Throughout this course, I have deepened my knowledge and understanding of learning theory. As I look back on my week 1 view of learning, I realize that not a lot has changed. I still believe, as I did then, that implementing strategies derived from a variety of learning theories is the best approach to take in the classroom. One way in which my view has changed, however, is with the addition of the social learning theory to my understanding. While some of the concepts of social learning were evident in my classroom before this course, I had never studied the social learning theory. Taking time to do in this course has helped give a backbone to some of the things that I do in the class and has helped me to evaluate their effectiveness.
I have not identified any immediate adjustments that need to be made to my technology integration in the classroom. I have always made it one of my goals to integrate as much technology as possible into my lessons. I believe that I do a very good job at that with the resources available to me. The fact that I do not see adjustments that need to be made does not mean that I have not learned this course, that I have not found any useful tools, or that I have integrated every possible piece of technology into my class already. However, I am confident in the way I am approaching technology use in my class.
There a few tools that I have discovered throughout this course that I would like to implement in the classroom. One of these is Voice Thread and the other is Google Docs.
Voice thread will be very helpful in the foreign language classroom. Not only will it allow students to collaborate with their peers and possibly others outside the classroom, but it will allow them to interact with the language in a whole new way.
I can see that Google Docs will be very beneficial in the area of cooperative learning. I really like the ideas of social learning theory and I believe that utilizing Google Docs will allow me to tap into those learning ideas. Through collaboration and building group artifacts, students will work together to construct knowledge and enhance learning. And the greatest thing about Google Docs is that all the students need is an internet connection. There is no book to carry around or program software to load at home.
A couple long term goals that I have for technology are to move my classroom to being a paperless environment and having students create digital portfolios. The plan to make my room a paperless environment is something that is still unfolding. Next year I will have the opportunity to teach in a brand new building. I am also fortunate to be part of a district that puts an emphasis on technology in the classroom. However, what exactly that technology will look like is still up in the air. Due to budget reasons, we still do not know the number of computers that we will have in each room. The ideal of one to one does not look promising. Also, we still do not know what type of programs we are going to have. It is my hope that we choose Google Docs for education. This would help my goal of going paperless. If we do not go with some kind of cloud computing as a district, then I will have the students use Google Docs in my classroom.
My second goal, creating digital portfolios, will likely take place in the form of a blog. I will have students use this blog consistently throughout the year for writing purposes. However, they will also create podcasts, wikis, and other projects which will be posted to or linked to their blogs. Because I believe in the social learning concept, it seems logical to pair social media with creating artifacts to help the students create a collection of learning at the end of the year.
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