Education Technology Reflection by Thelma Buddington

Education Technology Reflection

Education Technology has been a very trying course for me this year, based on the
fact that I am digital immigrant. This means that I was born before the widespread
adoption of digital technology and was not exposed to it at an early age. However,
I am able to provide adequate amount of proof that I have learned a lot; which will
be shown throughout my reflection. My lecturer is Mrs. Colyard, who sometimes
has a beautiful sense of humour and a lot of creativity. I was not a huge fan of
technology, but when I collected my time table and saw Education Technology, my
interest was peaked as I realized that I would have the chance to get better at it.
The main focus of this course targets the educational uses of information and
communication technology (ICT), which allows the balancing of learning theories
and educational technology application.

During our first class, we were asked to go in pairs. Each pair was given a different
site to find and discuss. This activity was very interesting as we learned about
different social networking sites. Unit one was Introduction to Basic Computer
Operations. At the end of our first class we were asked to sign up on Schoology so
that we could have an open online discussion on the topic: State your vision of
teaching and learning with technology. Then read your colleagues posts and
comment on at least three( 3) others. This gave us a warm welcome of what the
course was all about. We all participated in this discussion for it was also a part of
the course matriculation to be a part of all online discussions. Everybody
participated and shared their views. We were given another online discussion
which really opened my eyes for I was ignorant to this sort of information.

The topic of this discussion was Digital Natives vs Digital Immigrants. I was not
aware of the view that the children are the natives of technology and the adults
born in certain time frame are immigrants. I was very appreciative of this
knowledge that is now captivating the education system on a rapid. In every
discussion now about children and technology you will find the term digital
native and hear the statement that they speak the digital language. Upon
learning this information I will better able to function and to share my views on
these assessments.
We watched videos that showed us the way the digital natives want to be reached
using technology. Videos on the reasons why integrating technology is an effective
initiative to their learning for such as students love it, it makes life easier and it
reaches different types of children. Also videos on the vision of the students who
are born in the era of technology and would like the teachers to start to cater to
their needs and interests. I was amazed to hear the views of the children and how
stifling it is to teach a boring lesson that can be enhanced using technology.
Instantly I started to change the concept that I had and started to find creative ways
to do my lesson planning using technology. This also helps me to start thinking out
of the box and pushes me to find the different ways in which I can use technology
to teach my Theme by downloading videos from YouTube and by using web 202
social networking sites to enhance learning.

After that interesting unit, we started the second unit: Theoretical Framework of
Educational Technology. I was really puzzled as to why I had to do anything on
theories as I was of the view that this would be a theory free course. We were then
placed in groups to find out how these theories and principles can be used in
technology. We researched the different views such as constructivism,
behaviourism and cognitism. The theory that we got was well connected to
technology in the classroom. The idea that the classroom is a constructivist
classroom where they source their own knowledge and the teacher acts as a
facilitator to this distributed learning embraces this thought. Distributed learning is
a method of instruction that relies primarily on indirect communication between
students and teachers, including internet or other electronic-based delivery,
teleconferencing, or correspondence. Students are the leaders in their learning and
that is the main message of the distributed theory. Other theories were introduced
such as multiple intelligence, situated cognition among others.

The other unit was unit three titled Instructional Planning. In this unit we explored
the usage of technology to enhance our lessons as teachers. The activity that we got
was to create a lesson using the assure model. The ASSURE model was developed
by Heinich, Molenda, Russell, Smaldino (1999) and is an instructional model for
planning a lesson and the technology that will enhance it. Our lecturer explained
the concept of the assure model, along with the meaning of ASSURE, which is to
analyze, state objectives, state media and materials, utilize media and materials,
require learner participation and evaluate and revise. This was to be done in pairs. I
also learned different ways to enhance my lessons by using PowerPoint and videos
to link and do activities where the children will be able to manipulate the tasks on
their own. The assure model lesson plan became more clear to me as I read the
plan.

Designing Effective Computer-based Instructional Support Tools was the title of

unit four, which lasted for four hours. In this unit we learned how to create online
tools such as Weebly and Zunal. These software that make it easy for anyone to
build a personal website. We created these websites in order to create an online
portfolio which was to highlight different ways to store stuff other than the
traditional e-mails and USB flash drives. This new information led us to the other
activity to create an online website using Weebly and Zunal. I enjoyed using
Weebly as the site is interesting, fun and interactive.

Unit five was a continuation of unit four: Designing Effective Computer-based

Instructional Support Tools. It was required for us to create a podcast using animal
sounds from YouTube. A podcast is a digital audio file made available on the
Internet for downloading to a computer or portable media player, typically
available as a series, new installments of which can be received by subscribers
automatically. We were given ideas by our lecturer on the school projector on how
to use podcast with the children to enhance lessons. We learned that we could
record them singing a song or making different sounds in class.

In concluding, the inclusion of technology is an important enhancement in the

classroom as it fosters learning and enriches the learning environments. I have
realized that it is the teachers duty to be fully aware of the latest trends in this
discipline. I am now able to use this approach which will allow my students to
enjoy the lessons more. This course outlined that children, especially those that
were born in the technological era, cannot learn without technology. It is therefore
the teachers responsibility to find measures to facilitate and teach children more
ways to manipulate technology to gain more knowledge and develop critical
thinking skills. The fact that we had classes in the lab was excellent because it
allowed us to gain a better understanding of the internet and how to use it. My
experience was memorable as I now have a better knowledge of a host of tools and
their effectiveness in making my lessons creative and motivational. I do believe
that I have leant a lot and I will use it to the best of my ability.