I am finding it hard to believe that CEP 810 is over. It has been 7 weeks of exploring, learning, and reflecting. I have loved every minute of it!
During week 1 I took the time to reflect on what learning and understanding are, for myself and for students. One of the main themes I examined were strategies that could be used to help facilitate learning in the classroom. At the time the strategies were limited to general ideas such as the use of formative assessment and building on student ideas. Now, seven short weeks later, I find my own ideas of strategies expanded to include TPACK. Learning about TPACK was one of the most thought provoking lessons I have experienced. I felt connected to the idea that we as educators can and should be repurposing technologies to facilitate not only learning but creativity in our students. One of my goals now is to not just introduce and use technology in my classroom but to embrace TPACK. This will be challenging however, I will continue researching and learning about TPACK as well as learning more in future CEP courses. I feel that most of my challenges will come from creating new ways to use existing technologies, however our work in week 5 has provided me with a solid foundation. There are a wealth of technologies that exist, again not all designed for education, that could be used and our exploration during week 5 gave me ideas that I am already using in my classroom (thank you Padlet!).
During my reflection in week 1 I also focused on the idea of novice and expert learners. It is my goal as an educator to facilitate learning in my classroom and help move my students from novices to experts. During the Networked Learning Project I had the opportunity to put myself into my own students’ shoes and see what it is like to be a novice. It was a great way to remind myself of the struggles that students face and how I can best assist them. The project also showed me the value in using the internet as a learning resource, this again connects back to TPACK! Youtube was not necessarily intended to be an educational technology, however there are so many videos that could be used not only to teach students but to support them in their learning.
So now, seven short weeks after we began I find myself moving more from novice technological educator toward expert. Through CEP 810 I have the foundation upon which I will build toward my goal of using technology as a tool to improve myself as an educator and to facilitate learning in my classroom. I have begun to collect the tools needed, and I feel my next steps are to begin creating and trying lessons that use TPACK as a framework. My journey has begun, let’s see how far I can go!
During week 1 I took the time to reflect on what learning and understanding are, for myself and for students. One of the main themes I examined were strategies that could be used to help facilitate learning in the classroom. At the time the strategies were limited to general ideas such as the use of formative assessment and building on student ideas. Now, seven short weeks later, I find my own ideas of strategies expanded to include TPACK. Learning about TPACK was one of the most thought provoking lessons I have experienced. I felt connected to the idea that we as educators can and should be repurposing technologies to facilitate not only learning but creativity in our students. One of my goals now is to not just introduce and use technology in my classroom but to embrace TPACK. This will be challenging however, I will continue researching and learning about TPACK as well as learning more in future CEP courses. I feel that most of my challenges will come from creating new ways to use existing technologies, however our work in week 5 has provided me with a solid foundation. There are a wealth of technologies that exist, again not all designed for education, that could be used and our exploration during week 5 gave me ideas that I am already using in my classroom (thank you Padlet!).
During my reflection in week 1 I also focused on the idea of novice and expert learners. It is my goal as an educator to facilitate learning in my classroom and help move my students from novices to experts. During the Networked Learning Project I had the opportunity to put myself into my own students’ shoes and see what it is like to be a novice. It was a great way to remind myself of the struggles that students face and how I can best assist them. The project also showed me the value in using the internet as a learning resource, this again connects back to TPACK! Youtube was not necessarily intended to be an educational technology, however there are so many videos that could be used not only to teach students but to support them in their learning.
So now, seven short weeks after we began I find myself moving more from novice technological educator toward expert. Through CEP 810 I have the foundation upon which I will build toward my goal of using technology as a tool to improve myself as an educator and to facilitate learning in my classroom. I have begun to collect the tools needed, and I feel my next steps are to begin creating and trying lessons that use TPACK as a framework. My journey has begun, let’s see how far I can go!