To say that I learned A LOT in this course would be an understatement. I feel that my learning was grounded in constructivist principles in that I learned through creation, through trial and error, through frustration, and finally through satisfaction in creating lessons, activities, reflections, charts, and more that showcase my understanding of how to effectively integrate technology into the classroom.
I have a new lens on which to view the integration of technology. Tools and resources which I already use have taken on new applications and I have discovered a treasure trove of new tools and resources that I cannot wait to try out. One of the most exciting and frustrating things about technology and digital content is that it is constantly changing and improving. During my work in modules 7 & 8 I had an opportunity to evaluate a couple of online resources that I have used in my classroom the last few years and realized that they are still good, they were great 4 years ago, and that I now feel confident that I can create something better, more engaging, full of learning for my students. I think this is the take away for me professionally and for my craft. Constant evaluation and inquiry to make sure tools and resources you are integrating are meeting the needs of your learners. I feel the readings in Robyler provided a solid theoretical foundation for my work in the course. I referenced my feelings as a constructivist learner earlier and I believe the Robyler text provided a foundation for what works well for 21st century learners. In addition, readings and articles found through simply searching show that those who know about tech are iterating the same ideas. As a final reflection, there are two things that I enjoyed the most about this course. The first was the relevance of the work we were doing. I have used two of the activities in my classroom already. The second was the inspiration and learning that I gained from all of my classmates. It excites me for the future of education that there are so many creative, hard working education professionals out there. Thank you all. Blog Self Evaluation Content 60/70 I feel that my blog posts were thoughtful and contained content that was relevant and helpful to others who viewed it. I feel that I would land somewhere between proficient and outstanding. Readings and Resources 20/20 I used references to support my thoughts from the textbook and additional sources including videos and graphics. I used appropriate APA citation for sources. Timeliness 15/20 Again, I feel I would be somewhere in between proficient and outstanding. I did complete all of the posts. Timeliness, unfortunately, is not my very best quality. I like to think that I have others that help to compensate for this. At least 2/3, but not all of my posts were made in time for others to thoughtfully comment. Responses to Other Students 25/30 I did respond to at least two other students on every topic. I feel that I fall short of outstanding because not all of my responses were as substantive as the rubric specifies. Overall Self Evaluation Grade 120/140
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In the past I have thought of assistive technology as extras or add ons that must be purchased and could possibly be expensive to maintain and update, after some brief research this week I now know how wrong I was. Assistive technologies according to Amy Borovoy are "simply tools to help people with learning or motor disabilities complete everyday tasks. In schools, assistive tech can mean the difference between a student falling behind or being able to successfully work alongside other kids in an inclusion model". In education specifically, the options out there are staggering. I found the database TechMatrix to be particularly intriguing. It is a database of over 400 accessibility tools available to help make education accessible to all. The search features allow you to narrow by grade level, subject, and disability. If you have not had a chance to look at it, it is definitely worth checking out.
For this blog entry I have chosen to focus on the accessibility tools that come standard with Windows 10. Let me say that I was pleasantly surprised at the number of options available and how easy they were to understand and use. Microsoft's website provides a comprehensive overview of their tools and the different applications for them. To find the accessibility tools it is as simple as typing in Ease of Access into the Windows search bar. You are then taken to a control panel that allows you to customize your computer. I will be focusing on three areas of disability and the accessibility tools available to help: vision, hearing, and physical disabilities. The video below offers a great overview of the accessibility features in Windows 10. I particularly like how the narrator discusses that at times we may all "be disabled" or need assistance if for example you are cooking or holding a baby. Accessibility features are not only for the disabled, but also to get the most functionality out of your device or computer.
Vision For people with vision impairments Microsoft offers features such as:
Hearing Windows 10 offer several options for the hearing impaired.
Physical
References Borovoy, A.E. (2014, January, 17). 5-Minute Film Festival: The Power of Assistive Technology. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/film-festival-assistive-technology There are many factors that keep teachers from effectively integrating technology in their classrooms in all subject areas, social studies has it's own particular set of challenges. One challenge teacher's face is time. No one hands a social studies teacher a prepackaged year's worth of technology sources proven to be effective for student learning. Teachers spend hours and hours scouring the vast array of resources available to them to try to find ones that fit in with their standards, hoping that they are as engaging and effective as they think they could be. And, with as rapidly as technology changes and new digital content is created, what is the best source one year may be obsolete the next year. One way teachers can try to make this process a little less time consuming is to develop a network of other teachers who are also committed to finding and integrating effective technology and digital content. One of the very best resources teachers have is each other. Another challenge that is particularly unique to social studies is the teachers themselves. Zhao (2007) found that teachers’ technical expertise and professional experience in using technology is a major barrier to integrating technology in their classrooms. Social studies is a broad discipline, encompassing many different subjects including economics, sociology, geography, anthropology, and many others. Teachers are highly educated in a particular branch of social studies, not typically in technology. Social studies teachers often lack the technological pedagogical content knowledge that makes technology integration effective. TPACK is a framework introduced by Mishra and Koehler that describes the intersection of content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and technical knowledge. The interaction of these bodies of knowledge, both theoretically and in practice, produces the types of flexible knowledge needed to successfully integrate technology use into teaching (Koehler & Mishra, 2009). How do teacher's address this challenge? On an already full plate, developing their TPACK is one more thing to add to the mix. Challenging, but necessary in my opinion. If professional development opportunities are not available they should be sought out. Integrating technology can be difficult for many reasons, but regardless of the subject it is important to consider how influential technology is in all other areas of our students lives and make effective integrating it a priority.
References Koehler, M. J., & Mishra, P. (2009). What is technological pedagogical content knowledge. Contemporary issues in technology and teacher education, 9(1), 60-70. Zhao, Y. (2007). Social studies teachers' perspectives of technology integration. Journal of technology and teacher education, 15(3), 311. "Social studies is the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence....The primary purpose of social studies is to help young people develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world" (Roblyer, p. 336), These sound like very important reasons to prioritize the teaching of social studies in our schools, yet many schools, teachers, and students find social studies difficult to incorporate and engage in. This is in many cases because social studies is not directly assessed on high-stakes tests (Zhao, 2007) and students find social studies to be boring and irrelevant to their lives (Heafner, 2004). The high-stakes testing issue will not be solved by individual teachers or school districts, but student interest can be addressed, and one way to solve this problem is through the use of technology to teach social studies content. There are several reasons and ways a social studies teacher can incorporate technology into their teaching of social studies. Reasons to incorporate technology in social studies instruction:
Zhao, Y. (2007). Social studies teachers' perspectives of technology integration. Journal of technology and teacher education, 15(3), 311.
Making social studies relevant and accessible to students is a challenge, but incorporating technology is one way to help students learn social studies content. References Heafner, T. (2004). Using technology to motivate students to learn social studies. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 4(1), 42-53. Roblyer, M.D. (2016). Integrating educational technology into teaching. (7 ed). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc Zhao, Y. (2007). Social studies teachers' perspectives of technology integration. Journal of technology and teacher education, 15(3), 311. |
AuthorMy name is Rebecca Davis. I love learning and I hope to inspire the next generation to do the same. Archives
April 2017
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