Final Reflection

As a result of my learning in this course, I have developed an even more eclectic theory of learning than previously. I believe that behaviorism can be very helpful in managing behaviors in the classroom, especially in respect to positive behavior supports. But, I believe that behaviorism is not a strong enough theory to explain learning in general. Students must be actively engaged in their learning, and make their own meaning from the world around them, including their peers. Students do not learn in isolation, they need language, adults, and their peers to help them taking events in their lives, reflect upon and make meaning from them. Social interaction is key, along with being actively engaged in learning, for students to be able to make the most connections to their prior knowledge, and therefore make the most meaning for themselves. It is the job of teachers to provide opportunities for students to be actively engaged in their leaning, including making products to showcase their learning. Teachers need to focus their attention of what the students can do, not on what the teacher can do to present information. Students are not simply sponges to absorb information, they must take information and apply it to their own lives so that it makes sense to them, and is generalizable to other aspects of their lives and knowledge. Learning is useless if it is not applied in some way to the real lives of students.
As a result of this course, I am more committed to using social media to expand the communication and learning of my students. I am committed to using Edmodo to help my students share their learning with others, and modify their work based upon feedback they receive from others. These skills are very important, and will help my students to be highly engaged, active members of the classroom, and community. While my teaching practices will stay largely the same, my experience with technology in this course has helped me to think of new ways to incorporate technology in projects for my students which will better help them learn real-world skills along with the assigned curriculum. Edmodo will be a very helpful tool for my students because it will allow them to learn how to post work, and give and receive feedback. Another tool I plan on implementing in my classroom is Voice Thread. This tool, like Edmodo, will help my students make their work available for others to view and comment upon, but it is able to reach a wider range of groups. Edmodo is limited to only those within the group to which the student is assigned, but through Voice Thread, the students can share their work with family and friends outside the immediate school community. This broadens the group from which the students can interact and learn, thus broadening the knowledge base available to the students.
My long term goals are to incorporate the use of Voice Thread and Edmodo into my classroom throughout the school year, and across the curriculum. I will begin by teaching my students basic computer skills such as logging into the computer, and how to access and navigate around a webpage. From there I will teach my students how to use Edmodo to access new projects and information to complete individual and group projects to share with others within the group. The students can then learn how to give constructive feedback to others, and receive feedback in order to edit and revise their work. These skills will help them all year long to create projects to share with others.
By the end of the school year, my goal is for my students to be able to access and use both Edmodo and Voice Thread on a regular basis to create products to showcase their learning. These skills will help my students to be actively engaged in their learning, and share their learning with others, which is an important 21st century skill.

Resources

Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved

from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom

instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Social Learning Theory and Technology

Vygotsky taught us that learning occurs through social interaction (Orey, 2001). I agree with this idea. From the time babies are born, they begin to learn language from the people around them. They listen and make connections between objects or people and their names, then slowly learn more abstract concepts which are represented by words. As children grow older, they learn by using language, asking and answering questions of those around them, and slowly gain an understanding of their world. Children do learn directly from the environment. For example, a child will learn that when a burner is red, it is hot, but it is through reflection upon what happened, which is dependent upon the use of language, that this same child will learn how to make their finger not burn, and why they should not touch the red burner, beyond the idea that it hurts. All abstract, or deep thought, is dependent upon language, and the reflection of things that happen. Language is dependent upon social interaction. By interacting with people in the immediate environment, we all learn concepts we might not be able to without the social interaction (Orey, 2001).

That being the case, technology provides us with valuable social and communication tools which expand our learning capabilities exponentially. Through social media such as Edmodo, or Voice Thread, students and adults are able to post ideas, thoughts, or questions, and receive comments and suggestions from people outside the physical environment of the classroom, or even the state in which the child is living. By being able to communicate with people around the world, children can now learn how the destruction of rain forests effect the lives of people who live in these remote locations, as well as the businesses who profit, or learn from zoologists around the world regarding how this issue effects plant and animal life around the world. The possibilities for learning are limitless today, due to technology which allows people around the world to communicate and socialize on an almost-immediate time frame.

For classroom use, social media allows students to communicate about projects, not only with people outside their classroom environment, but they are better able to coordinate projects with their peers as well. Students can make changes and post suggestions at any time, which allows them the flexibility to work on projects when they are interested, and motivated to do so.

I am even more dedicated than I was prior to reading the resources this week regarding social learning, to better incorporate social learning into my classroom. My students are capable to posting work, and receiving comments, and then possibly revising work based upon feedback they receive. I think a good goal for me to have in my classroom would be that my students be able to post a piece of work and revise it based upon feedback their receive to make their work better. Technology has given me the tools to meet this goal, I just have to figure out how I will use them to best reach my students and help them succeed.

Resources

Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved

from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom

instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

VoiceThread

Here is a link to the very first Voice Thread I made! I realized that the teachers in my school have a difficult time initially incorporating technology into their classrooms. I think that the answer to this problem is starting small, and enjoying the process.

The Link: http://voicethread.com/share/3153012/