Summary of Learning

I cannot believe that this semester is over already. I have learned so much throughout this course such as the importance of TPACK, E-Books, the proper use of copyright, and having a flexible and blended learning environment for the students. I also learned through the use of cool tool reviews.

The main purpose of TPACK is to make the content easily accessible for students. TPACK gives teachers the opportunity to integrate technology rather than using technology as a substitute. Technology needs to be worked into the lesson plans. I will use the TPACK model to enhance my students' understanding of the content and help motivate them to want to learn. Students are surrounded by technology these days, so they may have a desire to learn through the use of technology as it pertains to them.
                                                        
E-Books are an incredibly useful tool. They can be used for any students, including students with disabilities. E-Books are an appropriate source for literacy exposure to books and reading. Students receive the opportunity to write their own stories about what they have learned. They help get the students engaged as they gave to apply their skills and knowledge they learned. Best of all, the students are given a writing voice in the sense that they have contributed to society and their opinions matter.

                                               
I have learned that not everything on the internet is free. Before this class, I have heard of the term copyright, but did not know it was applied to things on the internet, only books and products with trademarks, etc. Many teachers use copyrighted material through fair use, which is the use of copyrighted material for educational purposes. Including Creative Commons in the copyright material gives others the ability to use the material. There are different levels of Creative Commons, though. Depending on the blocks, people may have to pay to use the material or they may just have to cite the source. Either way, you need to be knowledgeable of the stipulations.

                                  
Teachers need to provide a flexible learning space for their students. What this means is that students need to have other seating that just their desks. They need comfortable chairs such as bean bags. couches, and swivel chairs. I am in my 20's and I still struggle with sitting in the same chair for long periods of time. I actually do not like sitting at all, I need to constantly move around. This also gives teachers a choice in the way they can interact with students rather than having to talk to a students at his/her desk, it is more comfortable for both the student and the teacher.

Also classrooms need to be blended, especially since technology is already a huge part of many students' lives. A blended classroom gives students direct instruction from the teacher, and indirect instruction from the technology. With technology, students can apply the content taught by the teacher through apps, quizzes, games, etc. The students receive immediate feedback this way. too. Technology integration is used to engage students. I will have a blended classroom to make sure my students understand the material as it encourages students to participate in learning.

My last cool took review was on the use of YouTube. I knew how to watch videos on YouTube, but I did not know how to upload any videos. I am not that tech-savvy, so I had to watch a tutorial on how to upload a video to YouTube as my video exceeded the time limit, making it extremely difficult to upload. It also took 3 hours to upload. Anyways, through my experience, I learned that YouTube is not just about watching funny videos. Teachers upload their lesson plans for others to view. There are tutorials for everything (including how to use YouTube, ha.) What I am getting at is, the purpose of YouTube goes beyond entertainment, it provides learning experiences of infinitely many opportunities. It also provides a forum where people all around the world can connect, share ideas, and modify them to your liking.