Final Reflection

At the beginning of this course, I felt that I more closely related to the constructivist perspective. I felt that learning is entirely based on the individual and their experiences with the mental processes created (Lever-Duffy, & McDonald, 2008, p17). As I have ventured through this course, I find that my perspective is much the same, but I also have been leaning more towards the social learning theories. By collaborating and conversing with others, I feel that students have a better understanding of the content being presented and can work on building artificats together. As Dr. Michael Orey stated, "we often learn best when we can teach the material to others" (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). This course has helped me realize that this instructional strategy is a key component to what my students will be involved in when they enter the workforce and that I need to be providing as many opportunities as possible for them to collaborate with one another. By incorporating technology tools, I am able to tap into the diverse needs of my students and expose them to more engaging lessons that surround them in their every day lives.

As I reflect on the adjustments that I need to make in my classroom regarding technology integration, I find that I will need to begin slowly and find the best tools that will work with each of my lessons. I have been exposed to quite a bit of technology tools in this course that I have never had experience with, so it will take some time on my part to understand the benefits and best practices before I introduce them to my students. Being that I teach students with disabilities, it is important that I am very concrete in my directions on how to use the particular devices and I give them ample opportunities to practice using them. I have also looked at not only using technology to enhance my lesson presentations, but also the difference of having students use them as learning tools and creating their own artifacts. It is important for me to be able to incorporate technology in both ways to make sure I am meeting the needs of all of my students.

One technology tool that I would like to start using more with my students is the Smartboard. I often use it more to display my lessons and keep students engaged, but it is a great tool for students to use even for drill and practice lessons that are often daunting for them. Incorporating that kinestic movement will help students retain the information better. I would also like to start using blogs and wikis more with my students and have them branch out to communicate with others in the community on novels that we have read and have meaningful discussions that way as well. The web opens up a variety of ways for students to become experts on certain topics, and what better way than to have them working with others out in the community.

One long-term goal that I have for myself in regards to technology integration, work on tweeking my PowerPoint presentations so they involve more visual features rather than words so that the lessons are more engaging for my students. This will take some practice because I do tend to forgot everything I want to present to my students and the text on the PowerPoint often is a great reminder for me, but what Dr. Orey mentioned about Paivio's dual coding hypothesis, this would be a much better way to present my material (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). Another long-term goal I have for myself is to continue to become more knowledgable about the technology tools that are available and how I can integrate them into my classroom. The more I can saturate my students in technology, the better prepared they will be for the future.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Social Learning Theories [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved fromhttp://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Technology: Instructional Tool vs. Learning Tool [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved fromhttp://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=

Lever-Duffy, J., & McDonald, J. (2008).Theoretical foundations (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

In this week's learning resources, Dr. Michael Orey highlighted upon the importance of social learning theories in education today.We are seeing these theories becoming more and more prominent in education as we move through the 21st Century as students are engulfed in technology. Social constructivism states that students learn best when they are actively engaged in constructing artifacts while conversing with others (Laureate Education, Inc, 2011). By communicating with their peers, students are able to make concepts more concrete and participate in higher level thinking.

The instructional strategy that was discussed this week that correlates with the social learning theories is cooperative learning. Students are building knowledge together and are each responsible for learning information and teaching it to each other. One thing Dr. Orey mentioned that really stuck with me is that we learn better wen we are able to teach the material. I think back to myself in grade school and how difficult it was to master certain concepts and then when I turned into a teacher, those concepts became so much more clearer as I taught them. In order for students to be "prepared for the fast-paced, virtual workplace that they will inherit, today's students need to be able to learn and produce cooperatively" (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p.139). Having students use multimedia and web resources, students are able to create videos, power points and hands-on projects which can take their learning to a higher level. No longer are students limited to their own classroom to work with their peers, they can use Skype to connect to friends in other schools and children around the globe to learn about new cultures and concepts.

Social learning theories were definitely not a thing of the past, but we will be seeing them become the predominant learning theory in the classroom as we go through the 21st Century. With new technologies that continue to evolve, students are getting so many opportunities to participate in engaging lessons and teach other!

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program three: Social Learning Theories [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved fromhttp://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

VoiceThread: http://walden.voicethread.com/share/4099284/