Final Reflection for Course 6712

The use of technology in the classroom enables connections to be made across the curriculum, the school, the county, and further, across the world. This striking revelation, as well as the idea that in effective classrooms the integration should appear seamless, motivates me to continue to engage my students in meaningful lessons about new information literacy skills and to reflect and revise projects and assignments as necessary, (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008). Simply using Power Points Presentations or asking students to type out projects, then print and paste on poster board is not enough. Multimedia projects that require thought and inquiry should be driving our instruction. Lessons where students are actively using their minds and creating their own process, as they go are what we should focus on. I had previously and mistakenly assumed since my students were so familiar with personal technology and have grown up, digital natives, that they would already know how to proceed with such tasks. Now, I accept and look forward to my role in helping them to correctly explore the new skills.

This particular Walden University course, has given me insight on how to breakdown each part of the inquiry process using the QUEST model suggested by Eagleton & Dobler, 2007. This process includes developing good questions, locating valuable resources, evaluating websites, and finally creating a product of some sort that helps to synthesize and communicate information to others (November, . Surprisingly, I have already used the idea of which search engines can be used for which purpose in my own life and will certainly adapt my teaching to reflect this shift of knowledge. My students deserve a teacher who will prepare them for a 21st Century world where job skills encompasses information literacy and the ability to be able to use such skills. Next year, I plan to incorporate small inquiry projects that use technology such as blogs into my classroom on a bi-weekly basis. While this is only a starting point, I am excited to teach the correct way to write on a blog and the etiquette of its use. I will select a blog topic that is open ended enough to require some inquiry and minimal research, and will require all communications be posted by a specific deadline, creating meaning and promoting learning through connectivism (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008). I will require that my students reflect on other responses and then reply to a minimum of 2 students, finally submitting a one paragraph personal reflection of the experience to me through the digital dropbox tool on BlackBoard. In addition, I would also like to use the lesson plan that I have developed for this course, later modifying and improving it for increased student benefit.

References

Eagleton, M. B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the web: Strategies for internet inquiry. New York: The Guilford Press.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program thirteen. It’s not about the technology [Motion picture]. Supporting information literacy and online inquiry in the classroom. Baltimore: Author.