Having taught for ten years, being on the other side of the desk is a daunting experience at times but definitely worth the effort. I have learned to use educational tools and incorporate multiple strategies into finishing my assignments that I never utilized as a 'digital immigrant' student. I am definitely more of an active learner; I need to interact with the material to see how it works. "Kindergarteners can listen to individual letters and work in an exploratory fashion" (Duffield & Wahl, 2005). I am definitely an exploratory learner which can be a positive and a negative. While using the readings to complete the assignment, I have a tendency to jump from reading and doing which made me complete the newsletter assignment in a less efficient fashion, but I feel that I learned more. "Many teachers use newsletters as part of cross-curriculum, authentic learning activities" (Lamb, 2005). I would like to bring what I have learned about creating an effective newsletter into my gaming program for students to research and assess information about the gaming industry.
Using the discussion boards, blog, and wiki to share my work improved the end result of the newsletter. Getting feedback from colleagues is invaluable to obtaining an optimal product."Students should learn through a variety of learning strategies, learning experiences, and perspectives" (Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, n.d.). My newsletter needs to be embraced by other readers through the incorporation of design strategies studied in this course. Who better to give feedback than colleagues going through the same experience? A fresh set of eyes always puts a different perspective on a work in progress, usually for the better.
Although I am a 'digital immigrant', I will continue to search out new ways to incorporate existing technologies into my curriculum. I would like to spend more time into creating multifaceted assessments that utilize many of the free technologies to serve other educational purposes in the community. My students will be working on smartphone applications for teaching in the spring; I cannot wait to see what they produce - stay tuned!
References:
Lamb, A. (2005). Planning Newsletters. Retrieved December 17, 2010, from http://eduscapes.com/sessions/publishing/planning.htm
Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, (n.d.). Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners. Retrieved December 17, 2010, from http://www.netc.org
Wahl, L., & Duffield, J. (2005). Using Flexible Technology to Meet the Needs of Diverse Learners: What Teachers Can Do. Retrieved December 17, 2010, from WestEd: www.wested.org
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