Course V, Final Post

Nearing the end of the 5 course graduate certificate program I started sometime in 2009. Course five has been the project course in which we implemented the project designed in course 4.

Through the 5 courses, I've had some insights into how tech can be used in the classroom, though the best way to figure it out is trial and error and using 15 years of experience teaching middle school to get a sense of what's working and what's not. There has been very little reading, studying, and discussion on a scholarly level in these courses, possibly because it doesn't exist or might conflict with what the facilitators believe. Then again, rigorous research and thought doesn't really mix with the twitter and tweeting crowd; having the most followers and hits on your blog are what it's all about!

As my two humanities classes and I have made our way through the Hungry World project, we've used technology off and on. From a social studies perspective, a couple of things continue to be the most useful; first is blogging and responding about both current events and countries of study; second is the ease with which teachers can assign projects with a common theme or enduring understanding but with a wide range of topics. Right now the students are studying food security issues and solutions, but each is looking in depth and detail with up to the minute information about a different country.

I've had some very good discussions lately with my colleagues here and here. It's good to hear that most people are acknowledging the fact that we can't really multi-task all that well. Rather, we tend to flitter between one activity and the next, and I do it myself all the time. Email is constantly checked as is facebook, my RSS feeds, and maybe a quick look at skype to see if people I stay in touch with that way are there.

So at the end of these five course, I've learned much about how to use different programs and bells and whistles with my students, and I've seen much good come out of the use of technology. I'm cautiously optimistic that there will be some decent research showing how technology can be used to improve student learning. Maybe someday I'll do some of that research myself.