Reflection

It is hard to say that my beliefs have been modified in this class because to me they have either been validated or reawakened. The work of Skinner, Piaget and Garner are not new to any educators that have their undergraduate degrees in the last 20 years, but they are definitely ideas that, with expanding studies, add to our understanding of how to educate children. Allowing students to control their learning by experience has been a pillar of my learning theory since I first entered education, but it is also a theory that is very difficult to practice one hundred percent of the time in my classroom. Technological limitations, time restraints, testing requirements, etc. bog down my ability to do what I know benefits students the most. Knowing that increasing studies are lending further support for this practice rejuvenated my sense of purpose in students centered classrooms.
Voice thread and smart board interaction amongst students are the two tools that have enhanced my ability to use technology in the classroom. Allowing the creation of voice threads, combined with blogs afterwards, is a terrific way to create a sense of student centered learning. Allowing students to demonstrate those voice threads and allow their classmates to interact with them on a communal smartboard is yet another tool that will enhance my students learning.
When I look to the future I am always perplexed, because it is ever changing. I know the technological problems and advantages I had when I first entered education have drastically changed and will continue to change. They change with legislation, the economy, and the abundance of technology. I am supposed to make two long term goals for the future here, but I think my goals keep evolving with every course I take from Walden. The constant long term goals I have created from this, and all my courses thus far, are to be adaptable in and out of the classroom and to always ensure my students get the very best education I can give them. That education is one with student centered learning and as much technology as I can expose them to without it being instructional.

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

Every year I involve cooperative learning in my classroom because it works. Every year I have students that I have never had asking if they get to do what last year’s class did. My use of cooperative learning comes from a learning contract which allows students to form groups or work individually and present their allotted number of assignments together or alone. Every assignment has its own personal rubric for each individual student to insure they are doing just as much work as their peers working alone, but I have noticed in every class that I have ever taught using this project that students would rather learn together and learn from each other than not. The assignments are varied, but their enthusiasm to work together is not. I know that we were supposed to use a virtual example of classrooms using social learning theory strategies, but I have seen firsthand, through my assignments popularity, that students do indeed enjoy learning socially whether in a group, through technology, or an expert they choose.