Wow, I have been so busy that I haven’t had time to post for a while. I have almost finished my Weebly website for assignment 1 (will post a link to it soon), and thought that this was a good opportunity to look back over module 1, before moving on, to module 2.
I have learnt so much in the last few weeks, and feel that I have well and truly commenced filling my toolbelt. That’s right, as part of this module I was introduced to toolbelt theory. I now have numerous online tools I can add to my toolbelt. Some of which are: Voki, Prezi and flipsnack (a flip book tool). I can see how I could use all of these in my future teaching career to engage learners.
I have always considered myself to be quite technologically savvy…not an expert by any means, but confident and competent enough to get by. Well am I glad! I hope that those who are not so comfortable with them are doing OK 🙂 Now, after being introduced to SAMR and TPACK, I feel I am better positioned to take these skills I have, and authentically integrate ICTs into my classroom.
Postman’s 5 Things We Need to Know About Technology Change struck a chord with me, regarding how we must consider all perspectives when integrating technology into the learning experiences of our students. In a recent blog post, The Word Today and Technology, Miss Red examined how technology can advantage and disadvantage at the same time. She specifically discussed the pros and cons of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. In the end, she concluded that no matter what the pros and cons it is up to the individual and those who influence them (friends/family/school) to determine how they use/react to such things. This is to me, exactly what we, as educators, need to be doing for 21st Century learners. We need to be facilitating their digital literacy skills, so they too can become confident and competent citizens of tomorrow.
Mrs D's ICT investigations... 