Wayne Wollaston
11/7/2010
Technology Integration
As a teacher of the future generation I can visualize a school where students make available learning content for their peers. I would take pleasure in being a part of a school learning process reversal, where the homework is watching a video lesson on a topic (produced by another student) and the class work is where the student applies the learning content under the supervision of the teacher. In this situation, students are content creators and contributors to the learning process, taking ownership of their learning while providing learning tools for others and participating in a joint learning process. This would have to be a place where teachers are not the only ones who have access to computers and technology and where teachers are not only the dispensers of knowledge, but rather they are guides, and facilitators of the learning process. Technology is in the hands of students with access to Web 2.0 tools and they have the background training to use it wisely and safely .Some apparatus that make this type of situation possible are laptops, digital cameras, camcorders, webcams, iPods, and microphones along with students who are exposed to all these resources at a young age. Students and teachers need to create blogs, wikis, mind mapping resources and online storage to keep and gain instant access to their information. This will also help students to easily carry their work from one grade level to another.
My own level of technology integration could be considered as being Adoption. As the teacher, I am currently directing students in my classes in the conventional use of tool-based software. Many of my students have begun to utilize technology tools to create products, for example using a word processor to create an essay, a report or even a brochure on a given topic. I have also tried to introduce students to story boarding and placing them in groups to create a Power Point presentation. The problem I have had is that not all my students have been exposed to the use of technology at school or they do not have computers at home. However, this year I have my students working with more brain storming and graphic organizers so as to build their organization skills. This is with the hope that once they can quickly put their thoughts together, we will be able to use some class time to teach how to use the technology and then use this knowledge to create a product based on real world problems and solutions. It is unfortunate that at the present time most of my students do not have the opportunity to use the technology to monitor, evaluate, or even monitor their progress. That is the down side of a highly unstable population of students.
My goals for future growth are to continue to bring to my students ways to introduce them to twenty first technologies. It is my hope that with the help of other like minded teachers at school, we can get the Mac lab at school which has been closed for the past two years reopen. It is my future goal to have all student in my middle school exposed to technology by the end of their eighth grade year. For me personally, is to continue develop my ability to become proficient in the use of the computer with additional training and staff developments.
