Summary of Learning

What tool I use to create my artifact and why?

                I used SlateBox, a concept mapping cool tool that I reviewed previously. I chose it because it is user friendly and helps me to organize my thoughts.

What was my largest take away from the class?

                My largest take away was the understanding of how it applied to my situation. During many of the classes and assignments I had a hard time seeing how I could possible use this technology and methods in my classroom with the constraints of working in a JCF. Over time, the (now obvious) realization started to dawn on me. I am not the only teacher with restrictions. Where I have kids with some of the most difficult behavior issues, other teachers must turn out the cushions for money for pencils in their classroom. Where I have to deal with students yelling at me other teachers have to deal with parents yelling at them. To be an effective teacher you have to view these restrictions as challenges to be won rather than walls that you must work within.

To do this, we must rely on our colleagues in the school and outside of the school in our PLN’s. Having the PLN class early on was a good move. It allowed for a semester of development that I can look back on now and see just how much of a necessary tool it will be in my teaching career. Using our PLN’s, we can bounce ideas off each other and better hone our skills. This serves to keep us sharp as teachers and creates better learning environments with engaged students.

How do I plan to integrate educational technologies into my future classroom?

                I am going for my intervention specialist degree, so my future classroom will be a specialized learning environment that uses a lot of physical models and things that are visually stimulating. I like concept mapping tools like SlateBox and Coggle, both of which I wrote blog posts on. I think some fun lessons can be made around those programs. I will use a smartboard for geography. Using Google maps and other interactive programs to help stimulate and engage my harder to reach students.

                Not necessarily an educational technology, but one thing that we talked about in class that I look forward to incorporating is a flexible learning environment. As an aspiring SPED teacher, tailoring the learning space as much as possible to the student is essential. In the video “Not Old School: Architecture in Support of Learning,” schools in Concord, NH remodeled their building to better facilitate learning for different types of learners. Not only did it seem effective, it seemed like a pleasant place to be for both the student and educator. I am happy to say that my school has been making similar efforts lately. They have made efforts to make the highly institutional looking school into more of a traditional school setting that the students would see out in normal public schools. However, I want to use elements like specifically constructed learning centers around the classroom to help facilitate learning. Things like a fraction table that is able to be written on like a dry erase board and large cutouts that can help students to visualize fractions. I look forward to using the knowledge I gained from this class in my classroom.

The following is the link to the artifact:

https://slatebox.com/canvas/f617b96c