Day 2 Morning Reflection Drew Williams

The first idea that I found to be interesting was the SAMR model. This helped me to gain more of an understanding of how to use technology, and the impact that it can have on our students. It is not about the technology, but how it will help to enhance the learning for the children. For example, being able to incorporate a website that allows students to blog and get feedback from people across the country completely redefines the learning experience. I think it will be important for me to use technology in order to enhance the learning experience for these children.  As a teacher, I will try to use this for my own students. I will allow them to create a blog, gaining feedback from people in other areas of the world. This will give them many different comments from people with different backgrounds and opinions.

I really found the fishbowl activity to be interesting. It was hard for my group to attempt to multitask. Trying to listen to what was being said by the other group, while engaging in the chat, was difficult process. I found it to be a very cool experience to allow us to collaborate on the article. We brought very different thoughts that ended up sparking new conversations. I think that this activity is very important for a classroom because it allows for children who are shy to speak up, even if it is just in the chat room. It gives a voice to every person letting them speak what is on their mind. I will bring this to my classroom within different subjects. My students will have topics and questions just like we did today, and will have the ability to teach each other and share their ideas so that they get a more in-depth learning experience. Each child will have to speak at least one time in order to allow everyone to have a chance to share an idea or opinion.

 I enjoyed the talked we had about connectivism.  It provides students the opportunity to bring their own thoughts and differences to the classroom. New connections lead to new learning experiences. When I was reading the article for class, I found it to be very interesting that comprehension is utilized and gained when we connect with those around us. Bringing different ideas and opinions advances the learning process for the students. They are able to see things from another person’s point of view that they may not have realized on their own. This brings new understanding to their learning. I will utilize this into my own classroom often. I will allow my students to research different articles about a topic, and come to class with different opinions and ideas. They will be able to connect with one another and bounce ideas off each other, letting them learn amongst themselves. I feel that we are social creatures, and we learn best from those around us.