Overall Reflection Statement

The Technology Integration Program (TIP) has directly benefited my classroom teaching. Wanting to learn more about technological issues and how to create technology-enhanced classrooms, I enrolled in the TIP program to increase the use of technology in my classes. Through TIP’s first cohort, I learned how to incorporate technology with a constructivist's flair.

My professional background began as a Social Studies teacher in an ESOL Department. I began teaching by going back to school for an ESOL certification. Although I believe that students learn differently from one student to the next, I never realized to what extent this was true. Alternative assessment is a buzzword in ESOL circles, but we are still expected to teach the same content on a different reading level. I realized technology was a link between language difficulties and learned knowledge. How were we to tap the reservoir of learned knowledge if a student is having difficult expressing their thoughts?

The TIP program has made me reevaluate how I taught my classes. Most of my students had never used a computer before, but with scaffolding and examples, were able to create products to further comprehension. Through constructivist ideas, students were able to use higher-order thinking skills on Bloom's Taxonomy by creating PowerPoints, brochures, and digital movies on directly stated curriculum objectives. These activities allowed non-English speakers to partner with more advanced students to construct a more meaningful experience.

My professional growth has not been limited to the classroom. I delivered many Professional Learning Units (PLUs) to my co-workers concerning technology. In addition to PLUs, many hours were devoted for one-on-one technology help. The culmination of two years of hard work may be seen through my internship with Hall County. This experience, which should be mandatory, has allowed me to see the school system in a different light. I am able to see the various needs of the students, teachers, school, and district. I have written the first Tactical Technology Plan for Johnson High School and am hoping this will be turned into a template for other schools in the county. Pioneer RESA, north Georgia’s Educational Technology Center, recently requested a copy of the Technology Plan for further review. I also coordinated issues such as the Technology Committee, budgeting, purchasing, hardware, software, professional development, and legal aspects into one experience.

Although I encountered a few difficulties in the TIP program, the professors were very accommodating. The professors realized that different school systems are not all alike and that assignments may be modified to the situation. For instance, Hall County does not currently have technology facilitators, but we were still able to coordinate an internship with the county’s Central Office. In my opinion, this accommodation allowed me to see a much grander scale of technology and the inner-workings of the county. Other difficulties were finding the technology needed to create technology-enriched activities for the students. The need to be resourceful shall help me understand how to correct problems when they arise. The difficulties encountered will allow me to be a better technology innovator and leader in Hall County.

My future learning plans include either pursuing a Specialist's Degree in either the Technology Integration Program or in the Media and Library Science program. I feel either of these will correlate with my future plans as an educator. It is my ardent desire to increase learning through a variety of instruments and to properly assess student learning accordingly. Using a technology leadership role will allow me the freedom to design ADDIE models of technology integration. As a Technology Facilitator or a Media Center Specialist, my goals as a technology leader may be fulfilled.

The Technology Integration Program is a wonderful program that allows an individual to seek a more complete ideology of technology-enhanced classrooms. There are, however, a few suggestions for improvement to the program. I would have enjoyed a few more "hands-on" classes that directly linked technology into the classroom and less theory. Many classes reinforced theory by reintroducing them. Although technology changes weekly, I feel classes that directly link technology into the classroom very beneficial. The technology changes, but it is the transferability of knowledge from one program to the next that helps. I would also change the course sequence with EDIT 6100 (Introduction to Technology) as the first class and not the last.

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