Technology in the Classroom/ Personal Learning Network (PLN)

            Technology has become a way of life. Some may believe that they would be lost without it and cannot imagine a world that does not have it. It has become a way of eliminating the stresses of everyday life and useful for activities such as traveling, working on finances, listening to music, socializing with others, and involvement in the workplace. Technology has even made its’ way into schools; which is an effective tool to facilitate learning according to Bauer (2014). “Through the use of technology, students can exert more control over how they learn, resulting in instruction that is more student-centered” (Russell & Sorge, 1999). Lessons that involve technology are shown to keep the students more interested and learn much faster. In the book Music Learning Today, Bauer (2014) gives examples of these lessons. For example, there are teachers who collaborate with other teachers but in different schools and through the internet. The two teachers design a project for the students to work on together, from the separate schools, and then present the information in both classrooms through a webcam and the internet. There are many technology resources teachers can use to engage students but it is up to the teacher to understand how to use them.

            Although technology has been shown to be helpful, some may find it intimidating. There are many teachers, newer and veterans, who have a hard time learning about the new kinds of technology. There may not be enough time for professional development classes with the amount of work teachers have to do during the school year. Bauer discusses in the Music Educators Journal (2010) how having a Personal Learning Network (PLN) is useful when teachers want to learn something and find new information. This can be their tool for professional development when learning about new technology. Teachers can also socialize with other professionals in a PLN. Tools that are needed for this are free and accessible with a web browser. These tools include Really Simple Syndication (RSS), blogs, podcasts, wikis, folksonomies, facebook, and twitter (Bauer, 2010).

When listening to this weeks’ lecture from Dr. Dale Bazan (2016), I described myself as a digital immigrant and an analog holdout. I felt I belonged to two of the categories because I know enough about technology to assist in my profession but I do not know enough to be an expert. I still need help from others when something goes wrong. During my first years of teaching, I was really intimidated by technology because of the school I was in. I did not have many materials for it, there was not enough money for new technology, and the school district was not helpful on what I was able to use for resources. Reading Bauer’s’ article on PLN is very calming for myself. I have used these tools, such as facebook, for classroom lessons and when reaching out to other educators. Other websites, such as twitter and folksonomies, is new for me. I look forward to using these websites, as well as others, to help me with my technology skills so I can engage my students.

References:

Bauer, W. I. (2010). Your Personal Learning Network: Professional Development on Demand. Music Educators Journal, 97(2), 37-42. doi:10.1177/0027432110386383

Bauer, W. I. (2014). Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music.

Bazan, D. (2016, July 1). Technology Assisted Music Teaching & Professional Development. Lecture.

Russell, J. & Sorge, D. (1999). Training facilitators to enhance technology integration. Journal of Instruction Delivery Systems, 13(4), 6.