My thoughts on TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE LEARNING:

As a teacher, I was always looking for ways to include technology in my lesson plans but didn’t really have some of the resources I needed. The reason I returned to school and became involved in the Educational Technology masters program was to obtain the kind of information I found in this class:  how to create constructive, meaningful learning through the integration of technology.

I was introduced to sources that I wasn’t familiar with, particularly the KITE database.  I found examples of learning situations that I could relate to and from which I could draw comparisons.  There I discovered ways that others had already used technology in their classrooms. All I had to do was put in the correct search parameters to find their stories and use what they had done or adjust it to my needs and/or situation.  I liked the database because it was full of real-life examples of other teachers using technology to construct meaningful learning for their students.  Another resource that was addressed was “eThemes”, which is a repository of information that allows the user to “search” for subjects that he/she would like more information on.  It is then easy, with the facts at hand, to include that information in lesson plans.

Also during the class, we researched some of the new software available for school use.   It was an attempt to get class participants to realize that learning could be fun and challenging at the same time. The software we surveyed showed a way to receive learning without having to absorb it through a book or lecture.  I was glad to write a product review on “MicroworldsEX”, even though it would probably not apply to classes I would teach.  It showed me the creative new direction that learning software is taking.

One of the assignments was to construct a concept map for a select learning and content area.  I chose to create a map on learning to use “Inspiration”, a concept mapping software, so that I could use it in my own classroom and give my students the benefit of learning about concept mapping with that very popular software.  As always, creating the “map” really flushed out my thinking and direction.

It was very worthwhile for me to participate in an assessment of meaningful learning that I derived from a real-life learning situation. I enjoyed defining active, constructive, intentional, authentic and cooperative learning situations in an activity that I constructed and then evaluated myself on how strong my planning was on each of the points.  I chose a simple exercise, but because it was so straightforward, it was clear to me how well I succeeded.  I liked breaking it apart as the assignment has us do and will use that technique in future lesson plans.

The book that was used during the class: Meaningful Learning with Technology, was an intriguing guide for teachers to learn about technology and explore different avenues for putting technology into our classrooms and curriculum.  When I want to add something new to my lesson planning I will use it as a resource.

References:

Jonassen, D. H., Howland, J., Marra, R. M. & Crismond, D.  (2008.) Meaningful Learning with Technology, Third Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.

	ARTIFACTS
Case Report - .rtf (9 kb)	KITE Assessment - .rtf (59 kb)	Concept Map - .jpg (175 kb)
Self Assessment - .rtf (34 kb)	eThemes Request - .rtf (13 kb)	Learning Matrix - .rtf (54 kb)
	Software Review - .rtf (1005 kb)