Where do I fall on the Technology Integration Matrix?

Click here to see the Technology Integration Matrix

I would like to preface this first by stating that there are so many activities that I would love to do with my high school students that are currently blocked at school. Anything that can be classified as social media or blogging cannot be accessed. I’m hopeful that this will change, and the examples on the Technology Integration Matrix have given me a lot of ideas. I also only have access to computers and a language lab once every two weeks. Other than that, I just have an LCD projector in my room, so…

It’s difficult to rate myself on this rubric because I spend so little time in the lab. It’s also difficult because I have done activities that fall into almost all of these categories. I would say that I am more consistently on the adaptation level, but again I do have some projects that could be rated higher. For example in the active section I would rate myself as adoption because many of my activities are still heavily teacher led. In the collaborative section with some projects I could rate myself very high. For example I have a video project at the end of the year in which students create a product via their choice of technology.

I would say it would be easier to rate myself on this scale perhaps if I taught a class that used project based learning. Then I would have a more consistent idea as to where my teaching generally falls on the scale. By the end of this year, I don’t really see much of a change happening due to finals. Essentially in the month of May we can’t evaluate our students because they have so many standardized tests. Having said that, I do think that this scale is valuable and could be a great resource when designing projects for future years. If (and when) I gain access to the appropriate technological tools to make some of these activities a possibility, I would not hesitate to give these ideas a try. I’ve been dying to have my students create a blog that features podcasts or short videos. I even really liked the idea of Padlet, but today when I tried it at school it was blocked. That could be so useful in my classroom.

In order to make growth happen (without adding more technology or access), I would really have to sit down and modify a number of my projects with this scale in mind. It’s difficult with limited time in the lab, but I do think that some of these more advanced ideas could be possible. I loved the examples given in the Technology Integration Matrix, and they have given me a lot of ideas for future years.   

rating: Active - adoption, Collaborative - adaptation (sometimes infusion), Constructive - adoption to adaptation, Authentic - adaptation, Goal Directed - adaptation

From the brick and mortar to online

     Are barriers broken when a student steps from the traditional classroom into the virtual classroom? I think yes…and then I also think no. I think the answer to this question depends greatly on the student. Some students quite honestly are not comfortable in public situations or are too shy to communicate or speak out in class. I think these students could greatly benefit from an online course, because they may not be afraid to post, blog, or speak out on a discussion board if they can’t see the direct reactions from their fellow classmates. One particular student of mine comes to mind. He is bright and gifted student in Spanish, but he is so shy at the same time. When he writes pieces for me they are incredible, but he never volunteers to speak out. I bet he would love an online course and would thrive in it as well. Other students flourish with face-to-face interaction, which I suppose could be achieved in an online course through video conferencing and synchronous learning whether in a blended class or a virtual class.

     I do feel that an online course has a way of leveling the playing field in format alone. When I look around and see teachers that are older (and naturally oh so wiser) than me or see someone carrying themselves in a negative way (body language, etc), I am sometimes intimidated or put off. I can appreciate the way that an online course takes physical attributes out of the equation in the same way that many students would appreciate it.

     Then the outgoing student comes to mind. What about the student that thrives on face-to-face interaction? How could they be properly served by a virtual classroom? I can see a blended course working better for this type of student. Again, another student comes to mind. He is so motivated by direct interaction (and nothing else so it seems) that I would imagine that he would struggle in a virtual classroom. This is why I think that the student is such an important component in this equation. I hope to learn ways to create sufficient engagement for this type of learner via e-learning.

     On a side note, my opinion is really changing towards online courses just by learning the little that I have learned thus far. My bad college experience with an online course really left a negative impression on me. I have every hope that this negative view will lift through the course of this class, and I already see signs that it will.

Blogging?

I've attempted blogging once before but have never considered myself gifted at conveying my thoughts in an interesting manner. This will be an interesting task for me, but I am fully ready for it. Collaboration via blogging for me is relatively unknown territory, but blogging is something that I have been interested in incorporating into the classroom. I'm ready to learn!