Course+Reflection

 Of my classmates chose this quote to use in discussion. It was "Teachers should relate the concepts and skills to be learned to students' current interests." (Sprague, D. & Dede, C., 1999). This quote, along with the full article, really summarizes my take on learning through this class. I have realized that teachers focus on so many issues with instruction but do not focus on how we can help that student learn better. Technology does just that. What happens to the student, when done properly, is so wonderful. The students become responsible for their own learning. They develop stronger critical thinking skills and heighten their maturity. I think that I once believed that technology was simply an enhancement tool. Now, more than ever, I believe that technology in the classroom is a necessary tool. Participating in the Academic Partnership Program has made me appreciate everything our teachers did for us and what they will do for my children. Teaching with Technology was one of my more challenging courses while trying to develop a lesson for my students. I do not have experience as a teacher and it was challenging to me trying to think of the perfect lesson for my imaginary students. This course helped me to learn how much goes into planning lessons for the classroom. Overall, the course helped me to understand the work involved with leading the classroom.
 * Self–Assessment **

**Learn as a Learner ** The word Collaborative learning has taken on a new meaning throughout this course. In the article, "Web 2.0: New tools, New schools", it caught my attention when talking about Project-based learning. The authors talked about how this type of learning "...allows for alternative approaches that address students’ individual differences."(Solomon & Schrum, 2007, p. 39) I believe that every learner is different including myself. Individuals need "variations in learning styles" in order to process and understand the material given. The way that I was able to learn the material was through my project with the assistance of my classmates. They assisted me with my research and gave me great insight into lesson planning. Everyone was so helpful in answering my questions. I was really fortunate to have a team member who specialized in curriculum design. Being able to participate in a group to develop an entire lesson plan for our class was a great challenge. We worked individually and came together on our wiki page and our google site. I like to think that we helped each other with different challenges we approached. The collaboration helped us to create the best lesson we could that reached such a diverse audience.

**Lifelong Learning Skills ** Overall, this assignment helped me learn how to collaborate with multiple partners in an online environment . It has been an eye opener for me to adapt this non-traditional way to communicate. Most of the projects that I do on a daily basis is face to face interactions. Because of this group project, I have asked my staff to dedicate more time to learning about new platforms that we can communicate with students virtually. Our team has just facilitated our first workshop! The feedback from the students was an overwhelming success. Technology has made it easier to get the students give us the feedback we have always wanted to get but never got in traditional settings.(Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenoski, 2007 ) The wiki is a savior for this type of collaboration along with adobe connect. Working in these types of environment with other has allowed us to edit and share materials in quicker more efficient manner. We all work best at different times of the day and this does not limit meeting as a group to once a week or month. I will definitely be utilizing online resources to continue partnerships with my colleagues.

**__References__**

1. Sprague, D. & Dede, C. (1999). If I teach this way, Am I doing my job: Constructivism in the classroom. Leading and Learning, 27(1). Retrieved February 22, 2011 from the International Society for Technology in Education at http://imet.csus.edu/imet9/280/docs/dede_constructivisim.pdf

 2. Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0: New tools, new schools. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.

3. Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.