Reflection




 * Intel Teach Essential Course **
 * Reflective Essay **

When the final assignment of writing a reflective essay about the course was assigned, my first thought was one of being overwhelmed. Taking a condensed course is always difficult, but when so much information is passed along to you, so many assignments are given to you, and a project that is all encompassing is assigned, an essay on top of it is just a little overwhelming. However, bit by bit, we made it through the coursework. Little by little, my huge project became closer and closer to completion. The blogging, the portaportaling, the group work all seemed to fall into space. Sitting down to do a reflective essay no longer seemed like a task, but a great way to think about all the information that I have been given this week.

The first thing I want to talk about how important this class is for all educators and administrators. Technology is no longer a luxury. It is the 21st century norm. To think that we can teach students born in a technological world using 20th century instruction is just not plausible. The type of student we have today is aware of what is out there in the world, and if we try to teach them NOT using technology, we, as educators are doing them a disservice. Technology in education should not be a course. It should be the norm.

Teaching with projects was one of my two favorite sections in the course manual. I have been teaching for 11 years now, and I have learned that teaching in an inquiry fashion, using project based learning just makes sense. The kids are challenged to question themselves and find the answers to their own questions. How impactful is that! To develop projects that push students to inquire about the content is the key to motivating students to take control of their learning. This process hopefully will not just prepare them for the workforce, but will instill in them the ability to be a lifelong learner who constantly looks for answers to the questions around them.

The other section of the course manual that I really enjoyed was the section of creating essential questions, unit questions, and content questions. I constantly try to get my teachers to have an essential question (theme) that they can carry for the semester or even year to get the students to see how no matter what you are teaching, it wraps back to essential question. Being a literacy coach, I wanted to make my class project something that my teachers could pick up and use, not just as a teaching tool, but also as a learning tool to plan units. I came up with an essential question that I hope they will use with their students, “How important are words?” I think that question can be used not just in the ELA classroom, but also in a cross-curricular fashion to spiral to Math, Science, and Social Studies. The units can change, and the content is different, but the theme will always be about making your words important in communication.

One tool that I found extremely useful was the portaportal that our instructor set up for us to use in class. She showed us how effective it could be in a classroom. Because of that, I created one for my project and included it as one of my resources for those using my unit plan. Working with the Wiki was also something I found very useful. What a great way to spark discussion and share information with classes. I can post work on the wiki and the students can download it, discuss it, and it can all be done electronically with no waste of paper. The blog commenting was a great way to make sure the students not only were involved with the course, but actually were learning. I will encourage my teachers to work with blogs because it is a quick conference with your students and documents that they have either understood or not the concept being taught.

On a final thought, I wanted to talk about two of the biggest assets of the course. The first asset that I want to talk about is the Intel website for teachers and the course CD. Both are such valuable tools. So much information and teacher ready templates and guides are on that cd. I was also excited to see that you offered them in both Windows and Mac. I am a Windows person, but I work at a Mac school. I will be able to share this information with my teachers and hopefully change the way they approach technology in the classroom. I signed up for Intel Teach website and found the assessment template creator SO helpful. I have used other online rubric creators, but this one allowed not just rubrics, but checklist and variations that are so much more helpful in the classroom.

The final asset that was so important to the success of this class was the instructors. Regina had so much information to share. She knew that she was going to give us so much information in such a short time that she broke it up and chunked the instruction in such a way that it was manageable. I will say this, to take a class during Winter Break and see that all the class participants came every day and did not rush out when the class was over. They stayed and worked. They sharing and group work that was encouraged really allowed the people to learn not just from each other, but also with each other. The frustration level from the beginning of the course to the end was completely abated and the people really seemed excited about all they learned. I am very glad I signed up for this course. I learned a great deal about how to plan units that not just incorporate technology, but where technology is at the core. I have learned ways of planning, organizing, assessing, and creating units that will results in projects that not only will I enjoy teaching and assessing, but also the students will be excited about working on and learning from. It is truly a win win scenario for all involved. I will walk out of this class with my course manual in hand ready to share it with my ELA teachers and principal and make the necessary change in the way material is presented, lessons are planned, and students learn at my school in West Harlem. Making a difference is why I became an educator, and now I really feel like I will be able to do just that, bring the instruction in our classrooms into the 21st century, the way it should be.