Reflections on Course 6711I

In my personal theory of learning that I wrote about in week 1, I mentioned that when I first started teaching it was based on verbal/linguistic intelligence. That is lectures, notes, homework, and tests. Over my teaching years I modified this into doing more visual and hands on type of learning. After being exposed to all the new possibilities for types of learning, in this course, I must say my personal learning theory has expanded tremendously. The many different theories of learning such as Social learning, Behaviorism, and others, and the different types of instructional strategies such as Cooperative learning, Constructionism, and more that are based on these theories opens up a whole new world of teaching that I never knew exhisted before. Combined with the many technology tools that are available to use with all these types of learning will deffinitely change how I do things in the future.
I am limited in my classroom with little technology availability but I now have many more options to use with these limited resources. One of the new technology tools that I am anxious to use in my classroom is the voice thread. It is so versitile and so much can be done with it that I can use it in almost any area of study in my 8th grade science classroom. Another technology tool that I have used before but am now encouraged to use more of are simulations. Especially with these two tools my students learning will be greatly enhanced because of a few reasons. They will be able to use unlimited creativity while working through problems and will absorb the content that they need to know without even realizing it, because this type of learning is fun.
My two long term goal changes that I would like to make to my instructional practice regarding technology integration in my classroom are these. I would like to convince that administration in my district that technology is essential to prepare these students for twenty first century jobs. The first change that needs to be made is we need to bring back a computer lab for our students. The second goal is for me to be able to use all of these new technology tools regularly once a new computer lab is reinstated. My strategy for achieving these goals is simply this, so the administration and my fellow teachers what can be done with even limited technology and convince them of how much more could be done with a greater amount of technology. The only way I can do this is by doing a good job using technology in my classroom now.