In the original development of my theory, constructivism and the multiple intelligence theories were my primary focus. I had a strong belief in these two theories as being the most successful to aid in student learning. Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences theory gears "curricula and instructional approaches to individual intelligences and their (student) dominant ways of knowing, for the successful pursuit of knowledge" (Lever-Duffy, J., & McDonald, J.) Whereas, the constructivist theory focuses on experience, the act of doing also or a trial by error approach to learning (Lever-Duffy, J., & McDonald, J.). I still believe these two theories are very important to student learning. However, I understand that there are other theories that are just as important and work wonders when used with various educational technologies.
Based on the information from this course, I will be making some adjustments to the integration of technology within my classroom. I plan on adding tools like virtual field trips and concepts maps to my instruction. These tools will be used as both learning and instructional tools. Concept maps are great cognitive tools because they will cause students to think about the information instead of just recalling it. (Orey, 2001a) I have expanded my knowledge of the constructivist and constructionist theories and how I can integrate technologies with these theories as well. Constructionism will be a great learning theory to apply as well, project based assignments will be very beneficial and useful with this specific theory. Since constructionism focuses on building knowledge through experience and creation of something to then share with others it will be beneficial for students to collaborate and work together on various projects. (Orey, 2001b)
I have also developed two long term goals regarding technology integration within my instruction. The first goal that I would like to set is to continue exploring and learning about new technologies. Throughout my master's courses at Walden, I have learned about many new technologies and ways of using these technologies in the classroom. I did not know many of these technologies existed and definitely did not know how to use and incorporate them within my classroom prior to my courses. Therefore, I want to ensure that I am continuously learning about new technologies even after I have completed my graduate program. I have learned about the technologies out there today, but, I know that they will keep changing and becoming more advanced. Exploring blogs and the internet will help me stay current on new technologies and their usage. New technologies will continue to emerge and there will be new ways that educators can incorporate those within the classroom.
The second goal that I have is to improve upon my
integration of educational technologies. There a several learning theories that
can be used within the classroom to benefit student learning. These theories
are even more successful when integrated with different technologies. I want to
integrate more technologies into my everyday lessons. Technologies like the
VoiceThread, podcast, wikis, blogs, can all be integrated into the classroom to
aid student learning and experiences. This course and ones prior to it have
exposed me to the possibilities of technology integration. Therefore, a long
term goal to integrate new technologies will be beneficial, not only for
myself, but also for my students and their learning. I plan of integrating at least
one new technology every year in my classroom. Integrating new educational technologies
will have an impact on my students learning and their experience within my classroom.
Technology has become very important to the 21st century learner and I need to give
my students the opportunity to have experiences using different types of technology.
References
Lever-Duffy,
J., & McDonald, J. (2008). Theoretical foundations (Laureate
Education, Inc., custom ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Orey,
M. (Ed.). (2001a). Emerging perspectives
on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from
http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Cognitive_Tools
Orey,
M. (Ed.). (2001b). Emerging perspectives
on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from
http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Constructionism,_Learning_by_Design,_and_Project_Based_Learning
