Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Meaningful Learning & Reflections

Like so many fellow students I know, test taking is not always my forte in my classes. The idea of grading solely on a test score is frightening and can be quite overwhelming to some. Thankfully, many instructors are incorporating new ways to assess student's knowledge and understanding of concepts discussed. I found the idea of a remote response system to be fascinating. I think it wise for instructors to include the entire class, rather than one student at a time. How often do we secretly pray the instructor doesn't call on us because we are entirely clueless? With resources like Quizdom or AClicks, the student does not need to feel embarrassed or anxious, and the teacher will be able to see what concepts need more explaining. This allows for individuals to see what needs further work on their parts as well. I like that instructors may tailor their lesson plans to the student's needs. Another assessment I found clever was the Inspiration/Kidspiration tools. I was unaware of these options to allow students to visually explore and understand numerous concepts such as math, reading and writing, science, and social studies. After exploring Kidspiration in particular, I found that integrating such technology into young students' education would be very beneficial. This would allow students to feel comfortable with technology at a young age as well as grasp concepts and ideas more rapidly. Kidspiration uses easy to navigate icons with a talking interface. The options are limitless! There are over 3,000 symbols for students to use in their exploring. Another function I found useful is where the visual thoughts are pulled into a writing view for the pupil's further explanation and writing creativity.

Reflecting over this course, I would be lying if I said I didn't learn anything new. There were few things I did feel entirely comfortable with. I feel like the ePortfolio alone was the biggest challenge, as this was something I had never heard of, or explored. My first posting was nerve racking. I felt like I was running in the dark with this project, it was new, different, and I can't say I enjoyed it. However, over the last few weeks, my comfort level has grown. My eyes have been opened to a number of up and coming technological advancements that allows for instructors and students to understand at a new level. Some of my favorite advancements include Voice Threads, Blogger, Social Bookmarking, and Unite Streaming, all of which I plan on incorporating into my future coursework and classrooms.

No comments:

Post a Comment