Personal Learning Reflection

Through my experiences in this class I have discovered many interesting types of education technologies and their possible applications. More importantly I have learned how to choose an effective technology based on education standards such as NETS-S and my own personal experience in using these technologies.

 By using the various forms of technology in this course I have been able to experience the positives and negatives of using these tools to complete an assignment. For example, I have learned a lot about the benefits and frustrations when it comes to collaborating on a group project without ever seeing or talking to any of the group members. The collaborative semester project I have assigned recently is vastly different from the one I assigned in the first semester. I made sure to hold each group member accountable, set up checkpoints along the way to monitor progress, provided an opportunity for peer editing, and offered students ideas for effective collaboration as well as etiquette.

 My main goal was to improve my online course delivery. Having used Google Docs, RSS feeds and blogs has enable me to incorporate them into my class effectively. These all sound like great resources for students to use, but it can be confusing and even pointless to implement their use if the tool does not match the task. Google Docs has enabled students to collaborate on class projects by sharing documents, presentations and data in an AP environmental science. Chemistry students have also been using Google Docs and Presenter to do their semester project. RSS feeds have been helpful for AP students in connecting with professional communities to further develop their projects. The AP students will also have a blog to show off their accomplishments once their semester project is complete. This could make an excellent addition to a college or job application.

Our SIG presentation about Popplet was a strong representation of good teaching because it is not only an effective educational piece itself, but an example of what can be accomplished through collaborative technology use. It was by no means easy. However, I do believe that a collaborative project is more powerful than a solo project due to the multiple points of view represented as well as the development and refinement of these ideas through team work.

I have met each of my goals for this class while at the same time developing new goals. I have improved online delivery of both of my Moodle courses by effectively incorporating blogs, RSS feeds and Google Docs. Although this has been a terrific learning experience, it has also opened my eyes to other possibilities and all the new technologies I would like to implement in my classroom. I am in contact with a handwriting recognition company to eventually allow how written math calculations to be graded automatically. This will allow for immediate feedback during practice and assessment in chemistry, but will also have applications in math and physics courses. I am also working on refining my online delivery by learning more of the capabilities of Camtasia Studio. I am excited to continue my own education while at the same time improving the education of my students through the use of technology.