week+5+group+reflection+edld+5364

Kim- I will use this color Kia- I will use this color Michella - I will use this color Richard - I will use this color Ronald - I will use this color

In deciding upon professional development for our teacher, we all agreed that some direct instruction on different pieces of hardware and software was going to be a necessity for the teacher to feel confident enough to then turn around integrate the technology into his/her classroom. Once the direct instruction was done, we then planned our example lessons for the teacher that would the utilize those hardware and software pieces previously taught. We felt that the teacher training had to be rigorous and placed at the beginning of the year so that the teacher could develop these skills throughout the year and integrate them with many content areas. This also left us time to do periodic checks with the teacher to see if further assistance was needed along the way. The collaborative work and efforts from everyone really proved successful throughout the course. Despite the different subjects covered, there was a common thread that made the lessons cohesive. In the beginning, I was a little apprehensive about working in a group. But I believe that it was very beneficial, and am walking away with so many ideas and resources that I can use in my classroom. We had such an awesome leader in Kim, she was really able to pull the entire team together. Working in a collaborative capacity is definitely worthwhile. I think with the different lessons and various sources of technology integrated throughout the lessons, the teacher has plenty of resources to choose from. The team has really pulled together to create an easy, cohesive plan with trainings on ALL the technology sources that may be used. If needed, samples and training notes are readily available - along with any team member to help. I agree that, despite, differences in the lessons and technologies required to execute them, there was a synergy and cohesiveness in this unit. Regardless of the lesson, the focus on supporting the teacher and ensuring that it remained learner-centered made them all, I think, useful and beneficial. The group experience, again, exceeded my expectations - we were fortunate to have a great leader/facilitator and all members of the group made substantive contributions to effectively complete the expectations of the course and to enrich the experience we all had as learners in a cooperative learning environment. I have always been apprehensive about group work, but I am now starting to change my mind. The two groups that I have worked with during this program have been fantastic. Kim as the leader was awesome. As stated earlier, we felt that the technology training for the teacher was a great importance. This had to be addressed first. In addition to the training, we felt that it was important to provide follow up support for the teacher after the training to ensure that the technology would be successfully incorporated into the classroom. This was one course in which I truly gained a lot of information and materials that I can incorporate into my classroom quickly. There was so much useful information that I felt overwhelmed at times. I didn’t know which to use first. I also learned quite a bit from the members of the group. Some of the things the members of the group put together were just awesome. I have really enjoyed the information and experiences of this course.