Reflection 7: "A New Goal"

In current and future positions I will utilize emerging technologies in the following ways:

·        In E-learning Environments I currently and will continue to provide instruction to faculty, staff students and parents using programs that were purchased by the district as well as those available online for free instruction.  E-Learning environments allow for more student interaction as opposed to the traditional pen and paper method.  I was able to try this using a program we currently operate in the district.  While GAGGLE was only being utilized for student communication, I anticipate utilizing it for a demo “paperless” testing system as well as for written projects.  It has the capabilities of lessons being downloaded and assignments submitted.  Students can complete and submit their tests all on line. On last year as well as the beginning of this year, I was able to train teachers and students in grades 6-8^th on how to log-in and access their student accounts.  Teachers were instructed on how to download assignments and check student emails. While I had no takers for this year’s request, I pitched the idea to my principal and she has agreed for one class in the fall. While it may not be the poster child for e-learning, I was able to receive all clearances from the administration as it is a program they have fully embraced. In addition, as the Professional Development contact, I will be able to set-up campus policies for teacher review and online test completion. 

·        Learning Objectives/Reusable Design will allow me to continue to build academic rapport with both student and teachers.  Learning objectives help me to stay focused on the overall learning goals for the department and ultimately the campus. Understanding learning components and timelines will help me to fully develop supplementary lessons that can be utilized multiple times. This will also benefit new teachers as they will have access to lessons and activities that have been proven to work. I can also see working closely with academic and departmental grade level teachers to teach certain components in the 6^th grade that will be built upon in 7^th and 8^th grade. Reusable Design will allow for chairpersons to ensure that grade level components are all taught during a particular year be requiring teachers to use online lessons. This is an excellent opportunity for me to assist in the selection of programs and the development of programs.

·        Rich Media is one of the most intriguing items on the list. It is one of my professional missions to take academic components and condense them into bite-sized pieces and design them based on the entertainment industry template. Doing so will allow teachers and students to access and process much needed information in an informal way.  This in turn will not make many of the academic areas that require foundational components or steps as complicated to student learning. I can see how, using rich media, many complicated math concepts could be eradicated using this form of technology in the classroom if instructed by the teacher. Examples of how I will utilize this:

o   Basic Algebra Functions and Steps (Math)

o   Historical Timelines and Important Dates & People (History/Social Studies)

o   Literary Elements/Writing Process (English/Language Arts)

o   Parts of Speech/ Sentence Structure (ESL)

·        Emerging Technologies of all the areas this is the area I will focus most of my attention.  I would like to gain a better understanding of it from an instructional design perspective. I think the best way for students to retain information is to make it conducive to not only their learning styles, but relatable to current trends.  I anticipate requesting monies for online academic games to be used not only in tutoring but for mastery as well.