Brad's Showcase
During my studies in Michigan State’s Educational Technology Masters program I have learn a great deal about technology and education. These teachings have had a great impact on my educational practices. This showcase demonstrates my adoption of these practices into my own teaching and philosophy. These practices and philosophies can be broken down into:
- The Goal (Enhancing Student Learning)
- Philosophy on Teaching
- Big Picture
The Goal:
These artifacts show my emphasis and focus on the goal of educational technology which is using technology to enhance student learning.
Correcting Misconceptions:
Often times instructors do not have time to correct students misconceptions or reteach material that students do not understand. As a result student may know that they got a question wrong on an assignment but may not understand why. More importantly they do not know what the correct answer is. By using technology instructors can provide and deliver content to students and assess them on their understanding. When students get questions wrong this stand alone instructional resource reteaches that content to students and helps point out the correct answer. Standalone instructional resources are a great learning tool that helps enhance student learning. Check out my Stand Alone Instructional Resource:
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Owning Understanding:
When I first started using technology in my lessons I found that I was still teaching the same way and just delivering the content to students in a more flashy way. As my understanding of using technology to enhance student learning grew I found that technology enabled students to play a greater role in their understanding and education. In this role the instructor facilitated student learning and helped students when needed. As my understanding and command of this concept grew I found myself creating more and more student centered assignments. Student took greater ownership of their learning and I played the role of facilitator and assisted students who were stuck or struggling. As I observed students working this way I was surprised by the advanced conversations they were having with the content. Students truly owned their understanding of the content. Often times during these assignments student would go beyond the lesson and engage with content in future lesson. Check out my Web Quest: Click Here |
Teaching by Design:
It is often easy to get distracted by all of the flashy bells and whistles that technology can bring into the classroom. Even with technology we must remember to use good teaching design practice and good pedagogy in how we design, present, and execute good teaching. In the end the goal is to use the technology to enhance student learning. As a teacher I have use numerous learning management systems to organize and run the digital space of my classroom. By using and experimenting with these different systems I have greatly refined my idea of what teaching with technology and good pedagogy looks like. Good pedagogy and design is always at the heart of good teaching. This is especially true when teaching with technology. This online classroom space is an example of what good teaching pedagogy and technology look like side by side. Check out Course: 1. Click Here 2. Login: [email protected] 3. Password: Guest 4. Add Course Access Code: XRBHD-63HS2 |
Philosophy on Teaching:
The role I see myself playing in education and how technology can help solve them.
Vision:
It is my vision and belief that good pedagogy will always be at the heart of good teaching and student learning. Technology is a tool that should be used to achieve our mission which is enhancing student learning. It should not be be used simply for its own sake. To reach this goal there must be proper leadership with a designed vision. Click here to download my vision:
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Wicked Problems:
As educators we face many wicked problems. One of the most pressing wicked problems is turning failure into a valuable model to improve student learning. We must move from right and wrong answer and focus on thinking and being about to solve problems. Technology affords us an answer and solution for this problem. Examine my philosophy on tackling our wicked problems. Click here to download my Wicked Problems:
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Passion and Curiosity:
As an educator and instructor we are the experts in our classroom. The key is to use our expertise to enable our students to become experts in the very same content. It is my belief that regardless of content as instructors we must feed our students passions and curiosity. By doing so we encourage them to learn on their own and to own their understanding. By doing this we can make learning very natural for all students. Check out my Passion and Curiosity Video: |
Big Picture:
This section focuses on using mistakes and correcting misconceptions to keep the big picture in view which is problem solving.
Failure to Problem Solving:
Often failure is the biggest obstacle that prevents students from deepening their understanding of content. In a traditional educational environment student perform on a test and get a grade. Often after the grade students have little opportunity to learn from their mistakes and improve learning. Check out my graphic organizer to better understand how mistake can be used to enhance student learning and enable greater problem solving. Check out my Problem Solving Graphic Organizer:
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Misconceptions:
Misconceptions often prevent students from fully understanding and mastering content. Students will often fill in the holes of their understanding with anything. As educators it is important to recognize that these misconceptions exist and that extra steps should be take to prevent them from in the future. Check out my Misconceptions Video: |
Credits: All media and images are my own.