Reflective Blog Post #1

Reflective Blog Post #1

Aimee’ Breault-Ryan’s Educational Technology Philosophy:

Technology has made its strong foothold in our world today and there’s no room for retrospection with the exception of honing in on the more perfect designs of the future.  Hence, learn from the past in an effort to perfect the future.  Our current educational technology has to possibilities to generate a magnitude of successes  with adequate integration.  

Although technology began to influence human endeavor as soon as people began using tools, few had the vision of precisely how it would evolve-particularly in the field of education.  In the domain of education,  as educators, we must use align technology and curriculum to provide students of today to be prepared not only to function but excel in the all-encompassing global community of tomorrow.  How this is accomplished is the key.  Educators have a keen responsibility to utilize current technology concurrently with excellent instructional strategies to allow students to develop concepts that provide a self-promoted learning environment.  As educators, we are only the facilitators and observers of these happenings. 

As an educator, the philosophy of constructivism most closely aligns with that of my own thoughts and perspectives.  The theory or Constructivism suggests that the knowledge one attains/creates  is through interaction connecting existing knowledge or beliefs with that of new ideas and conditions encountered.   Essentially, students learn information and  build on prior knowledge.   Along with this, learning and cognitive thinking is a constant process.  One is accountable for taking charge of their own learning and must put theories to test to allow for the accommodation of new ideas to reconstruct those of our own. 

Although, my beliefs align most accordingly with the constructivist perspective, that is not to say there is one and only one correct approach to teaching.  Often times, it is necessary to borrow teaching strategies from other learning theories to assist students in mastery of skills.  All students learn but not all students learn in the same way.  With this, an educator must have an extensive repertoire of philosophical views on education coupled with a variety of approaches to educating students.  At the same time, the constructivist approach  is highly recognized for it’s emphasis on student-centered learning and allowing for individual reflection.  Ultimately, students must be prepared to demonstrate their knowledge on a standardized test which in itself calls for the educator to implement the realistic philosophy in preparation.

The expectation of any learner today is to accomplish goals in an exemplary manner through practice which effectively utilizes technology as a instrument to increase productivity.  With motivation to elicit involvement in self-learning,  a willingness to collaborate, and a readiness to welcome the technological advances of the future as a catalyst for success, education can occur at a magnitude like never before.  I personally can’t wait.

Discuss how this exercise can/will possibly assist you in identifying future technology projects for this class and in other areas:

            Developing an educational technology philosophy has been a big “A-HA” for me in several ways.  I am greater aligned in being cognizant of my beliefs in relation to teaching and technology.  Having in in black and white benefits me greatly as I am a visual learner.  Although developing an educational technology philosophy may not be considered hard, the challenge is there and it leads to a blessed self-awareness.  With this self-awareness comes a responsiveness as to what technology projects I can implement within my classroom and the ultimate goals of the assignments.  I am also more aware of the route to reach my goal in making my students much more technologically literate.

At this point, what potential uses do you see for blogging? 

After reading  Stephen Downes' article on Educational Blogging, I find myself recognizing where we stand with blogging today.  Although his article was written seven years ago and much headway has happened since then, there is plenty of room for enhancement.  This is particularly my view in regards to the classroom.    I see obstacles in the way in regards to number of students who do not have home computers at my current school.  Until then, I believe the utilization of blogging will only improve and those who don’t recognize it’s many benefits will suffer technological loss.

November's article, Creating a Culture for Teaching and Learning outlines six areas to think about and changes on the horizon with technology and education. Which one stood out to you the most and why?

The area that stood out to me the most was “If it’s on the Internet, is it true?”  Wow, that is the question and the answer is, “NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT!”  The adage that you can’t believe everything you read is absolutely relevant to the Internet.  As educators, a big part of our responsibility lies in teaching students how to locate information of merit.  This can only be accomplished by developing a gauge of credibility within the student themselves.  As a future librarian, this issue will be a primary focus of mine.

And finally, what are some of your expectations for this class?

I look forward to developing a greater understanding of myself as an educator and facilitator with regards to technology implementation.My primary expectation is to become even more comfortable with blogs by expanding my comfort zone.  It scares me to put that in print J