Reflection - Wk. 8 - EDUC 6715- New & Emerging Technologies

Wow, we made it to the last week of the last course of our Masters program!!!  I have learned so much over the course of my classes at Walden Online University.  I have enjoyed the discussions on the discussion boards with peers and learned a lot from completing the various application assignments and assigned readings.  I am now in touch with the latest educational technology trends being used to support learning in the classroom and have developed many lesson plans and unit plans based on current research and new technologies.  In addition, I have read about and developed my own personal opinions on current research that includes philosophical ideas relating to technology and education, trends in educational technology, and many forms of educational technology such as MUVEs, digital gaming, and online learning.

Through my learning in this class, I am now able to inform my colleagues and administrators to new and emerging educational technologies available to support learning.  In my lesson plan, I discovered a new online site that helps reinforce content through a short animated video, game-like activity, and a creative art project that incorporates an art concept.  Many of the online educational sites I discovered were free to teachers for use in the classroom to reinforce and teach content.  These sites incorporate the many learning styles, such as interpersonal, kinesthetic, visual, and auditory learning.  Students can use new technologies to store projects (cloud computing), collaborate on projects (wikis, blogs, discussion boards, etc...), and reinforce content learning (MUVE, digital games).  Using new technologies should be used to support and reinforce the learning that is taking place in the classroom, by the teacher.  As Gillard & Bailey (2007) state, "Remind educators that it is a tool to help them improve teaching, not a change in course content" (p.90).

Using new technologies engages, motivates, and challenges students to learn new content.  The Horizon Report states, "Technology is impacting our lives, and the lives of our students, in new and expanding ways.  Technology is now recognized as a primary way to stay in touch and take control over one's own learning.  Multisensory, ubiquitous, and interdisciplinary, technology is integrated into nearly everything we do.  It gives students a public voice and a means to reach beyond the classroom for interaction and exploration" (p. 6).  Students are using new technologies outside of the school, why not incorporate some of these new technology uses into the classroom?

Teachers need to keep up-to-date with new and emerging technologies through online classes, professional development opportunities, online research, and connections with fellow colleagues.  I will continue to keep my eyes and ears open to opportunities to learn more about technology use in the classroom.  I will also help support teachers in my school building who are new to using technology and need ideas and assistance. 

Digital tools are constantly changing and transforming into newer technologies.  Being able to understand and discover which new technologies work well in the classroom is important when making decisions on which technologies to purchase and use in the classroom.  This class has helped me understand and discover new technologies which I will practice using myself over the summer and incorporate into the classroom next school year.