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Cognitive Tree T.T.L D.T.L.
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The use of technology in education has always been a
priority here at Chester Area School. Our school has always promoted
technology to the greatest degree and as an educator I have embraced it and
pushed myself to be as technologically advanced as possible. Technology has
enhanced my curriculum and instruction in a variety of ways. In the past I
have taken D.T.L. which is Distance Education in Technology of Learning. I
learned how to teach using advanced V-Tel equipment and I learned to teach
in different ways to students from a distance. Another way that I have
increased my learning is through T.T.L. which was a class called Teachers in
Technology of Learning. This class enabled me to have advanced computer
skills in creating my website and in the use of FrontPage. With these two
classes I have created unit plans increasing my curriculum using technology
to enhance my lesson plans. These technologies from the past have made me
more aware of the future things that I have done to enhance my teaching. I
use a SmartBoard almost everyday in my classroom to teach my students more
interactive ways of learning with technology. I also have used my tablet
this past year and continue to do so in my classes here at Chester. I have
learned how to use WebCT6 and I am continually learning new skills to better
enhance my Cyberschool skills. This past year I taught German through the
Chester Area Cyberschool to colony students out at Rustic Acres Colony. I have learned how to
upload tests, quizzes and use new software giving me every possible aid to
help my curriculum and enhance my instruction via the internet. Technology
is here to stay and I have embraced the use of it even if at times I don't
always understand how to use many of the new programs and components. I
learn from trial and error and also students have shown me things and this
shows them that even their teachers learn from them just like they learn
from us! I just always stay a step ahead of them, if possible! Students love
technology and if I can use it in my classroom it is something that makes my
curriculum even better and gives them another different way to learn
concepts and ideas. Artifact 1 displays a cognitive tree that I created with Smart Notebook technology which I had never used before. I wanted to create a very technologically advanced graphic along with the terminology that I wanted to use in this assignment for my Education in a Pluralistic Society class. By trial and error I was able to create a "Cognitive Tree" with the Smart Notebook technology that we have available to us at Chester. I used this to design a Christmas tree with a star (the student), bulbs (terminology used in my class), presents (major concepts in my class), and the trunk (foundation of multicultural education) to explain how I felt education is in a pluralistic society. I am a visual learner and creating this really helped me to understand all the concepts in my Education in a Pluralistic Society class. I really enjoyed being creative and trying to use technology to enhance my curriculum and instruction. Artifact 2 is my website which is a lifeline for my students to many sources and my lesson plans. I created this website to showcase my technology skills and enhance my communication with my students and with their parents as well. I keep my lesson plans on this website along with useful website that I have linked up with mine. I also have all of my classes online along with my syllabi and curriculum overviews. I have had many compliments on this website from parents and students. It is a helpful tool for them and I use my own website to go online and interact with my students using my SmartBoard and wireless keyboard and remote. It makes learning very interactive and the students really enjoy it. Artifact 3 is about my 40 day unit of study that I developed for my Spanish II students through T.T.L, Teachers in Technology of learning. This website was formed and aligned with standards to help myself and other Spanish II educators develop better dialogues into pre-existing Spanish II curriculums. I have had teachers and professors use my website to supplement their classes. This 40 day unit of study is something that I use throughout the year in my second year class. It shows rubrics and dialogues that I have made for my students. This 40 day unit of study and website really taught me how to use my technological skills to share things with my students as well as sharing educational technology skills with other teachers and show them how to implement these skills in the classroom. Artifact 4 is about my 10 day unit of practice which I did on Christopher Columbus through D.T.L., Distance Learning in Technology. This is something that I really enjoy using and I have created demonstration slides of the skills in technology that I have learned with distant education and in the classroom through WebCT6 education. I have created concept maps and overarching questions which really show my students what I am looking for as I teach this unit on Christopher Columbus. This class on distance education is something that I really learned a lot from. It's a great unit that showcases many of my technology capabilities and I feel having it out on the internet gives other educators the chance to use some of my materials. It was fun making video clips and sharing information via the v-tel with other educators. I get e-mails sent to me on my website from other teachers that have used some of the information on my website. |