Video Transcript
Hello my name is Sara Lucas and welcome to my master’s portfolio. This portfolio showcases how my teaching practice has been impacted by my journey in obtaining my master's in learning design and technology. My goal is to learn more about how technology can impact student learning and my career as a teacher. With current advances I believe technology is here to stay and we must learn how to include it in our practice as teachers. Our students depend on us and they are growing up in a world that is changing faster than the world can keep up with. We need to teach students how to live in this world or we are setting them up for failure in the long run.
Throughout my journey in obtaining my master’s I have refined my philosophy as a teacher and root my teaching practice in constructivism, constructionism, and connectivism. This has led me to assigning more projects, like my UBD unit on thermal energy, and giving less tests. With projects I believe students are given a chance to find their identity, and develop in a way that suits their interests. I also believe projects help differentiate content for each learner because students can do a project at their level that can be assessed accordingly.
In addition to refining my philosophy I have been exposed to a variety of new teaching strategies and resources such as: Twitter chats, gamification, and robotics to name a few. Twitter chats have allowed me a connection to life-long learning and I plan to be a part of these to help grow as a teacher. Gamification has led me to and a practice I would not have otherwise considered. Gamification is a real game changer for education and I hope to continue growing this practice. Robotics is something I never thought I would be a part of. After taking a gamification class over the summer this led me to start up our FLL robotics program at Nelson Island School with the help of another teacher. I wanted to start it back up because of the students and I never dreamed it would be such a fun program that I would want to continue doing.
Without this master's program in learning design and technology I don't know where my teaching practice would be today. I would probably still be stuck in the past wanting to lecture and give tests. I would probably be trying to implement technology that only facilitated old practices, rather than letting students be the pilots of their own learning. I will forever be grateful for this program and the connections it has led me to. I feel I now have the resources to continue learning and changing my practice for the remainder of my teaching career. I hope you enjoy looking through my portfolio and gain a better understanding of my teaching practice.
Throughout my journey in obtaining my master’s I have refined my philosophy as a teacher and root my teaching practice in constructivism, constructionism, and connectivism. This has led me to assigning more projects, like my UBD unit on thermal energy, and giving less tests. With projects I believe students are given a chance to find their identity, and develop in a way that suits their interests. I also believe projects help differentiate content for each learner because students can do a project at their level that can be assessed accordingly.
In addition to refining my philosophy I have been exposed to a variety of new teaching strategies and resources such as: Twitter chats, gamification, and robotics to name a few. Twitter chats have allowed me a connection to life-long learning and I plan to be a part of these to help grow as a teacher. Gamification has led me to and a practice I would not have otherwise considered. Gamification is a real game changer for education and I hope to continue growing this practice. Robotics is something I never thought I would be a part of. After taking a gamification class over the summer this led me to start up our FLL robotics program at Nelson Island School with the help of another teacher. I wanted to start it back up because of the students and I never dreamed it would be such a fun program that I would want to continue doing.
Without this master's program in learning design and technology I don't know where my teaching practice would be today. I would probably still be stuck in the past wanting to lecture and give tests. I would probably be trying to implement technology that only facilitated old practices, rather than letting students be the pilots of their own learning. I will forever be grateful for this program and the connections it has led me to. I feel I now have the resources to continue learning and changing my practice for the remainder of my teaching career. I hope you enjoy looking through my portfolio and gain a better understanding of my teaching practice.