Course Reflection

Going into this course, I already knew about a lot of technology tools that can be used in the classroom. I had learned a lot from my personal teaching experiences and from previous courses. However, I learned about even more technology tools for education by completing assignments and by collaborating with my classmates throughout this course. For example, in one assignment we enhanced a lesson by integrating technology, and then we worked with each other to improve our lessons. The lesson that I modified was on the Fibonacci sequence. My classmate, Amanda Goguen, helped me make these modifications. In the improved lesson, the teacher would use an interactive whiteboard to provide students with a visual of the Fibonacci sequence in action, and the students would use Google Slides, Prezi, Powtoon, or any other approved technology tool to create a final presentation. Powtoon was new to me. I used it for the first time during this course. We did a lot of assignments like this, and we commented on each other’s work all the time, whether we posted it on Blackboard, on our own blogs, or on the class wiki. I took a lot from all of these learning experiences and from my classmates’ comments and suggestions.

For the most part, though, I learned about the role of the technology integrator. “Technology integrators need to focus on providing technology options for students and training for their colleagues” (SNHU, 2014). Technology integrators need to create technology plans, they need to budget for and purchase technology, and they need to provide professional development to administration, staff, and students, ensuring that everyone is meeting the ISTE Standards. “Maintaining a strong district technology plan along with a continuously evolving professional development plan will strengthen the integration of technology throughout a school” (SNHU, 2014). In this course, we researched the costs of educational technology, we constantly reviewed and referred to the ISTE Standards, and we even created a professional development plan.

Professional development is an extremely important part of the technology integrator's job. Many teachers know bits and pieces about integrating technology, but they have yet to put it all together. It is up to the technology integrator to train teachers on effective use of technology in the classroom. I’m going to refer back to my very first blog post here - When the same old methods are “used to train teachers in employing technology, the end result is often frustration, negative attitudes, and a sentiment of ‘this too shall pass’” (Meltzer, 2012, p. 3). Not all teachers have enough of a knowledge base to learn about technology the same way they’ve learned about other aspects of education. A new approach for professional development in technology is required to really help teachers. Sarah T. Meltzer’s book Professional Development in Technology provides just that – a new, step-by-step approach. - When I created this post, I was convinced that we had to change the way we train teachers in technology. However, I did not yet know what that would entail. We have since gone through Sarah Meltzer’s approach, step-by-step. We created a needs assessment survey in Google Forms, a pre-planning worksheet, an authorized use policy, a professional development plan, and a training schedule template. A technology integrator would have to go through the same process to truly prepare for and offer effective professional development on technology.

References

Meltzer, S. (2012). Professional Development in Technology. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.

SNHU. (2014). EDU 641 Module Ten Overview – Perfecting the Craft. Retrieved from https://bb.snhu.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-4766961-dt-content-rid-9925264_1/courses/EDU-641-15TW2-MASTER/EDU-641-14TW4-MASTER/edu_641_module10_overview.pdf