Mid-Course Reflection

The course "Digital and Media Literacy in the Classroom" has given me more knowledge about the skill set all our of students need to be successful in the 21st century. Skills such as, cultural and social understanding, ability to find and select information, effective communication, critical thinking, and digital citizenship, are needed to be a successful student and citizen. Teachers need to intentionally teach these skills as part of their curriculum. Today's student are much different from previous students as they have great experience using a variety of online resources, however, they often tend to be passive users. It is important that educators create opportunities for students to be part of the conversation and contribute to meaningful work with real audiences.

Many of the Cool Tools that were shared among my classmates are great ways to incorporate technology and authentic learning opportunities. A few of the tools I hope to use next year include Nearpod, Glogster and Let's Recap.

I can apply the concepts that I have been learning in this course on a daily basis. First, I can create opportunities for my students to not only gather credible information, but also create a product and share it with others through the Internet in order to gain authentic feedback. I am also considering creating a class Wiki page where students can create and contribute ideas, notes, and anything else that can help them be successful in class. I tend to shy away from using cellphone in class as it can be a distraction, however, I can more open to seeing the possibilities of how they can contribute to the learning environment. There seems to be endless opportunities for students, so as a teacher I need to discover the possibilities and create meaningful experiences for them to apply and share their learning.

I can't think of anything to add to the course. I really like hearing about ideas from my classmates and learning about resources they currently use. I have learned about so many strategies and tools from them!