This semester has been a whirlwind of learning experiences. I am very thankful for the information I was able to learn prior to beginning my practicum, as I have used many technologies within my lessons. Google applications have been very important to my students learning, and knowing how to effectively use these programs proved to be extremely useful. I felt very prepared for my practicum and self-assessed and was assessed by my mentor teacher as proficient in this area. Although I felt I carried out learning through technology well within the classroom and in authentic ways, there was still a lot of learning that took place.
Some areas where I felt I improved was in my ability to deal with technological difficulties. Often the Smart Board wouldn’t be properly calibrated, or a video wouldn’t play, but I progressed through the issues and came up with solutions. I think that it was useful for the students to see me struggle with technology difficulties and preserve through them without letting it upset me. The students were very understanding and even offered help and suggestions, not always useful, but I could tell they were learning to persevere themselves.
The question that I was hoping to answer through my practicum experience was focused on the premises of learning how English Language Learners (ELL) could use technology to better improve their learning of the English language. My practicum school didn’t have a large population of students who were learning English as their second language, but I was still able to observe my students interacting with technology and programs that helped to improve their language skills. My students were fortunate enough to have scheduled time, three times a week, to use chromebooks. During this time they went through a series of activities to improve their knowledge of English Language Arts. Some of the programs such as Bookflix, Raz Kids, and Epic allowed students to read books online, and also to have books read aloud to them. This took a lot of anxiety about reading away from the students and everyone was very engaged during this time. Programs such as Quizlet and Spelling City allowed the students to practice their spelling and track their progress. It is well documented that differentiation for students of varying abilities can help all students in the class. Being able to observe students in my classroom use these programs, I was able to see how useful they would be for ELL students. Although the programs weren’t designed specifically for ELL students, they could all be differentiated for their learning.
I was fortunate enough to be able to work with several teachers within the school. During a meeting about a students with diverse needs, I was able to offer my own experience with a technology that would help the students’ confidence in reading. The staff was very appreciative of my input. I was also able to introduce my cohort of teachers to the use of online books for read alouds and learning experiences. They really enjoyed how the technology of online picture books allowed the students to read along and made the store more easily visual to all students. I also helped teachers discover new features through google such as using bookmarks in a google doc to skip through pages and using google photos for quick and easy syncing between devices. My mentor teacher assisted me in learning a lot about google classroom and effective ways to use the Smart Board.
I still have a lot of learning that I want to do around technology and I am currently completing a course to become a google educator. I am hoping that the course gives me some new information and skills I will be able to carry through to my next practicum.
