Digital Blog Post #C

The first concept that I want to focus on is the four learning theories. These theories consist of Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism, and Constructionism. I believe these four theories are vital and can be impacted by technology to effectively help students in grasping ideas and concepts. Educators tend to use one or more of these theories when teaching their students. According to the textbook, “Behaviorism maintains that learning is a set of changes in human behavior created as a response to events in the environment. Cognitivism holds that learning is influences by nonobservable and internal constructs, such as memory, motivation, perception, attention, and metacognitive skills. Constructivism claims that every person interprets and constructs the world in his or her own way. Constructionism is a term that emphasizes the idea that learners build their own knowledge and adds the idea that those knowledge structures are public entities” (Maloy, 2013). I believe that as educators, we must be aware that students have different learning styles and implementing these different theories with the use of technology will help in the learning setting. I know this because I see how students learn in different ways, some learn by creating things themselves or changing them, whereas others learn by memorizing/imitating or sharing their knowledge with others. I remember many times having to combine these learning styles within a lesson because after getting to know my students, I knew which ones would understand with which style better.

The second concept that stood out to me is the Instructional Methods to Engage Students. These methods are one-on-one tutoring, learning groups, inquiry learning, metacognitive thinking (Maloy, 2013). One-on-one tutoring is teaching students directly and individually to a students’ needs and knowledge. I am very familiar with this because I would tutor students who did not understand concepts and who just needed a little more time individually. The second method learning groups is when students work in groups to solve problems and performances. When I was in school, working in groups was something I always enjoyed because it helped me listen to my peers and think outside the box together. The third method inquiry learning engages students in projects where they need to investigate, collect data, come up with conclusions, and present their findings in oral or written formats. I personally love seeing this method in action, I believe it surprises students with their predictions or conclusions from when they begin a project to the end results. The last method is metacognitive thinking which helps students examine/questions their own work and improve/correct their performances using skills taught to them. This is a great method to help students think critically and to always double-check their work before finalizing anything.

The last concept that caught my attention is the Role of Feedback. Feedback is another term for communication between a students and teachers (Maloy, 2013). Feedback is one of the instructional practices that has been found to promote increased success for students (Maloy, 2013). Feedback encourages learning from successes and mistakes, it gives students positive direction or when they are going off track. We can actually see this feedback in many of our digital devices, whether they are activities or just computer apps. I absolutely believe that feedback is important for students to hear! While growing up, learning never came easy for me. Many of my teachers knew how much I had to push myself to properly understand a concept, feedback from my teachers is what motivated me to continue on and always do my best. Their feedback meant they cared enough to see me succeed, which in turn helped me prove that I can! :)

In conclusion, educators need to be aware of the different learning theories and methods. Every child is special and unique, and may not all learn that same way. I want to always be aware of the different teaching styles/methods which will help me impact the lives of students and how they express themselves. Using technology to help students grow and be creative in what they love, will help the students continually push forward in learning. Feedback will always be a motivating factor in every students’ life. 

Resources:

Kobenko, K (2015, September 18). Four Learning Theories. Created with Prezi https://prezi.com/kc-d_enhk_pu/the-four-learning-theories/

Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Digital Blog Post #B

The first concept I wanted to focus on is the barriers to using technology in the classrooms. I noticed there are many barriers that limit the use of technology with the classrooms such as: lack of access, teaching schedules, curriculum requirements, technology skills, organizational support, and personal attitudes (Maloy, et al., 2013, p. 30-32). Two barriers that really stood out to me and have a major impact today are technology skills and personal attitudes. A teacher’s familiarity with technology and the attitude she displays toward it plays a huge role in a classroom setting. We can see that when a teacher has a negative attitude about using technology in the classroom, it often is due to lack of knowledge of technology and how beneficial/effective it can be in learning. I believe that once that negative attitude is overcome, the learning process of technology will be fun and exciting.

The second concept that caught my attention is how technology enhances teaching/learning. According to the textbook, computers and other digital tools enhance two central aspects of the work of a teacher which are instructional practices and administrative/professional activities (Maloy, et al., 2013, p. 29-30). Instructional practices are methods of teaching during which the teacher is interacting directly with students and administrative/professional activities consist of planning, organizing, recordkeeping activities teachers need to perform to support direct instruction of students. As we can see, both aspects can be used technologically and work hand in hand in the effectiveness of teaching/learning. We as teachers need to push forward and adapt to new technologies as well as continue to incorporate them into our classroom setting.

The third concept that I wanted to focus on is the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) which is a broad vision of schooling that features technology-supported learning environments for every student (Maloy, et al., 2013, p. 37). NETS has a core belief that technology makes new learning experiences exciting and that the role of schools is to prepare students through academic content, encourage innovative and creative thinking, and prepare students for digital world.More information and activities can be found in the article The NETS project. I believe these standards help teachers and students think outside of the box and learn the necessary technological skills necessary for the digital world. 

Resources:

Education World: Technology. (n.d.). Retrieved January 18, 2017, from http://www.educationworld.com/standards/national/technology/

Kobenko, K (2017, January 18). Technology in the Class. Created with ToonDoo www.ToonDoo.com

Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Digital Blog Post #A

The first concept I want to focus on is technology-based learning environment. What caught my attention with this concept is that it opens a door to many new opportunities and possibilities for students to learn outside of the classroom setting. Students today are so deeply involved in technology, that it has become a part of their daily lives. As educators, we must find ways to help them continue learning through the technology that they love. According to the textbook, in a technology-based learning environment teachers can post notes, discussion questions, extra readings, and assignments that students can access and work on the site from home (Maloy et al., 2013). I believe this encourages students to do the required schoolwork from home while staying in contact with the teacher as well as the class. It makes the learning experience interesting. The article, Using Technology to Create Student-Centered LearningEnvironment, provides more information on the importance of a technology-based learning environment.

The second concept that interested me was TPACK also known as Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge. “TPACK refers to how teachers bring together three different forms of knowledge to produce exciting learning experiences for students” (Maloy et al., 2013). TPACK consist of three forms of knowledge which is content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and technological knowledge. To be successful all three of these components need to be combined. Teachers must be knowledgeable about this concept because it is important for students to learn effectively and not just focus on one component.  This is very important because I believe that to teach a student effectively, you must know and implement different learning styles. Many times, it is not enough to just focus on content and pedagogical knowledge, technological knowledge is very necessary in today’s educational system. 

The third concept that caught my attention was on digital identity. Digital identity refers to your technology talents, your knowledge instructionally and professionally with computers and other technologies (Maloy et al., 2013). I believe that as advance as technology is today, teachers need to build their digital identities and begin to understand who they are as educators. Having a digital identity will help teachers expand their knowledge of technology and become accomplished in their abilities as teachers. They will continue to learn every day what technology has to offer and become more confident. 

In conclusion, there is so much for us learn and accomplish to become a 21st century teacher. We can see how technology has become so advanced and therefore, as future educators, we need to take advantage of this. Using the technology we know and incorporating it into our classrooms, will help the student learning process to be interesting and exciting. We need to be aware and familiar of the new technologies and transform 

learning to a whole new level. 

Resources

Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Saxena, S. (2013, November 06). Using Technology to Create Student-Centered Learning Environment. Retrieved January 11, 2017, from http://edtechreview.in/trends-insights/insights/743-using-technology-for-student-centered-learning-environment