#edtech Showcase
For the past 24 months, I have been learning, researching, blogging, posting, questioning, analyzing, and discovering technology. Through my Masters of Art in Educational Technology (MAET) program, I have been given the experience to grow personally and professionally with technology and education. I truly feel that I have been exposed to the lastest changes to education today and have also gained the skills to stay at the cutting edge. Below you will see a portion of my learning as I embarked on my Master's degree. Each section demonstrates understanding of the latest in #edtech.
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When integrating technology into a classroom, it should be used with a purpose. Often times educators find themselves using technology for technology's sake with an instrumental mindset. Instead, teachers should focus on the purpose of the lesson and how it may be enhanced with technology. Here are two examples of technology integration. The use of audio recordings blended with music demonstrates how an interview can be used to introduce a topic or for students to showcase their understanding. The digital story offers a visual representation of student learning and can be used demonstrate the understanding of course material.
Part of understanding the attributes of a good technology leader requires have knowledge of good leaders in general. I understand the different types of leaders, the skills, and sense of vision that leaders possess. I have taken these skills and used them as I have presented about Gamification and the Flipped Learning Model. Here, I created my own Personal Manifesto: a document that can grow and change as I myself grow as a technology leader. This manifesto documents my own vision of educational technology. I also created a Prezi to help educators understand complex change.
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I feel that I have made a huge growth in my understanding of online learning. Prior to earning my master's degree, my only experience with online learning was with the students who had failed my science class and were taking online courses to make up the credit. However, I now understand that online and hybrid learning can offer so much more than simply a remediation course for students. The first being the time to learn the material at an appropriate pace for the student. I also realize that successful online learning occurs when both the teacher and the students create a sense of online presence, even though they may not be teaching and learning face-to-face. I used these skills to create a unit long hybrid course for sixth grade science students.
To view my hybrid course:
Click the image and Log in:
Username: SpartanGuest Password: guest
(Username and password are case sensitive)
Once logged in, select 6th Grade Science under "My Classes"
To view view Innovation as Learning Ethic: A Wicked Problem! hover your mouse over the image and scroll.
As educators, we tend to discuss and want to solve the various problems with schools today. However, often times we fail to realize that some of these problems are wicked problems, or ill-defined problems that are nearly impossible to solve. My colleagues and I worked together to attempt to find a solution to the wicked problem of Innovation as Learning Ethic. The strategies we used to tackle this problem were skills we'll continue to use as we become educational leaders in our schools. I also wrote about a problem of practice in my current district, and used the skills of solving wicked problems to come up with a solution.
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The maker movement seems to be the new buzzword in the technology community. Through my educational technology classes, we spent time learning about the maker movement and remixing. I took these ideas to heart and even attended a Mini-Maker Faire in Orlando. Being surrounded by other makers makes you feel inspired to invent something! While I have yet to invent something new, I have done my fair share of remixing using the Raspberry Pi. These blog posts document my journey with the pi and have even inspired me to invest in other maker kits like Makey Makey.