Friday, November 27, 2009

Learning continues

This month I conducted a new class in PODetc entitled "Focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math): Instructional Technology Strategies for Science and Math." I also decided to participate as a student in three other PODetc courses occurring concurrently but taught by other teachers. I also am a full time teacher and department chair in science so how I survived is a minor miracle!!! But that is not what I want to address here. The courses I participated in were:

First, I have to say that I am lucky to be working with such knowledgeable and versatile instructors. They make the courses interactive and meaningful for all students coming in at all levels and experiences. It was really a great opportunity for me to participate in the discussions and activities both with the other students and with the instructors where my role this time was a student.

While I have of course reviewed all of our PODetc courses and have regularly lurked in the background to keep current with our offerings, participating as a student was a great learning experience. Among the four courses we built blogs, wikis, nings, delicious networks, diigo lists, interactive lesson plans, collaborative rubrics, Intel lessons emphasizing critical thinking, collaborative concept maps and more. Not only did we build them but we put them to work and found applications to each of jobs outside of the course. Instructors helped me stretch my use of these valuable tools and guided me in linking them together for ease of access and application. In our discussion groups we addressed the challenges of teaching students in this age of technology when our backgrounds, budgets, audiences, and resources span the gamut of possible combinations and complexities. We evaluated samples of each others work and each found growth and improvement through the feedback we received.

I cannot emphasize how valuable this month has been to me in terms of really fine-tuning and motivating my own skills as an educator!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to our fabulous instructor and students!!!
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2 comments:

  1. BevNovember 28, 2009 at 5:35 AM

    I too enjoyed Survey of Emerging Technologies. I still have SO much to learn, but it definately got me on the road to new things and motivated me to try new technologies. I've talked so much about it that my principal may take it after the New Year. We would also like to take another technology course, probably through UWGB & PODetc. We're looking for a course that would give us new ideas and then allow us to share with colleagues. Suggestions?

    I'm sure you will have continued success with PODetc as it's a great way to learn. Thank You!

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  2. CCMJDecember 1, 2009 at 10:53 AM

    I very much enjoyed teaching the Creativity and Innovation in the Classroom course this last session. I found that the strength of the course was the sharing of resources and ideas by all participants. In this day and age of overloaded schedules and the challenge to meet the needs of the 21st century learner, it was refreshing to share ideas with fellow educators. I believe that the key to success in educating students of all ages in the 21st century is the opportunity to build a collaborative learning community. Educators at all levels have so much expertise to share, our role is to provide a vehicle for sharing and expanding that knowledge.

    Thanks to PODetc for the opportunity to faciliate dialog among many outstanding educators.

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