The Essential Aspect of PRACTICE

For this post I want to discuss a vital aspect of integrating ICT into the classroom. 















Personally, this was especially eye-opening for me as an educator. While for many of us it is a given that our students must engage in the material we are presenting them with, quite frankly in our own education we are talked at rather a lot. For me, before an educational workshop, lecture, or course, there is often a disclaimer at the beginning that things will progress not as they should in a classroom. There will be a lot of professor to student talk - not to be recommended in classrooms. There will not be many hands on, engaging experiences - but do as we say, not as we do.

I have long been a big supporter of the idea that our students must be engaged with their learning to succeed. Yet for some reason, I have never connected that to my own learning until now. 

However, now I see first hand all the difference it makes. What I knew before, I now know from personal experience. And that is powerful. That shapes me as an educator. That serves as a long lasting reminder when I'm in front of my students. 

In my course, ICT Part 1, I was forced not to speak of certain gadgets to incorporate into the classroom. Not to discuss or write up a report. I was forced to do it, to engage with the tools being explored, and what a personally fulfilling experience that has been. More than that, as this is an online course, I did not have someone peeking over my shoulder as, through a series of trial and error, I learned how to maneuver this new world largely by myself, though it was all so very well facilitated. When I first discovered I would need to *gasp* actually embed things, use a wiki, engage in new software applications, etc, I became nervous. This was definitely new territory. That made it all the more gratifying as I discovered the world of embedding, glogs, popplets, and more. 




Here I would like to proudly share some of my creations with you:

For Module 5, I created a Popplet that facilitated the discussion, focusing on learning communities and open source learning. This was a very enjoyable tool that I will certainly pass on to my students!

In addition, I have enjoyed using Wordle, a website that allows you to make visually beautiful and literally relevant word clouds. 

WebDoc is another tool that I have experimented with and thoroughly enjoyed. I'm confident that my students will enjoy exploring this. 

Prezi was also completely new to me, and though it was not my favourite, I am pleased to know how to navigate this useful tool. 

Glogster was definitely one of my favourites! A online poster board, this site allows teachers and students to connect with images, videos, text, links, music and more! 

The course has completely opened up my eyes and has given me opportunities to explore technologies that I can now pass on to my future students. 

I did, and I understood.