543 Final reflection post
This course, as I've said in the past, challenged me greatly. Social media is not something that I really ever equated to a learning tool, but I had seen it done a few times during the last couple of years. I think that there should definitely be a separation of sorts between the professional uses of the tools, and the social uses of the tools. Few people, if any, realize the long-lasting impacts of having access to these global tools. This connection we have shrinks the world and makes it easier to connect. To sum up my thoughts on social media as it pertains to teaching, I have to say that there are right and wrong uses. If a learning goal is not being met with elaborate plans to use social media, then that's okay. There is surely a different tool that will work sufficiently to meet the learning goal. Social media is cool, but it is not the answer to all of our problems in the classroom. Just like anything, we should evaluate the choices we make within the environments we interact with.
So, major learning points, as far as specific tools go.
Twitter was definitely my favorite. It allowed me to connect with people in my career field and allowed me to see evidence of learning happening out there in other teachers classrooms. I really appreciated the live twitter chats that were mandatory in this course, because it showed me that there is a world of teaching out there that is eager to help students and teachers to succeed. More than anything, Twitter acted as a way for me to increase the pool of ideas to pull from. I learned and used a lot of tools found through Twitter in the summer school classes I was teaching. Tools included Spiral and Flipgrid, which are both really cool! I can't wait to use them in my classroom this coming school year. Twitter is an awesome way to meet with a group of people that aren't located near you. My PLN in the course is awesome, and they made me realize that I have my own PLN out there in the world, from the past few years, that are already on Twitter, and active!
This coming school year, I will be taking over a technology leadership position in my building. Many of the social networking tools displayed and showcased here will be excellent ways for me to showcase and disseminate information to the staff. While I know that I will definitely be spending more face to face time with teachers than the time they will spend reading my posts, I am optimistic to know that I am comfortable navigating the many different channels available. I will also be able to guide teachers in the use of social media in their classrooms, and creating their own PLNs.
By far the most important tool I learned about and explored this summer was that of the screencast. Screencasting is an awesome way to make my teaching and modelling even more accessible than it has ever been. Not only do I get to save my voice, but the video will last forever. I can simply recreate videos to make them better, or just reuse the many that I have made over the last two months. Screencasting is even more awesome for students to do! I made it a performance task for summer school, and many of my shyest students gave the best speeches of their lives over a screencast.
Now, for the biggest point of reflection. These awesome tools can be extremely engaging for students! Most of them have clear ideas on how to use most of these tools in the first place. We have to meet them where they are! I know that this rings true in almost every module we explored throughout the course. Students probably already have their own PLNs, but they just haven't realized that the label is important. A group of friends can be a great PLN.
As far as my thoughts on evaluating my blogging life this summer... well, I'd say I could have been much more detailed with citations, images, and general multimedia. Overall, I think I could have been more engaged in the process. Sometimes the blogs felt like an afterthought to the overarching assignments. I'll be honest, 65/75.
So, major learning points, as far as specific tools go.
Twitter was definitely my favorite. It allowed me to connect with people in my career field and allowed me to see evidence of learning happening out there in other teachers classrooms. I really appreciated the live twitter chats that were mandatory in this course, because it showed me that there is a world of teaching out there that is eager to help students and teachers to succeed. More than anything, Twitter acted as a way for me to increase the pool of ideas to pull from. I learned and used a lot of tools found through Twitter in the summer school classes I was teaching. Tools included Spiral and Flipgrid, which are both really cool! I can't wait to use them in my classroom this coming school year. Twitter is an awesome way to meet with a group of people that aren't located near you. My PLN in the course is awesome, and they made me realize that I have my own PLN out there in the world, from the past few years, that are already on Twitter, and active!
This coming school year, I will be taking over a technology leadership position in my building. Many of the social networking tools displayed and showcased here will be excellent ways for me to showcase and disseminate information to the staff. While I know that I will definitely be spending more face to face time with teachers than the time they will spend reading my posts, I am optimistic to know that I am comfortable navigating the many different channels available. I will also be able to guide teachers in the use of social media in their classrooms, and creating their own PLNs.
By far the most important tool I learned about and explored this summer was that of the screencast. Screencasting is an awesome way to make my teaching and modelling even more accessible than it has ever been. Not only do I get to save my voice, but the video will last forever. I can simply recreate videos to make them better, or just reuse the many that I have made over the last two months. Screencasting is even more awesome for students to do! I made it a performance task for summer school, and many of my shyest students gave the best speeches of their lives over a screencast.
Now, for the biggest point of reflection. These awesome tools can be extremely engaging for students! Most of them have clear ideas on how to use most of these tools in the first place. We have to meet them where they are! I know that this rings true in almost every module we explored throughout the course. Students probably already have their own PLNs, but they just haven't realized that the label is important. A group of friends can be a great PLN.
As far as my thoughts on evaluating my blogging life this summer... well, I'd say I could have been much more detailed with citations, images, and general multimedia. Overall, I think I could have been more engaged in the process. Sometimes the blogs felt like an afterthought to the overarching assignments. I'll be honest, 65/75.
Comments
Post a Comment