“Critical reflection is an
important part of any learning process.
Without reflection, learning becomes only an activity-like viewing a
reality TV show-which was never meant to have meaning, but was only meant to occupy
time.” (Gerstein, 2011) This course made
us take time to critically reflect. We
had to process how our peers viewed our personality and work ethic, along with
how we viewed ourselves. We also had an
entire week to reflect on the previous four weeks’ work to determine the impact
it will have on our students and ourselves.
I feel that all the readings and assignments have solidified my current
beliefs and teachings. I also learned
that “ having a strong authentic personal brand is an important asset in
today’s online, virtual, and individual age.” (Goldsmith, 2007) I enjoyed creating a personal logo and working on a group website with my
peers, each assignment gave us an opportunity to explore and create.
As a life-long learner, I am
trying to improve on my study habits.
During the summer I have tended to let my life take control and put
school on the backburner. I have spent
countless, late nights reading and watching YouTube videos to complete the
assignments. As the new school year
approaches, I must get back into my old routine and put school first. (at least
some nights) I feel that my performance
on the assignments has been mediocre to good.
I would love to give more time and energy to the assignments, but
sometimes a week is just not enough time.
I feel like I have to sacrifice family time in order to complete the
tasks. The greatest learning and
interaction with peers has been through our Facebook page. I feel people post on the discussion board
because it is required and do not always give their true opinion. Our Facebook page allows us to communicate
and collaborate because we choose to, not because it is required in an
assignment.
“Today’s K-12
students are very different from even their recently graduated peers. Theses students are digital natives, a term
attributed to futurist Marc Prensky to distinguish between those who have grown
up with technology and those who have adapted to it. They live in a world in which digital
technology is part of the texture of their daily lives. They have never known a world without
technology. Technology is their daily
lives. Technology is their- native
language and they expect to use technology in school.” (Understanding
Multimedia, 2008) My goal in this entire process is to become a digital
native. I plan on using the skills
learned to help students reach their goals and share with fellow teachers
different ways to reach our students.
One great way is to allow students to explore and create through a class
website. For elementary and middle
school grades, a class could have a page for every subject. Students could be split into groups and be
responsible for posting content and projects relating to their subject. This would be a great way for students to
practice using technology, digital citizenship and it would also help with
parent and community communication.
References
Gerstein,
Jackie. (August 2011). Where is
reflection in the learning process? Retrieved from http://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2011/08/16/where-is-reflection-in-the-learning-process/
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Goldsmith,
M. (August 2007). Authentic personal branding. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/sep2009/ca20090929_228578.htm
Understanding Multimedia Learning: Integrating
Multimedia in the K-12 Classroom. (2008, September). Retrieved from http://www.brainpop.com/new_common_images/files/76/76426_BrainPOP_White_Paper-20090426.pdf
