Since my earliest years in school I have a memory of loving to learn. I was the type of child who begged to go to school even when I was sick. Many others might say that is evidence of just how sick I was! It comes as no surprise that I would choose a profession as a teacher, so that I could continue to be in the classroom and learn. I feel the same way about taking the courses in this master’s program. I again have the opportunity to learn, be challenged and to get the input of professors and colleagues.
One of the best ways to learn is by collaboration. Although I prefer to do my own projects, I love to hear and glean ideas from my classmates. A wonderful highlight for me was to get the input of my classmates on my action research plan. Many of them already use 1:1 laptops with great success. I was so encouraged to hear that none of them regrets using laptops in the classroom, and many had ideas as to how to make adding templates and saving work more efficient. The whole action research plan seems more exciting, knowing there are others who have journeyed this road before me and are willing to share the pros and cons they have found. The use of the discussion board and blogs made this possible.
The internet can be a great resource for finding out information about many topics. After determining my topic for an action research plan, I worked closely with a parent at the school who will be our IT support for the 24 junior high laptops. I wanted to be prepared to meet with him and have ideas about things we should consider. I went to the web and found a page that suggested 23 things to consider when using laptops in the classroom. They were simple yet practical. One mentioned that the laptop should not be the center of the activity so that the lesson could not fail or win based on the laptop. We were able to discuss these ideas and add our own questions and concerns.
The assignments each week were extremely relevant to developing and executing an action research project. None of them seemed like a waste of time or just mere busy work. As a hardworking professional I truly appreciated this. The assignments provided wonderful scaffolding so that I understood the intricacies of an action research and how to go about bringing it successfully to a conclusion. Each week I learned another new tidbit that aided me in putting together my plan. The assignments also kept me on task and in constant communication with my site mentor. Without the assignments I would not have understood the “action” part of an action research plan.
I do also have a recommendation for this class. I like the use of blogs for giving reflections on what I have learned and also for receiving input from my fellow classmates. I did however find it a bit challenging to attach my action research plan in chart form and then to attach my final draft of the research plan. I was thinking that maybe a wiki page would be a better format to attach charts and drafts. A wiki page allows the maker to upload charts and documents as pdf files, or allows the maker to attach them in much the same way you do on an email. I did see that other students were able to upload their charts in a very professional manner on their blogs and I would love to know how they did so. Once again this only reconfirms for me the importance of being a lifelong learner.
Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of this course! Thank you also for all the preparation that went into making this course a wonderful learning experience. I look forward to hearing from my classmates as they complete their action research plans throughout this year. May the learning continue and become a source of inspiration to those we teach.
References:
Groom, D.(May 19, 2009). 23 things about classroom laptops. Design for learning. 9/01/2011, http://deangroom.wordpress.com/2009/05/19/23-things-about-classroom-laptops/
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