Reflection

My personal learning theory will always center around, first, building relationships with students. How can you teach a child you don't know? I think many of the learning theories relate to one another on some level. I, like the behaviorist, believe the behavior and learning is a result of external stimuli. I consider that stimuli to be those most influential to students throughout life. Mothers that read and sing to their babies while still in their stomach are already stimulating their babies brain. Children that come from stable, loving, nurturing homes are more likely to be successful in school. Children raised in homes where family reading is done, family talks are held, and there is respect and appreciation for education; those children are more likely to be successful in school as well. It is the external stimuli that is setting the foundation and sustaining the learning process.

Technology is another external stimuli that is having a major impact on learning. As technology continues to be designed for educational purposes and the field of education continues to embrace and utilize the emerging technology, the learning theories will continue to be reexamined as they relate to technology. One technology tool that my students are excited about is VoiceThread. After visiting the website, my students were exciting about uploading pictures and video and communicating through this medium. Whenever students are excited about learning, it is exciting for teachers. Another technology tool my students are interested in is Epals. I thought my high school students might think communication with other students in other countries was kind of elementary, but they were actually excited about the idea. The are curious to learn about the structure of the school day and credits to graduate and other things relevant to them. Getting students excited about an assignment is a major task. Students are already engulfed in technology, so bringing technology into the classroom is like meeting them where they are as opposed to bringing them to where we are as teachers.

Looking forward, this is an exciting time to be in education. I feel a shift in the way classroom instruction has been done for many many years; and educational technology is playing a major role in that shift. One personal, long term, goal I have is to find some creative ways of using cell phones in the classroom to integrate into lessons. I need to do some research to find school districts or schools or even teachers that have shared lessons using cell phones. Students are so attached to cell phones, I think if curriculum could some how be tied into using the cell phone there would be instant buy in to any lesson. Another long term goal is to take a more active role in my school in educating teachers on the benefits of educational technology. Many teachers continue to be reluctant to use any form of educational technology with their students. I could take time during staff development, throughout the year, to share different educational technology tools being used across the country and their benefits. The only way some teachers will start to use technology in the classroom is alleviate their fear of using it.