Maria Wilson

INST 941
Final Unit and Course Reflection

In module eleven we tackled the topics of emerging trends and relevant issues in the field of
education. As a teacher, it is very important to stay up to date with the different trends, but it’s
equally as important to make sure you do your research first. Gamification is a trend that I chose to
further investigate, as it is something I see as being a great addition to my teaching practice. At first
I thought about all the games I incorporate into my classroom for different learning purposes, and
how those are many students' favorite ways to practice new and old skills. However, gamification is
different from just using games to teach or practice skills, it is a pedagogical approach. This
approach requires the teacher to integrate different gaming elements such as points, badges, or
progress bars. This was a key takeaway because I always assumed gamification was just using
games to teach before I had done any research. According to the article, ​7 Things You Should Know
About Gamification​, game elements can “encourage exploration, foster independent effort, and
generate unexpected solutions to the problems posed by course content.” I am always looking for
new and exciting ways to engage my students and challenge them. Gamification has the potential to
greatly improve motivation among students, as well as promote and strengthen collaboration. A big
takeaway from gamification is that it is a great tool for challenging students. In the article
Gamification, Taking Your Teaching to the Next Level: A Guide for Gamifying your Classroom,
Brunvand and Hill stress the importance of challenging your students. They stated that “quality
games challenge players so that they are routinely working at the peak of their abilities and
knowledge.” In order for our students to grow we need to challenge their thinking, but it’s
important to make sure we’re not giving students work that is too challenging or it could have the
opposite effect.
Module twelve was extremely helpful in getting to see how ePortfolios are being
implemented. Portfolios are something I have always been interested in doing with my second
grade students, but it was something I saw as very complex and time-consuming. I hadn’t thought to
consider creating digital portfolios with students, as I had always associated them with
photography or higher education. Digital portfolios contain a collection of artifacts that help portray
who a student is by showcasing that individual and their educational journey. The video, ​Digital
Portfolios, The Whole Child The Whole Story​, was tremendously helpful in seeing the benefits of
using eportfolios with students. The whole premise of this video was to see eportfolios as an
opportunity to see the whole child, not just their test scores or some written essays.
Something I learned was that there are different types of portfolios including the working
portfolios, display portfolios, and assessment portfolios. In the article ​Using Technology | Electronic
Portfolios in the K-12 Classroom,​ Brown states that ​the assessment portfolio “presents work
demonstrating that the student has met specific learning goals and requirements.” Assessment
portfolios to me, are designed for higher education. When I think of portfolios for my second
graders, I see it as an opportunity for students to display all of their best work. A big benefit of using
eportfolios is that students get to feel a sense of ownership over their learning and get to make
decisions about how they want to be seen. Students not only choose what to include, but they must
also explain why they included that specific piece of evidence in their digital portfolio. Students
must reflect on what they have learned and any successes or challenges that occured. It is just as
much about the process as it is about the final product.
Module thirteen, our final module, provided plenty of ideas on how to stay current in the
constantly evolving field of education. As I’ve previously mentioned, it is extremely important for
teachers to stay up to date with new trends, practices and technologies. But, how exactly can I do
that? The biggest take away from this module is the answer to that, develop a personal learning
network! It is all about having conversations and building relationships with people in education.
You can share resources and ideas, get support, collaborate, learn, and get inspiration from not only
colleagues, but from educators across the globe too.
The video, ​Developing your personal learning network,​ brought up the idea of social media
being a part of your PLN. Social media sites can be a great resource for connecting and sharing with
other professionals. On my own social media, I follow a lot of inspiring educators across the
country. I like to watch their videos of specific lessons, check out different activities, and see
different classroom setups. On social media you can follow different academics and influencers.
Another great addition to your personal learning network is education blogs! There are so many
incredible education blogs out there that discuss a variety of topics and offer resources and tips to
help you in your teaching and learning. Some of my favorites include ​edutopia​ and ​Teachertube​.
Thanks to the article,​ 15 EdTech Experts: Brands, Blogs, and Resources to Help You in the Classroom,​ I
discovered a few great new blogs to follow. I discovered Greg Swanson, who is responsible for
EdTech Toolbox​, a database full of online tools for teachers. I also came across Monica Burns, a
former classroom teacher that is responsible for ​ClassTechTips​ where her focus is on helping
educators promote deeper learning with technology. With the use of social media and education
blogs, your personal learning network will help keep you current on online technologies as well as
21st century teaching and learning practices.
Each module was full of new and insightful information regarding technology. I found
myself learning new information, making connections to my own teaching, and questioning certain
topics. There were many takeaways from this course, but a few stand out the most. Module two
introduced me to the 21st century skills students need to be successful in life. These skills can be
summed up by the four C’s, critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration. Critical
thinking teaches students how to problem solve, effectively reason, and make good decisions.
Creativity allows for innovation, a highly desired skill. Communication skills are absolutely
necessary for all aspects of life, it requires students to learn how to effectively listen and articulate
their thoughts. Lastly, collaboration skills allow students to effectively work with others, share
ideas, provide and accept feedback, and learn to be flexible. In order for students to have the ability
to collaborate, they need to first have strong communication skills. These skills will help prepare
students for future career opportunities and higher education where they will need to be able
effectively use the internet to find, analyze, and apply new information. That is why working on
these skills with students in my own classroom is so important. Even though they are still young in
second grade, they should still be given various opportunities to develop 21 century skills.
Another big takeaway was not only what 21 century skills look like, but also how to help
students acquire these skills they need to be successful in their future endeavours. These skills need
to be explicitly taught and practiced, however the internet can nurture these skills. A teacher still
needs to create opportunities for students to learn in meaningful ways, technology cannot do it all
on it’s own. Although technology can make a teacher’s life easier, it’s goal is to enhance the
students' learning. The tools we integrate into our classroom should enhance learning in the most
meaningful way, we shouldn’t just use them because we can. We need to make sure technology is
enhancing and transforming learning instead of simply replacing the means. By using a technology
integration model, like PICRAT, I can integrate more meaningful learning tools into my classroom.
PICRAT requires you to look at how students are interacting with the technology and how the
teacher’s use of technology is influencing traditional practice. This model is meant to encourage
teachers to reflect on their teaching practice and technology integration to improve their
technology use in the classroom. There are many different ways technology can truly enhance
teaching and learning, so it is important to reflect on what the technology means to both the student
and teacher before implementing it to ensure students are acquiring 21st century skills.
Throughout this course, there have been many meaningful topics discussed. In module
eleven we researched and shared our thoughts on various relevant issues in the field of education.
It was extremely beneficial to be able to share my thoughts on the digital divide and hear from
other educators too. The digital divide has always been near and dear to my heart, especially due to
the fact that I teach in a district with serious accessibility issues. I was able to learn more about this
issue and see how it is affecting schools all over the country. Another important topic we learned
about was exploring and evaluating online tools and educational websites. I have learned how to
successfully integrate different online tools and evaluate their educational value, accuracy, and
appropriateness. I have also become a lot more confident with conducting effective searches and
understanding copyright, public domain and Creative Commons licenses. I have gained a lot of
insight and learned many effective strategies to navigate and integrate the realm of educational
technology.
Out of all the learning activities and assignments, three of them have been the most
meaningful to me. I found the web tool box to be incredibly helpful in terms of finding what
cognitive skills my top online tools are hitting. It was also beneficial to be able to see other
classmates’ tool boxes as well. The Webquest was very important, and one of the main reasons I
wanted to take a technology course in the first place. Webquests are something that I have always
wanted to incorporate into my classroom, and now I feel confident in doing so. Lastly, the UDL
learning activity really resonated with me. Reflecting on previous lessons and improving them is
extremely important. This activity let me do just that. I am extremely excited to get back into my
classroom and tackle this lesson with my students. I also plan to work on digital citizenship with my
class. Digital citizenship is guiding our students to be the absolute best versions of themselves
online. Every year I tell my students that my job is to help them become the best possible version of
themselves, academically, socially, and emotionally. I had never thought to include technology in
that speil before, however it’s become apparent that I should. I’ve gathered that digital citizenship is
something that needs to be taught throughout the year, it needs to be continuously built upon and
revisited for students to really grasp all that it is. I am looking forward to taking all I have learned
in the course and applying it to my teaching practice.

Sources
Brown, M. D. (n.d.). Using Technology: Electronic Portfolios in the K-12 Classroom. Retrieved
from ​https://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech111.shtml

Fritz-Palao, H. (2018, May 23). 15 EdTech Experts: Brands, Blogs, and Resources to Help You in the
Classroom. Retrieved from
https://blog.mimio.com/15-edtech-experts-brands-blogs-and-resources-to-help-you-in-the
-classroom

Hill, D. R. & Brunvand, S. (2018). Gamification: Taking Your Teaching to the Next Level: A Guide for
Gamifying your Classroom. In A. Ottenbreit-Leftwich & R. Kimmons, The K-12 Educational
Technology Handbook. EdTech Books. Retrieved from
https://edtechbooks.org/k12handbook/gamification

mcsStealMine. (2017, May 20). ​Digital Portfolios - The Whole Child, The Whole Story​ [Video file}.
Retrieved from ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUsy2ORFqII

7 Things You Should Know About Gamification. (2011, August 10). Retrieved from
https://library.educause.edu/resources/2011/8/7-things-you-should-know-about-gamific
ation