Response to Punya’s pentagon appearance
Punya's pentagon
Personal Growth Reflection (CEP 812)
“Enough” is not a word that one can use after finishing all 3 Certificate courses. There’s so much more to do that it’s worth taking a short recess and reflecting upon one’s achievements. My reflection is two-faceted. One facet has to do with my improvement in the field of technology, and the other with educational issues. Below is a chart that pretty much summarizes where I stand so far in educational technology.
|
Technology |
Current use |
Future use |
Promises |
Pitfalls |
| Podcast | Students listen to podcasts of personal interest and report verbally or in writing. | Students will make their own podcasts to post on the school’s website. | High student engagement, better academic achievement, more realistic preparation for the real world, better classroom management, minimization of the digital divide. | Convincing the admin to allow students to use iPods and access iTunes. |
| Online simulations | Students watch some online simulations and report on them. | Students will make their own online simulations. | None | |
| Online educational games | Students play them for educational purposes. | Students will create their own repertoire of online educational games for quick access. | Some sites are blocked. Hard to match lab schedule with proper timing for online games. | |
| MS Office | Students use PowerPoint to for class presentations Word to present written assignments. They almost never use Excel. | Students will learn to prepare professional PowerPoint presentations by adding audio and video files. They will use StAIRs. They will use Word to address a real audience such as the admin or publish their work in the school magazine. | None | |
| WebQuests | Students go on a scavenger-like hunt for info. | Students will work individually and in groups to work on activities that promote higher-order thinking skills. | Some sites are blocked. Internet access not always available. | |
| E-portfolios | None | Students build their own E-portfolios and include all their academic achievements. | (Above promises). Students’ self-esteem boosted. Improved language quality. | None |
| Web pages | None | Students create their own web page on Google Sites and share their work on line. Later, they can publish their own web page. | (Above promises). With a worldwide audience, students will feel the need to take learning seriously. | Students need to be mature enough to hold responsibility for the entire group’s work. |
| Edublogs | Students leave comments on existing Edublogs. | Students will create their own Edublog. | None |
I also intend to enhance my tech skills in a variety of ways.
· Review all 3 Certificate courses: I will brush up on my existing skills, go over the material learnt to make sure I haven’t missed out on any important parts, improve my skills in the technology that I learnt how to implement in the classroom, and visit Atomic learning to go over some tutorials to reinforce my understanding of the technology that I am comfortable with as well as new ones I am not very familiar with.
· Organize PD sessions: I am planning to give plenty of PD sessions at my school as well as anywhere else where the teaching staff is interested in developing their technology skills. This summer, for example, I will be giving a PD session on PowerPoint to a group of teachers who are complete beginners in technology. If all turns out well, I will try to initiate them to StAIRs. I’m sure I’ll learn new things as I am presenting these sessions.
· Attend PD sessions: I will do my best to attend all the PD sessions offered in my area. I will also try to subscribe to online PD sessions. I still don’t know how to do it, but I will try to figure out how so I can attend long distance PD sessions.
· Lifelong learning: First of all, I am planning to continue my Master’s in Educational Technology. Apart from that, I am naturally curious, so I don’t think I will have a problem learning new things. I have subscribed to feeds through NetVives, most of which are tech related. This way I keep abreast of the latest educational technology and its implementation in the classroom. Once I see something I like, I explore it until I become a pro at it.
Looking back at where I was when I first started the Certificate course, I can’t believe how much my teaching techniques have improved, as well as my understanding of educational goals and curriculum alignment. It’s hard to put it all in writing, but I am readier than ever for a more challenging teaching experience. Something funny though, which depicts the unexpected nature of events: Since I started the Certificate course, I’ve always wanted to learn movie making and editing, which I never got round to doing. However, I have learnt so many other things that I didn’t know existed (Edublogs, WebQuests, TechQuests , podcasts) or that didn’t occur to me (Web pages, educational games, online simulations). Whatever the case, I look at myself in the mirror and see a new meJ
Personal Growth Reflection (CEP 811)
Thinking about CEP 811 in retrospect puts out to light a wealth of benefits. There are parts of the course that I improved upon, and parts that I learnt from scratch.
- Parts that I improved upon:
- CBIOs: I learnt a lot about CBIOs in CEP 811, especially StAIRs. I knew a lot about PopwerPoint, but CEP 811 shed light on its educational and pedagogical aspects. It’s an educational resource that students can use on their own choosing the timing and pacing that best suit them.
- NetVibes: In CEP 811, I added podcasts that keep me posted round the clock on the latest issues I subscribed to, some of which are of interest to my students so they remain engaged in the learning process.
- Teaching Strategies: CEP 811 drew my attention to some strategies that I could have been using, but without an educational awareness. The different strategies (deductive, inductive, …) make me reflect more closely on how I choose and design my activities. I now know that a combination of these strategies ensures better academic achievement by stimulating higher-order thinking.
- Parts that I learnt from scratch:
- WebQuests: I was completely unaware of their existence! I used to send my students on a scavenger-like hunt without much guidance. Now I know that online resources can be used more wisely to optimize student engagement and learning rather than to hone their hunting skills. With WebQuests, students have time to spare for analyzing and synthesizing the content of the web pages they visit.
- Web Pages: What can I say? They’re probably the best part of the course. I enjoy using Dreamweaver to the extent that I use it daily to improve my web page appearance. I consider my web page my electronic home. I decorate it with my work the way I decorate my real home with furniture. It reflects who I am.
- Edublogs: Are they my favorites? Hmm, can’t tell whether my web page prevails. Whichever the case, I simply love them! They can be used for a countless of educational purposes: Keeping in touch with parents, getting synchronous and asynchronous feedback from students, posting online assignments, creating an online grade book, to name a few. Edublogs are at the heart of 21st century teaching.
- Online Experiences: I never thought there were so many! One of my favorites is the E-portfolio. It instills life-long learning skills in students and increases their interest in learning through the use of technology. I consider E-portfolios an electronic mirror of one’s life achievements.
CEP 811 presents an invaluable resource of online activities that one page wouldn’t suffice to describe them all. And it’s hard to tell which is the most rewarding; each has its own benefit(s) based on the educational objective(s) and people’s access to the Internet. To put in a nutshell, CEP 811 is the gateway to 21st Century learning and teaching.
