me thinking about value-added technology and now I teach my coworkers how to use the SAMR model to evaluate tech tools before we start integrating them into our classes. Professionally, I am moving into a leadership role on the EdTech committee, thanks in part to the knowledge I've gained in this program.
This class has led me to reassess all of the tech tools I've been using in my classes, and has inspired me to seek out more tools that will do things that traditional paper and pencil cannot accomplish. Specifically, one of the projects I have students do is to create a website with their personal profile. During the course of this class I realized that the technology piece of this project is pretty unnecessary given that what they were writing online was no different than what they would have written on paper. Next year I am going to change this project to involve a broader audience, an audio interview, and videos. That way the students will be interacting with Spanish differently than if they were doing the activity on paper.
Part 2: Blog Self Assessment
Embarrassing as this is seeing as though I am a teacher who prides herself on being relatively tech-savvy, this has been my first blog. It has definitely been an interesting process to write, and I actually think that the times when I allowed myself to rant provided lots of space for growth (despite occasionally veering from the rules). Here is my own assessment of my blog:
Content: 70/70
I think the content of my blog, while at times ranting and others more straightforward, makes it obvious that each and every blog entry involved quite a bit of reflection. In my blog posts I was consistently able to delve deeper into my practice as a teacher, which is what helped me shift my thinking on using tech in the classroom.
Readings & Resources: 18/20
In almost every post I was able to tie in information from outside research and the required reading. I must admit that Roblyer book was frustratingly basic at times, but I am glad I stuck with it since it has quite a few gems.
Timeliness: 15/20
Personally I take some issue with asking students to submit work before the set due date. I feel like the term "early" is difficult to quantify. I scheduled my weeks so that I did all of my BSU work on Sunday and typically turned in my work on Sunday evening or Monday. I am not sure if this qualifies as early. Also, this requirement automatically puts students on the west coast and Hawaii at a disadvantage since everything we turn in will automatically be "later" than everyone on the east coast. A more fair way of asking us to respond to other blog posts might be to have us respond to the previous week's post, instead of that week. Because my blog posts were almost always turned in before the due date, I am giving myself an 18/20.
Responses to Other Students: 20/30
While my intentions were good, I was not able to respond to people's blogs each week. However, when I did do it my comments were well thought-out and were detailed. Also, I think there should be a more uniform way of responding to blog posts, such as in a threaded discussion board where the text of the blog is posted directly.
Total blog score: 123