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 Technology, its place in Education….


 

Image Source: Mrs. Jones Whiteboard


In my 16 years as an educator, I have seen technology and its integration into learning and the classroom change and become an integral part in education. During my first years of teaching, I taught using very traditional methods. I gave in class demos where students sat around me at a table, and they, then, went back to their seats and worked. While I npw still give in class demos for the art assignments, I am able to project my demonstration up on a board for all to have equal viewing and am able to record those videos to post on our school/class page for students to view later or review. 

Image Source: Saint Louis University 


This growth has made me want to pursue a technology endorsement, which I am currently working on now at Dominican University 

“ Personal Reflection” 

Technology is a big part of our everyday lives and has become a vital tool in education for learning and engagement with our students. As part of the class EDU 792 that I am taking at Dominican University (Educational Video Creation and Production for Flipped Learning), I was to reflect on the important things we have learned in this course. In this blog post, I am going to share with you my reflection of the planning process and hope it inspires you.  


Big Takeaways….. 

One of the biggest takeaways from this course is a list of resources/programs that I can utilize to continue to flip my classroom to help create student engagement and interaction. I think this resource list is one the biggest things that will help me in creating that flipped environment.  An example, I can use the program   PowToons  to create video presentations instead of always using Google slides. In addition a list of free video editing software (WeVideo, imovie, Adobe Spark) to create videos for myself or student use was valuable

Image Source: Istockphoto.com


A second big takeaway is the knowledge I gained from the readings and videos on finding the best equipment for your $$ money and the best set up. Having equipment that helps give you great quality and sound is a key component in having successful flipped learning. If students can’t hear or see the material, they will lack understanding. 


Personal Growth…… 

Whenever learning something new, there is always room to grow and learn.  I have gathered many skills in this course, but I still need to fine tune and learn more to become comfortable and more efficient with the use of technology to create videos, and the use of the green screen and stop animation. Like many things, the more you practice the better you become. To become more fluent in the use of video creation and green screen use, I plan on creating videos to introduce projects weekly, to teach about artists and to take virtual field trips. These videos will not only help me hone my skills but will also help create and promote student engagement.



Image Source: Gify 


Overall Takeaway….. 

The biggest positive take-away is that we shouldn’t be afraid of trying something new, and that we can find ways to have technology enhance and add engagement to learning, but we also don’t know everything. We should not be afraid to research and learn from others. As teachers and future technology leaders, we need to share our knowledge. We are able to not only help our own classes succeed with the utilization of technology but help other educators learn how to do the same by sharing our knowledge.  


References: 


Adobe Express. (n.d.). https://express.adobe.com/

dzm1try. (n.d.). Key takeaway icon. Clipart image isolated on white background. iStock. https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/key-takeaway-icon-gm1352053519-427592383

Flipped classroom resources. SLU. (n.d.). https://www.slu.edu/cttl/resources/flipped-classroom-resources.php

Free online video editor: Interactive video. WeVideo. (n.d.). https://www.wevideo.com/

IMovie. Apple. (n.d.). https://www.apple.com/imovie/

Jones, A. (2021, October 28). What the Flip! – six reasons why the benefits of flipped learning are flawed and overblown. Mr Jones’ Whiteboard. https://mrjoneswhiteboard.blog/2021/10/28/what-the-flip-six-reasons-why-the-benefits-of-flipped-learning-are-flawed-and-overblown/

Log in. Powtoon. (n.d.). https://www.powtoon.com/new-dashboard/#/home?toolbarState=default&toolbarWidget=myPowtoons

Youtube. (2022, May 3). Keep growing mental health GIF by YouTube - find & share on giphy. GIPHY. https://giphy.com/gifs/youtube-mental-health-withme-get-by-gHL0GceDO9omiSXFLQ

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