As each week passed I learned more and more, practiced, played in the sandbox and now that it is all over I can definitely say I walked away as an expert in at least a few web tools, which is way more than I could have said when I began. It was a long, eventful and productive couple weeks. Many times I thought this is so hard, this is nearly impossible, but when i sat there and did it my mind changed. I had a great professor; patient, understanding and encouraging. She helped me whenever I needed and many times sat there walking me through lessons on her own time.
This course has changed my outlook on technology. At first, I never used it much at all, only to type out papers. I resorted to note taking with pens and paper. I had no idea how important is was for teachers to be digitally savvy as it enhances the learning abilities in a classroom. Growing up we hardly used technology, we went to the computer lab once a week, so my mentality was stuck in the past and I figured I didn't need to know how to navigate through the web or how to incorporate it into my classroom. Boy was I wrong... Technology is increasing drastically and it is crucial that teachers and students keep up! Technology is not everything but it is a huge part of our lives and not knowing basic technological aspects is a pretty big setback.
In this course we looked and explored many, many web tools. These web tools make teaching so much more easier and time-efficient. Not to mention, fun, enjoyable and simple to understand. We explored tools like Bitstrips for schools, Animoto, Lino-it, Mindomo, Cacoo and the list goes on. These web tools allow teachers and students to have an active learning atmosphere. Most of the tools require students to work together which is such an important skill to have. Team work is beneficial for reasons such as: brainstorming together enhances learning skills, students learn a lot from one another because they all have different experiences and perspectives, a lot of information is retained through discussion and visuals, and so on. Using technology and web tools encourages collaboration, interactive behavior, higher levels of education are met, differentiation between learning styles are explored and observed, alternative learning environments and needs of all students are met, extended learning as work can be assigned and regulated outside of the classroom (in tools such as cacoo or google docs where students work together online even if they are in different locations) and lifelong learning skills are exercised! Students build on their problem solving skills and independent learning abilities. They learn lifelong skills that they can apply to the real world. If more parents and teachers were aware of the benefits of digital learning they would want in incorporated within each and every classroom.
One main reason many people are against the use of technology in classrooms is for the safety and privacy reasons. After taking this course I have learned that most of these tools are safe and classroom friendly. Teachers really understand and analyze tools before presenting them to the class, they choose safer ways of incorporation. For instance, the use of avatars. Avatars in voki or Bitstrips allow students to not only exercise their creativity skills but to have a digital representation of themselves without actually using real pictures, names or voices. They can be anyone or anything they like. & are able to post their avatars anywhere online as themselves; like I posted my avatar on this blog instead of a real picture of myself. Mediasmarts is a really useful site for teachers and parents to read more about online safety for their students or children.
I highly suggest that all teachers take a course like the one I did or at least familiarize themselves with a few, key web tools which they could choose from this blog site itself. I am proud of my accomplishments over the past couple months because I know myself and I have come a pretty long way. Couple months ago I had never pictured myself ever blogging or even knowing how to...& today, I have my very own blog site and it's pretty impressive!
I can finally say I am a digital learner and I have my very own Digital Self Portrait! & I cannot wait to start my teaching career and incorporate all these new tools within my classroom. With that being said, I know I still have a lot more to learn and will continue to keep my DSP updated but it's a start.
Here is an interesting read about 20 digital skills every teacher today should have. I know I had none of them before my digital journey. Check it out here and if your answer is no, then maybe you should join me on my learning experiences.
I found my Inner Blog...Have you?
