Module+6+Reflection

Reflection Prompt:How did understanding the standards and the pre-comp verification help you design your FE plan? How can your use your ePorfolio to help others understand how to integrate technology more effectively in the classroom?

Description
During Module 6, I participated in the Elluminate session where Dr. Tsai went over the requirements for the e-Portfolio. I also listened to the recording of the e-Portfolio Elluminate session with Dr. Tsai and Dr. Ward. I participated in the Springboard discussion boards and shared my ideas for developing my field experiences and gave suggestions to some of my classmates. I signed up for a workshop about Learning Spaces and Classrooms of the Future sponsored by the Institute for Teaching and Learning at UA. Finally, I read Chapter 8 in the Technology Facilitators and Standards book.

Impact
From the two Elluminate sessions, I learned that the e-Portfolio consists of artifacts from the courses I will take in the IT Master’s program as well as field experiences beyond these courses. I learned that I need to have field experiences that align with the eight NETS-TF standards that will help me grow as a technology professional. I learned that these artifacts could be pictures of training that I give to teachers, documents that I use to teach students or teachers about technology, or web content that I use to share my experiences in learning how to integrate technology into a learning environment.

From the discussion boards, I learned about a website called SimpleK12 that provides free webinars for educators about a range of topics related to technology. I learned that teachers were planning to provide training for their colleagues about TPACK or SmartBoards, or take control of their school’s website.

From Chapter 8, I learned that technology facilitators should develop a team approach to making decisions about technology. Technology facilitators should create a vision for using technology in new ways for teaching and learning and share that vision with others in the school community, including teachers and administrators. Technology facilitators should be able to answer the questions “Where are we now?”, “Where do we want to go?”, “How do we get there?”, and “How do we know if we are making progress?” Technology facilitators need to have a clear plan that is focused on student learning, has achievable goals, and reflects current knowledge about how technology should be used to benefit student learning.

Intent
Completing this module, I plan to create my e-Portfolio by adding to the Google site that I made for my Pre-Admission Competencies Verification. As I complete each course in the IT Master’s program, I plan to upload the artifacts that I need from those courses to a special page on the Google site where I can easily find them when I start building my e-Portfolio. One of my goals for building my e-Portfolio is providing resources for both K-12 teachers and people who work in the field of higher education. I plan to connect with teachers that I have worked with in the past (I have subbed at these schools before) and find out how I might be able to help students in their classroom learn how to use technology or perhaps train the teachers themselves about using technology. Perhaps I could help a teacher plan a SmartBoard lesson or a lesson that involves using wikis, since I have used wikis in both this class and my Instructional Design class.

I’m sure that some of the artifacts for my e-Portfolio will come from my experiences as a graduate assistant for Dr. Kushner-Benson. She is in the process of transitioning a face-to-face course to a fully online course in Springboard next fall. Right now, I am working with students in my Instructional Design class to develop a wiki that both Dr. KB and her students can use to communicate and share ideas for a cumulative project on surveys. This week, I will be visiting Dr. KB to introduce the wiki to her and get her feedback. Perhaps I should take pictures of this meeting. Next semester, I will be working with her to develop Springboard modules, including content and discussion topics, for this future online course.

Whenever our next staff meeting is scheduled at Sylvan, I would like to give a short training about TPACK and how it relates to the iPads that we use. I want to tell teachers that the iPads are just the tools that we use for teaching and learning. Using iPads does not replace actually explaining concepts and skills to students. I would also like to give teachers a few useful tips that I have come across in my experience teaching with the iPads. In addition to giving this training, I would like to be a leader for my colleagues on an everyday basis when it comes to using the iPads. If I see that a teacher or student is having trouble, I want to step in and help out. I want to also help teachers the process of signing the iPads in and out and plugging the iPads back into the cart correctly.

One thing that I need to explore further is finding opportunities that exist for learning about technology at The University of Akron. I’m very glad that I found the seminar set up by the Institute for Teaching and Learning. It will be done by a director of IT for Apple. Since I don’t have an iPad or iPhone (or iAnything) for my personal use, I hope to learn something that I could apply to my e-Portfolio or add to my toolbox of technological tools. I also hope that the seminar increases my understanding of what teaching and learning might be like in the future. If there are future seminars sponsored by the ITL about technology, I plan to be one of the first people to sign up if I am able to attend.

Here is my preliminary plan for the field experiences that I need to have for my e-Portfolio:

Technology Operations and Concepts

Help Dr. Kushner-Benson learn more about using Springboard and wikis in her online courses

Planning and Designing Learning Environments

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Design Springboard course modules or work with teachers that I know in the field to design learning activities using technology

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Teaching, Learning, and the Curriculum

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Train teachers at Sylvan about TPACK and how to effectively use iPads for student learning

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Assessment and Evaluation

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Learn more about how we use computerized assessment at Sylvan to evaluate students

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Help Dr. KB learn to use evaluation tools in Springboard

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Productivity and Professional Practice

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Participate in webinars or workshops provided by UA and write a blog about my experiences

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Social, Ethical, Legal, and Human Issues

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Remind teachers at Sylvan how to use iPads in a safe way for students and encourage the center director to purchase iPad covers to keep iPads working well

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Procedures, Policies, Planning, and Budgeting for Technology

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Learn more about how higher education institutions make decisions about technology

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Leadership and Vision

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Working together with teachers and directors at Sylvan to make sure <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> we have the same goals and procedures using iPads