Final Reflection of EDU 776

Welcome back!

WOW! This school year is flying by. I cannot believe it is already mid October. This is week eight and my final week in EDU 776. This course has provided me with so many resources and technology experience. As I mentioned in previous blog posts, I am a Gen Z with that being said I am highly involved in technology. The school I teach at gives every student access to a Chromebook. In 3rd grade, students learn and complete most assignments online in Google Classroom. It's important for this age group to be tech savvy because this is the first year they take IAR.

Technology in Education

Technology is an important part of education in this day and age. Technology provides a lot of supports in the classroom for ALL students. Having access to technology easily provides students with differentiation in instruction. This helps with overall learning as it provides for different learning styles as well. Technology also increases student engagement and collaboration, this creates active learning! Active learning is a broad term and has many different methods that can promote a deeper understanding of content. Overall, active learning is a method used in the classroom to engage students by using discussions, problem-solving, case studies, role play, and other strategies. This YouTube video explains the differences between active and passive learning. Active learning can be reached by implementing technology in a classroom. Also, technology prepares children for the future. Technology continues to grow and advance. These students and their generation will eventually know the most about tech trends. 

Additional

I love technology and using it in my classroom! One way I use technology to connect with my students is by using a Morning Check In EVERYDAY! This is my students first step of their morning routine. Using a Google Forms allows me to easily make a spreadsheet to quickly view what each student said. Last year, I tried using magnets for students to place it in the color of basket they were feeling. As the day went on I would forget to check these magnets. This morning check in didn't let me know why my students were feeling that way. So it would take more time in the morning to get a response to everyone. Technology allows for better time management! 

Take Aways from EDU 776

At the beginning of this course I shared the gif below. This gif is still accurate eight weeks later. I came into this course overwhelmed but with a positive mindset as a first-year teacher. Although the year is getting more smooth with student behaviors and routines, I still try to take it one day at a time. I generally can work myself up by looking too far ahead. With that being said, I'm glad I'll have a week off from courses so I can focus on my evaluation next week!

Photo Source: GIPHY

A few of my favorite assignments in course EDU 776 were the PLN, Digital Tattoos, Educational Technology Research, and the Wakelet collections.  The PLN allowed me to create a Twitter account for educational purposes. I enjoyed following several accounts that were meaningful for my career. Now that I have this account, I will continue using it and find more accounts to follow. This professional account allows me to see all the resources shared by fellow educators. I also loved participating in a Twitter chat. This chat let me connect with other teachers and share ideas together. The next assignment I favored was on digital tattoos. I had never heard of this term before, but I believe it is a better updated term than digital footprints. I think it shares a different perspective that is more meaningful for students and even adults to understand. It's important to teach children at a young age to think before they post because those posts could always be out there. The third assignment I enjoyed learning about was the Educational Technology research. During this assignment, I learned more about the Alpha Generation. The infographics were extremely great resources to visualize the differences between the generations. Lastly, I loved making Wakelet collections. I had never heard of this website until this course. Although the free version only allows you to make four collections, there are many great resources already made on this website. During these Wakelet assignments, I used various topics I teach my third graders. One of my favorites I made was for the multiplication unit. I will be using this Wakelet with my students in the upcoming weeks. This will allow my students to view songs, websites, and different materials. I am so happy that I can have all of these resources in one place. Having this Wakelet will let my students easily explore the materials and help guide learning. 

Overall, I enjoyed being in this course and getting to share my resources, ideas, and opinions. I also loved getting to see different perspectives from my classmates. I believe this online course allowed me to get to know my classmates on a more personal level than any of my other classes taken even in person! I believe communication allows for better elaboration and collaboration for teachers. When educators have time to share ideas they can generate so many more! It was so nice getting to know everyone in EDU 776.