Self Reflection
Changing the Role of the Teacher
Before I took these certification courses I really thought that I had a decent grasp on technology. I had been using Edmodo with my students for the last couple of years, we used our computers daily, and I had my students use the school iPods when they were available. I was wrong. I was not even using most of what Edmodo offered. I could have been doing so much more with my students. When it came to creating projects my default tool was always Microsoft PowerPoint. My students could have been using Voki or Powtoons. These courses showed me that there are so many more ways to engage my students using technology. This year was a challenge to implement everything I learned, because I was working with small groups all day and sometimes we did not have access to technology. Next year, I can not wait to put what I learned into practice. I just signed our school up to be a Google Apps school. I am so thrilled that I can expose my students to so much more technology that they will actually need when they enter middle school.
Successes and Challenges
The successes I had during these courses were using all of the new websites and tools that I was taught. After a little practice, I was able to have my students try them out and it was great to see them so excited. They loved using Voki, Powtoons, and especially Edmodo. They were more excited to come to group everyday because of the online tools we were using. I knew they were excited because they would brag to their other friends about what they were doing. I was really impressed with how all of my groups did, especially my second graders who were my youngest group. They took to everything so quickly. Even though many of my students lacked technology at home, they picked up the skills quickly at school. I was very proud of all of them.
There were challenges I faced during these courses. Many of the challenges were related to blended learning models that would not fit my classroom. During the tier one classes it was difficult for me to envision a lot of these models working in my elementary school. For example, I did not see how we would be able to use the flipped model at my school. Many of my students lacked technology. During the whole course I asked myself, "How would this work?" It was not until I started taking the tier two classes that I realized that not all of the models would work for me.
Another challenge I initially had was buy in. Part of the tier one classes were about getting the teacher to buy into blended learning. It was definitely challenging for me to buy in initially. I had never seen blended learning in person, and many of the tier one videos of success stories were of middle and high schools. It took me a while to really understand what it could look like in my school.
Working through these challenges I have really discovered what would work best for me and my students. Next year I am going to start right away with Edmodo and then introduce Google Apps to my students. It will be a slow process into blended learning, but I really want to make sure I set up a good foundation for the students. My goal is to help my fifth grade teachers get to the station rotation model. That way they can be a model for the other grades in our school.
Student Benefits
I have absolutely seen benefits with some of the techniques and tools that I have implemented this year. The students were always engaged when they were allowed to use the computer. They preferred writing responses on Edmodo rather than on paper and pencil. They were also engaged when they were able to listen to video lectures, rather than listening to me everyday. They also really enjoyed being able to replay the lectures if they missed any information. I can not wait for next year to really see how students benefit with blended learning when we start right from the beginning of the school year.
Before I took these certification courses I really thought that I had a decent grasp on technology. I had been using Edmodo with my students for the last couple of years, we used our computers daily, and I had my students use the school iPods when they were available. I was wrong. I was not even using most of what Edmodo offered. I could have been doing so much more with my students. When it came to creating projects my default tool was always Microsoft PowerPoint. My students could have been using Voki or Powtoons. These courses showed me that there are so many more ways to engage my students using technology. This year was a challenge to implement everything I learned, because I was working with small groups all day and sometimes we did not have access to technology. Next year, I can not wait to put what I learned into practice. I just signed our school up to be a Google Apps school. I am so thrilled that I can expose my students to so much more technology that they will actually need when they enter middle school.
Successes and Challenges
The successes I had during these courses were using all of the new websites and tools that I was taught. After a little practice, I was able to have my students try them out and it was great to see them so excited. They loved using Voki, Powtoons, and especially Edmodo. They were more excited to come to group everyday because of the online tools we were using. I knew they were excited because they would brag to their other friends about what they were doing. I was really impressed with how all of my groups did, especially my second graders who were my youngest group. They took to everything so quickly. Even though many of my students lacked technology at home, they picked up the skills quickly at school. I was very proud of all of them.
There were challenges I faced during these courses. Many of the challenges were related to blended learning models that would not fit my classroom. During the tier one classes it was difficult for me to envision a lot of these models working in my elementary school. For example, I did not see how we would be able to use the flipped model at my school. Many of my students lacked technology. During the whole course I asked myself, "How would this work?" It was not until I started taking the tier two classes that I realized that not all of the models would work for me.
Another challenge I initially had was buy in. Part of the tier one classes were about getting the teacher to buy into blended learning. It was definitely challenging for me to buy in initially. I had never seen blended learning in person, and many of the tier one videos of success stories were of middle and high schools. It took me a while to really understand what it could look like in my school.
Working through these challenges I have really discovered what would work best for me and my students. Next year I am going to start right away with Edmodo and then introduce Google Apps to my students. It will be a slow process into blended learning, but I really want to make sure I set up a good foundation for the students. My goal is to help my fifth grade teachers get to the station rotation model. That way they can be a model for the other grades in our school.
Student Benefits
I have absolutely seen benefits with some of the techniques and tools that I have implemented this year. The students were always engaged when they were allowed to use the computer. They preferred writing responses on Edmodo rather than on paper and pencil. They were also engaged when they were able to listen to video lectures, rather than listening to me everyday. They also really enjoyed being able to replay the lectures if they missed any information. I can not wait for next year to really see how students benefit with blended learning when we start right from the beginning of the school year.