Technology Enhanced Learning
Environments
Well we know that
computers are the way of the future and I have jumped on the bandwagon. Actually I have been there for at least 15
years. Lesson planning during my first
year of teaching was done solely with online resources. Units developed from the ground up; readings,
worksheets, quizzes, tests. I killed
more trees that year. I had no textbook
only the State Standards to work with. I
was a first year teacher teaching a subject that had never been taught. It was an exciting year. Some activities worked and others flopped. I did see during that year that it was better
to lead students on a journey and let them discover the end on their own. Keeping that in mind as the years rolled by I
was always pursing the internet for the next best activity, video or web quest. It was time consuming to Google key words and
check out web pages. Today Twitter and
Facebook give you a plethora of resources with the click of 1 button. These two sites are my “online learning
community”. When I look at this quote
from our textbook Online learning communities are a great place
for building group collaboration. Students learn to work together and depend on
one another to reach their learning goals and to elevate their learning
experiences (Palloff & Pratt, 2007) I can’t help but replace students with teachers. I
follow a group of teachers and we share information, antecedents, activities
etc. There is so much we know and to be
able to share it with others is wonderful.
When I look for lesson ideas it doesn’t seem like work because I get a piece
here and there of my friends lives too.
The results
of a recent study confirmed the motivating elements found in the previous
research highlighted problem solving, playing and information processing as
main contributing factors to student engagement (Horton and Liu, 2011) These
are the same things that motivate me. I keep this in mind when designing
lessons. I have been blessed with a
school district that has embraced technology and its benefits. I can do so much more with my students now 15
years later on the web, that I don’t need a textbook but you know what, I got
one. So it’s a resource just like the
ever changing web. Bet you could guess
which one we use more. .
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