Module 6 Blog Post

What impact do you believe technology has on the way you learn?

Technology has a huge impact on the way I learn. Obviously, being a Walden student the past 2 years, technology is the way I learn. Technology enhances my understanding of topics by presenting the information in various ways. Many times during just one week of class I will learn through a variety of educational technology resources such as podcasts, scholarly eLibrary articles, wikis, blogs, and videos. Whenever I have questions regarding my newly gained knowledge, technology resources are the first thing I turn to. This year, instead of buying textbooks, I bought eBooks instead. Therefore the way I am gaining knowledge has been altered.

In what ways do you learn differently in an online environment from the way you learned in a face-to-face learning environment?

Before my Walden online learning experience, I had never used a resource like Skype to collaborate with my classmates. In a face-to-face learning environment, I was accustomed to dragging myself to long lectures, which did not work effectively with my ADHD. I took many notes in those hours of lectures and but didn’t have to apply much knowledge gained from them. I despised going to classes. However, since becoming a Walden student, I have fallen in love with school. The videos are engaging, and I’m able to pause them and repeat parts I didn’t understand. My Walden professors have also been a lot more available compared to my professors in my face-to-face learning experience. Now, I regularly Skype and email with my Walden professors who help me reach my fullest potential as a Walden student. While I do prefer collaborating face-to-face with a learning group, I am becoming more comfortable with Skype collaboration everyday.

Teaching Philosophy
It is my philosophy what putting learning in the center of all that you and your students do is essential. While students are ultimately responsible for their learning, it can be a very complex topic for them. Learning happens most effectively when teachers and students communicate effectively together while gaining knowledge and skills cooperatively together. These students learn in so many different ways, therefore it is a teacher’s job to make sure she is teaching in a variety of ways to address the individual learning needs in her classroom. The best teachers, are reflective learners. Reflective learning is imperative to a teacher’s success, which directly effects her students success. Teachers also must help their students connect their knowledge. My philosophy also includes the importance of connectivism. As Siemen’s states, “Connectivism is strongly focused on the linking to knowledge sources...not simply
trying to explain how knowledge is formed in our own heads (Siemens, 2006); and I  believe this is the best way for students to learn.

There are many non-negotiables in teaching and learning. The one I see the most frequently, which irritates me the most, is teachers making excuses for their students not learning. As a team leader I hear, “Well, he just can’t sit still long enough to learn what I am teaching him,” “She is too ADHD to focus on my instruction,” and “They’re too low for me to bring up to grade level.” Instead of pointing the finger at themselves, altering their instruction, and asking themselves, “What can I do differently for this child?”, I continue to hear these excuses and feel bad for the children that are being affected. Teachers need to be reminded to be self-reflective, and ask themselves what they could be doing differently, if their instruction is not being effective. Other non-negotiables include being clear and consistent about behavior expectations and discipline, creating opportunities for children to extend their learning, and creating a classroom environment that is stimulating, challenging, secure, and pleasant. Reigeluth (1993) states, “As identifying methods that will best provide the conditions under which learning goals will most likely be attained. An instructional theory must have three essential components: a stated desired outcome, required conditions and instructional methods.” These three components are imperative and non-negotiables in teaching and learning.

References:

Siemens, G. (2006, November 12) Connectivism: Learning Theory or Pastime of the

Self-Amused? e-Learning Space.org website. www.elearnspace.org/Articles/

connectivism_self-amused.htm

Reigeluth, C.M. (Ed.) (1993). Instructional-Design Theories and Models (vol 1).

Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.