541 Final Reflection

This course, titled Integrating Technology into the Classroom Curriculum, focused on the best practices of technology as a teaching tool.  Each module covered the theory behind the effective use of a category of technology in the classroom, then called for that theory to be applied to the development of a lesson using that technology.  Some modules focused on technology already used in many classrooms, such as presentation software, video, and spreadsheets, but provided theoretical background and examples which allowed me to focus my use of these technologies to improve their effectiveness.  Other modules included technologies, such as social networking tools, that are often kept out of the classroom and provided guidance for how these tools could enhance the classroom.

One of the most important themes in this course was the theoretical concept of relative advantage.  In too many cases, teachers use technology because it is flashy or because that is what administrators want to see. The principle of relative advantage requires teachers and educators to examine each piece of technology to identify what advantage it may offer over other other approaches to a piece of instruction; in other words, when considering the relative advantage of technology, teachers must ask how technology will enhance student learning.  This theoretical principle was at the forefront of my mind for each project.  It was not enough to come up with a way I could simply use technology in my classroom; relative advantage forced me to consider how that technology could make a lesson better.

Throughout the semester, each of my projects focused on how technology could be used in a high school physics classroom and the particular topics I selected fell into two categories.  Most projects were on topics many of my students currently struggle with, providing me with an opportunity to explore new options for teaching these topics.  In some cases, I've already been able to use these projects in my classroom to produce higher levels of student engagement and learning.

For the remaining projects, I explored how technology can be used to support engineering integration in a physical science classroom.  My district is working on some significant revisions to our 9th grade science curriculum to place engineering at the front and center of our courses and a grant will provide us with the opportunity to purchase some technology to support these efforts.  Many of the technology covered in this course can be used to connect science content to engineering projects, so several of the projects will serve as excellent starting points for our curriculum work this summer.

This course covered a number of standards from the AECT, but especially focused on standard 1: design and standard 2: development.  These two standards focus on various aspects of planning and delivering instruction, especially where technology is involved.  Since the majority of the projects for this course took the form of lessons utilizing the technology covered by the module, this course improved my skills at designing instruction and developing materials in a variety of formats for use in the classroom.