CEP 811 Reflections

This has been another WOW class! Not only am I amazed at all the things we covered, but how valuable each project was for my own growth as a teacher. I am very pleased with the outcome of my projects. Knowing that I could use them in my classroom, really made me want to get it perfect for my audience. That is something I am pleased about in this program at MSU. Projects completed during a course don't go untouched in your computer forever and ever. Because there is so much choice in how you do each project, each one is ready to implement into the classroom upon its completion. 


Although it has always been important for teachers to have the desire to learn teaching strategies that result in significant gains in student achievement and then find ways to implement those strategies into each lesson, it is important now, more than ever for teachers to take a look at how effective their teaching practices are. The nation is moving towards holding teachers, schools, and districts more accountable for student achievement and they are pushing to eliminate ineffective teachers, no matter how much seniority they have. We are seeing this at my school right now. Because we don't have a union, our teachers never have tenure and they can find themselves without a job if they are not being an effective educator. The biggest lesson I gained from this class about effective teaching strategies when integrating technology, was to remember to mix in as many strategies as possible throughout the lesson to ensure that the needs of as many different types of learners are addressed. It is also important to design a lesson with a purpose and goal in mind. Backwards lesson designing was not new to me but I did realize that it was something I had fallen away from as I scurried to find material to teach with. My lessons were focused more on covering material that was required by the Michigan GLCE's without a whole lot of other direction. This topic was a great eye opener!


There are so many different types of Web 2.0 applications now, it was overwhelming to me to try to figure out which ones were worth my energy to learn. I also had no idea how I would implement them into my classroom, even if I did have the technology available to me, which I don't. The Michigan Guide to Online Learning was helpful in helping me to focus on a smaller portion of applications and how I could use them in the classroom. The other readings went over things to look for with various applications. 


As far as finding ways to integrate the numerous technologies on the market, I think I've come to the conclusion that I should experiment with only a few at a time that I am most comfortable in and see how effective they are. If they work well, share them with the rest of my staff members. I am actually more comfortable in finding new ways in which we can utilize the things we've had the longest, like PowerPoint. I like how our StAIR projects could be used individually by students or in a large group setting if a digital projector and one computer was the only technology you had. Many times I think it is more difficult to think of ways to utilize technology effectively when you don't have much over those who have so much available they're always trying something new. It has been helpful to have a number of class members, along with the instructor, who are in schools like mine having very little technology. In CEP 810 it seemed like everyone had technology fully implemented in their schools and were always sharing how to do lots of new things. I could not relate as I didn't have any of their favorite tools available to me.


Nothing in this class required the teacher to have anything more than a computer, Internet hook-up, and a few common programs. With those few things, I am finding many different ways to use basic technology tools within my classroom. Great job MSU for putting together such a great program!


As far as new goals, I will continue on with CEP 812 and learn more information on technology and it's use in the classroom. With each new class, I am getting more and more confident in my abilities and how to find solutions to technical problems if they develop. This is of course my primary goal. It really doesn't help to learn new applications if you aren't confident enough to use what you learned or to try some new idea someone shared with you. I am excited with what I've learned through CEP 810 and  811 and am hoping to share some of the easier things I've learned with my colleagues by perhaps leading a professional development workshop.