Looking Back
Looking back on my experiences with the Michigan State University MAET Summer Cohort program, I cannot think of anything that I have learned that wasn’t of great value to me professionally, pedagogically or personally. There is some much that was “packed” into our two weeks session that thinking back on that time now seems like so much further away than only a few weeks ago.
Professionally, the summer cohort has allowed me to connect with and create a network of educators that I would have otherwise not known. Often, our professional teaching community is limited by physical location, to our schools or our districts. But to have the ability to work with so many different educators has been a stimulating and exhilarating process. I have found that, in particular, I have most benefited, as a student and teacher, from working so closely with my group. I feel that the Shulman piece was correct in making the statement that learning is most powerful when it is shared, tested, examined, challenged and improved. Learning is more effective in a group than in private or in isolation (Shulman, L., 1999). Without my group, the amount of work that was completed, and the quality/caliber of work that was done would not have been possible. It is through this experience that I have, for the first time ever, truly seen the value of collaboration and group work in my own studies. In the past, group work has been little more than a part of the challenge to “get it done,” but through the design if this cohort, working with my group aided me in a deeper understanding of the course material and expansion of my own creativity as an educator, something that flourishes in like-minded company.
Professionally, the summer cohort has allowed me to connect with and create a network of educators that I would have otherwise not known. Often, our professional teaching community is limited by physical location, to our schools or our districts. But to have the ability to work with so many different educators has been a stimulating and exhilarating process. I have found that, in particular, I have most benefited, as a student and teacher, from working so closely with my group. I feel that the Shulman piece was correct in making the statement that learning is most powerful when it is shared, tested, examined, challenged and improved. Learning is more effective in a group than in private or in isolation (Shulman, L., 1999). Without my group, the amount of work that was completed, and the quality/caliber of work that was done would not have been possible. It is through this experience that I have, for the first time ever, truly seen the value of collaboration and group work in my own studies. In the past, group work has been little more than a part of the challenge to “get it done,” but through the design if this cohort, working with my group aided me in a deeper understanding of the course material and expansion of my own creativity as an educator, something that flourishes in like-minded company.
At the core of every educator’s practice is the pedagogy, or learning theory, which they use to teach their students. For me, the integration of previously learned pedagogies in the cohort was vital to my development as an educator. I had previously learned these theories in my undergraduate teaching courses, but without frame or context with which to relate them (I was not at that time a classroom teacher) the theories seemed simply as such, theories. I had no experience with students, other than my own learning, and really learned the theories in isolation, not in application.
One of the most valuable pieces of the summer cohort was to revisit these theories and really examine their value and meaning in regards to the work I do in the classroom every day. Having a better understanding of behaviorism, cognitivism, cognitive psychology, and constructivism, among many others, really shaped my thinking about what I do in the classroom, and having the ability to think of these practices from my personal experiences helped to make the connections I made richer. I have moved beyond simply “doing” for the sake of doing, but instead to enacting pedagogy with a purpose, grounded in theories. |
This deeper understanding is probably most evident in my thinking about my DreamIT project and the pedagogy I have chosen to apply there has developed out of this learning theory. Never before would I have said we should have classroom discussions because in Vygotsky’s Social Development Theory he found that social interactions play a fundamental role in the development of cognition in learners. But instead, I would have stated that discussions are important because they bring social awareness to learning, hold students accountable to the whole group, and provide the teacher with verbal feedback of the feelings and observations of the students. Both reasons have value, but to know that my beliefs and practices can be supported with sound findings in research and theory, and that I as an educator can recognize that my practices are supported, is a revolution in my thinking about teaching and learning.
Personally, my interest in taking this cohort, and pursuing a Master’s in educational technology comes from my love of technology and “gadgets.” I believe that technology is the key to connecting to students and helping them learn how to think and acquire skills to be successful in the 21st century. In this increasingly competitive economic climate, people that are innovative, adaptable and have technological capabilities have continued to be successful; these are very often the list of requirements for many careers today. In order to best teach and prepare my students, I have integrated a fair amount of technology into my lessons and teaching in the past, but the desire to continue to do this effectively when resources are slim is what drew me to this program. Throughout my courses in the MAET program, I have been pushed about how to think about technology differently, but really with the summer cohort classes, have I been able to exercise my creativity the most. In Media for Inquiry, Commmunication, Construction and Expression, it was stated that by,
“considering technologies as media for inquiry, communication, construction and expression allows us, as educators to rethinking how we use technologies in our teaching. A particular tool is not necessarily designed for one particular purpose. Tools can, and in fact, need to be repurposed to fit the need of the moment. The idea of creative repurposing is important because most technologies that teachers use have not been typically designed for educational purposes” (Dewey, 2011).
Personally, my interest in taking this cohort, and pursuing a Master’s in educational technology comes from my love of technology and “gadgets.” I believe that technology is the key to connecting to students and helping them learn how to think and acquire skills to be successful in the 21st century. In this increasingly competitive economic climate, people that are innovative, adaptable and have technological capabilities have continued to be successful; these are very often the list of requirements for many careers today. In order to best teach and prepare my students, I have integrated a fair amount of technology into my lessons and teaching in the past, but the desire to continue to do this effectively when resources are slim is what drew me to this program. Throughout my courses in the MAET program, I have been pushed about how to think about technology differently, but really with the summer cohort classes, have I been able to exercise my creativity the most. In Media for Inquiry, Commmunication, Construction and Expression, it was stated that by,
“considering technologies as media for inquiry, communication, construction and expression allows us, as educators to rethinking how we use technologies in our teaching. A particular tool is not necessarily designed for one particular purpose. Tools can, and in fact, need to be repurposed to fit the need of the moment. The idea of creative repurposing is important because most technologies that teachers use have not been typically designed for educational purposes” (Dewey, 2011).
Most of the technologies available today (hardware/software/web 2.0) were never designed with education in mind, and it is the process of seeing that technology in a new way to explore, create and share learning, that allows it to become an educational technology. I recall the alphabits activity when thinking about my own learning, and how through a “different lens” we were able to see the world around us from a new perspective. Nothing had changed; the world was still the same, however when we opened our eyes (and minds) to the possibility of seeing it differently, it could have smacked you in the face. There it was, the letter “E” staring back at me, in a familiar place, but seen in an unfamiliar way.
This is how I have begun to think about technology integration in my teaching and learning. It is not about what that technology can do, but rather about the possibility that technology has to be a vehicle of learning. This, with the TPaCK model of fusing technology, pedagogy and content knowledge together, has really stuck with me these weeks that I have been home and working independently. I keep thinking and rethinking about the lessons that I participated in during the face-to-face sessions and even today, I can continue to pull meaning and value from them. |
When I began my teaching career, I was asked to create and write my teaching philosophy. A self-reflective statement of my beliefs and goals about teaching and learning. Over the past four years, my goals have remained the same: to provide students with a variety of media and methods in which to understand and explore concepts and skills that they are expected to learn. Thus making education accessible to a variety of learners through a variety of approaches. More than ever, I feel that these goals apply and in a rapidly changing world of technological innovations, students have grown up surrounding by technology; they are well aware of the technology available to them and the capacities of technology. The best way I feel I can continue to achieve the goals I set forth in my teaching philosophy is through continuing to provide students with a variety of media and methods, including the continued incorporation of technology in the classroom.
In the future, I see many changes in my learning and teaching because of my experiences in the MAET summer cohort. The breadth of what technology can do is only limited by our own knowledge, creativity and financial resources. If technology resources were limitless, there is no telling what types of gadgets and tools my students and I might have access to, however since access to the “latest and greatest” is not always an option, proper application of the technology resources we do have is essential to procure learning. As an instructor, using technology and modeling proper usage to my students is a must. Technology can be a tool used to differentiate my instruction, to deliver content in a variety of ways, and to measure what my students have or have not learned. Technology on its own does not teach my students, but with the what I have learned in over these courses, technology and effective pedagogy can help me to be a better teacher of the content and to reach more students than may have been possible in the past.
In the future, I see many changes in my learning and teaching because of my experiences in the MAET summer cohort. The breadth of what technology can do is only limited by our own knowledge, creativity and financial resources. If technology resources were limitless, there is no telling what types of gadgets and tools my students and I might have access to, however since access to the “latest and greatest” is not always an option, proper application of the technology resources we do have is essential to procure learning. As an instructor, using technology and modeling proper usage to my students is a must. Technology can be a tool used to differentiate my instruction, to deliver content in a variety of ways, and to measure what my students have or have not learned. Technology on its own does not teach my students, but with the what I have learned in over these courses, technology and effective pedagogy can help me to be a better teacher of the content and to reach more students than may have been possible in the past.
Looking Ahead
I
have discovered that I will always be a lifelong learner. I love
learning and that is why I became an educator. It is when you stop
learning that you stop growing and I hope to continue to learn new
things throughout my life. I am reminded that by having this experience
in the summer cohort, I am not alone in this profession, I should talk
and share with other professionals to build and share my own knowledge,
but also to acquire their knowledge and learn from their experiences
too. There really is a lot to learn.
Moving on, there are many areas and avenues I could pursue on this continued journey of learning. In particular, I have begun to make connections to other educators, and particular with the help of this cohort, work with them to develop my own teaching and practices. I hope to continue to nurture these relationships that I have started and expand my web of professional resources, particularly through the use of Web 2.0 tools. I have recently begun following educators on twitter and have found the amount of information and insight in following them to particularly insightful. I began by following people I knew, and have recently expanded to following educators in the area (some in Utica, Lansing and Grosse Pointe), but I hope to continue to expand my network of professionals interested in educational technology and eventually become a voice on the feed. The idea of speaking (or typing) on a topic of educational technology is a bit intimidating at the present moment because I know that these people have a wealth of knowledge already. So I would like to begin by building my network of people I follow and then begin to contribute to the community on my own. Additionally, I already follow several educators in the same manner via RSS, but would like to continue to expand this network as well.
My personal learning network is not exclusively on the web however, there are many people I talk with and connect to on a day-to-day basis that should not be left out of my network simply because I see them everyday (in reality, not virtually). These people include my family, friends, colleagues and students. I would be amiss to not include my students in my personal learning network simply because of their age. Many of these high school students and former students have taught me some valuable lessons in the past, and I enjoy listening to them, just as I enjoy sharing my own knowledge with them too. To better connect with my students in and out of school, I will be launching a class website, in the hopes of having a greener classroom, but also with the goal of continuing communication with students and parents about we are learning everyday. Tools like Ning and Edmodo provide a social-media platform for communication with students, and with the recent adoption of Google mail and applications by our school’s technology department, I would really like to spend the next few years working to foster greater communication about learning within the classroom (real or virtual).
Moving on, there are many areas and avenues I could pursue on this continued journey of learning. In particular, I have begun to make connections to other educators, and particular with the help of this cohort, work with them to develop my own teaching and practices. I hope to continue to nurture these relationships that I have started and expand my web of professional resources, particularly through the use of Web 2.0 tools. I have recently begun following educators on twitter and have found the amount of information and insight in following them to particularly insightful. I began by following people I knew, and have recently expanded to following educators in the area (some in Utica, Lansing and Grosse Pointe), but I hope to continue to expand my network of professionals interested in educational technology and eventually become a voice on the feed. The idea of speaking (or typing) on a topic of educational technology is a bit intimidating at the present moment because I know that these people have a wealth of knowledge already. So I would like to begin by building my network of people I follow and then begin to contribute to the community on my own. Additionally, I already follow several educators in the same manner via RSS, but would like to continue to expand this network as well.
My personal learning network is not exclusively on the web however, there are many people I talk with and connect to on a day-to-day basis that should not be left out of my network simply because I see them everyday (in reality, not virtually). These people include my family, friends, colleagues and students. I would be amiss to not include my students in my personal learning network simply because of their age. Many of these high school students and former students have taught me some valuable lessons in the past, and I enjoy listening to them, just as I enjoy sharing my own knowledge with them too. To better connect with my students in and out of school, I will be launching a class website, in the hopes of having a greener classroom, but also with the goal of continuing communication with students and parents about we are learning everyday. Tools like Ning and Edmodo provide a social-media platform for communication with students, and with the recent adoption of Google mail and applications by our school’s technology department, I would really like to spend the next few years working to foster greater communication about learning within the classroom (real or virtual).
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Continuing with my own education is vital to my continued growth professionally. I have already taken steps to begin the Master of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) program and I will be completing my degree within the next calendar year. However, my own education does not have to stop when class is over. As I stated previously, I feel there is a lot to learn from one another, but I will also feel there is value in formal education (I am a teacher after all). Once my master’s is complete, I will be looking forward to taking advantage of the many opportunities for continued professional development as offered by my district and my ISD. I have “blown off” some sessions in the past that have come up because I did not want to take time out of the classroom, but I now feel that the value that this continuing education can provide to both me and my students is great enough that I should take advantage of it (in moderation of course). Addtionally, I will be looking into attending conferences locally and nationally that would provide continued opportunities to network and build my educational technology proficiency. I know that the MACUL community is available and has an annual conference in which I hope to attend, but I will also be looking into conferences such as ISTE, November Learning, and TED. If I cannot attend them physically, I hope to take advantage of their online resources (most of their keynote speakers are recorded and posted online).
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Lastly, a professional goal that I have had for a while is to become a leader in my building and district in reference to educational technology. I have not, over the past four years, pursued any leadership roles because I did not feel comfortable as the “new teacher,” but I feel confident enough in my skills and knowledge that I can truly be a leader and model of using technology in the classroom. I have noticed for about a year now I have become the “go to” person when our school transitioned to a new grade book and attendance system last year. I was often approached with questions on how to complete certain operations while in the hallway, in the teacher’s lounge, or via email. Several teachers even asked me to help them in a face-to-face session after school so that I could help them achieve that functionality they were seeking with the new software. To some, they would feel bothered by someone stopping them in the hall to ask a question, but I found I liked being able to help. I really think that stepping up, in future situations, in regards to technology in my community is a way in which I will begin to establish myself in leadership initially. From there, I only hope that it grows and increases.
Overall, there are many resources and tools out there that I have learned about and explored. My experiences in the MAET summer cohort were ones in which I saw innumberable amounts of personal growth as a learner and an educator, but mostly, I have come to understand that my role in the future of education does not need to be confined to the classroom. I can continue my quest for educational and technological knowledge by engaging with my community, my colleagues, my peers and the global network of teachers that have a presence online. There is always more that is left to be explored and discovered.
Overall, there are many resources and tools out there that I have learned about and explored. My experiences in the MAET summer cohort were ones in which I saw innumberable amounts of personal growth as a learner and an educator, but mostly, I have come to understand that my role in the future of education does not need to be confined to the classroom. I can continue my quest for educational and technological knowledge by engaging with my community, my colleagues, my peers and the global network of teachers that have a presence online. There is always more that is left to be explored and discovered.
Resources
Dewey, J. / Bruce, B.C. & Levin, J.A. (2011). Media for Inquiry, Communication, Construction, and Expression.
Shulman, L. (1999). What is learning and what does it look like when it doesn’t go well. Change, 31(4), 10-17.
Dewey, J. / Bruce, B.C. & Levin, J.A. (2011). Media for Inquiry, Communication, Construction, and Expression.
Shulman, L. (1999). What is learning and what does it look like when it doesn’t go well. Change, 31(4), 10-17.