Monday, May 3, 2010

CEP 812 Final Reflection

It was interesting to think about the points made in the Valenza article, about how students need to integrate “old school” information literacies with new ways of thinking about information. The easy and immediate availability of nearly limitless information has changed the way students need to evaluate the information they access.

This class reiterated the idea that technology use itself cannot make learning more effective or more efficient. Technology must be integrated in a meaningful and useful way, otherwise it may become the dreaded “change without difference.” I know I need to do more meaningful technology integration in my classroom, rather than just squeezing in computer time whenever it fits.

Creating my own technology ethics lesson plan was useful, and I can see actually using it in my current classroom setting.My very long-term goal is to develop and teach online classes. I would love to create and teach a hybrid learning program for struggling students, or remedial classes for students entering college. These classes could also be used for distance-learning for students who do not have access to a traditional classroom (parents are missionaries in Africa, etc). My plan to reach this goal is to complete my Educational Technology masters, practice creating my own curriculum-based online content, and seek out companies that are looking for creators and teachers of online content.