What was my best learning

experience in this course?

My best learning experience in this course was crafting a technology
integration plan. I loved this experience because it was extremely relevant and
allowed me to explore an area of interest, social-emotional learning. While
technology and digital literacy are essential components of learning in the 21st
century, it is not the only thing students today need to know. Students today
need to know relational skills and how to regulate their emotions. The structures
and processes inside of a classroom must tend to the emotional well-being of
everyone rather than just on covering the daily lesson plan (Hammond, 2014).
Schools must move beyond basic competencies to produce critical thinkers who
can effectively evaluate and analyze information (Sharma et. al, 2016). I strongly
felt that my technology integration plan would help prepare students and
support teachers. When we embed the skills needed for the 21st century into
our lessons, we prepare students for the future. Also, using data to identify and
meet a staff need was insightful. Through this learning experience, I saw how I
can use my knowledge to improve my personal practice as an educator and
share my knowledge as an instructional leader in my school setting.
 What surprised me in this
course?
The most surprising experience in this course was how much room for
personal growth I had in the area of technology integration. Being a digital native, I
have always been comfortable with technology and even someone my colleagues
go to for advice with technology. Personal comfort level with technology does not
necessarily equate to knowledge on effective integration. Through this course I
learned that when we integrate technology into our classrooms, we should think
less about the specific device or tool being used and more about how it will help
students improve. When students work to meet learning goals they are moving
towards mastery of essential content, so is important that we keep learning
objectives in mind when planning all aspects of a lesson. Many of the lesson plans
I have done in the past just list the technology that will be used during the lesson,
just as I would list the materials needed. However, I never really considered the
why behind technology integration in the majority of my lessons. If technology is
not purposefully integrated, it can distract or hinder students from meeting
learning goals. My knowledge of the Triple E framework has given me an
understanding of the importance of considering the ‘why’ behind technology
integration so that I can ensure it leads to instructional improvement before
integration. 
 What was the hardest for
me in this course?
In my opinion, the hardest experience in this course were the lesson plans.
Both the Triple E lesson plan and the 21 CLD lesson plan took me 3-4 hours
each to complete. I found this process to be difficult because it did not seem like
something I could easily implement into my classroom or world as a teacher.
Personally as a teacher prepping for multiple classes each day, I feel that
extensive of a lesson plan is not helpful or realistic. However, within the
frameworks there were more applicable tools like the rubrics and decision trees.
While I know the Triple E lesson plan and 21 CLD course may be too
cumbersome for certain teachers, these may be applicable for some teachers.
Although I found the lesson plans difficult to use, they may work great for other
teachers. Regardless, I took away tools including rubrics and decision trees that
I can use to plan, evaluate, and modify my lessons.
 What advice would I give to
another student in this course?
If I were giving advice to another student taking this course, I would tell
them a few things. First, we must figure out a way to effectively integrate
technology in the classroom because this is one way that we can reach our
students. Students in classrooms today are considered digital natives and
exhibit an intuitive approach to digital interaction (De Lay, 2010). A large portion
of our students’ communication is done through technological devices. Digital
natives use technology to listen their music, talk with their friends, read, get
information, shop, and entertain themselves (Benjamin, 2005). When teachers
address this major avenue for student learning, students convey new information
in a language that they are conformable with, the language of technology (De
Lay, 2010). Next, we must prioritize the knowledge, life skills, career skills,
habits, and traits that are critically important to student success in today’s world
(Buckle, n.d.). Lastly, I would tell them that tools and frameworks can be great
resources for learning if there are solid instructional strategies surrounding them
(Kolb, 2019). We must keep 21st century learning goals in mind in everything
that we do.
 References
Benjamin, A. (2005). Differentiated instruction using technology: A guide for middle and
high school teachers. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.

De Lay, A. M. (2010). Technology as a differentiated instruction tool. The Agricultural

Education Magazine, 83(3), 15.

Hammond, Z. (2014). Culturally responsive teaching and the brain: Promoting authentic
engagement and rigor among culturally and linguistically diverse students. Corwin
Press.

Kolb, L. (2019, April 19). Triple E Framework introduction [Video]. YouTube. https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySAhSuSQItE

Sharma, R., Jain, A., Gupta, N., Garg, S., Batta, M., & Dhir, S. K. (2016). Impact of self-
assessment by students on their learning. International journal of applied & basic
medical research, 6(3), 226–229. https://doi.org/10.4103/2229-516X.186961