Educational Technology Teaching Philosophy

I have discovered over the last several years of teaching that for me teaching is an always changing and evolving with current technology and new discoveries.  My teaching grows with my expanding knowledge of my disciplines and growing awareness of the research related to educational technology.  I have grown to realize with several years teaching that experiences working with students has shaped my teaching styles I deliver today.  I believe teaching educational technology involves a variety of teaching styles, teachers and students must stay current on technology, for students to stay engaged regular feedback must take place and I believe it is important to connect students learning to something they already know through real life experiences.

I believe in teaching using a variety of learning styles such as active learning, cooperative learning, and individual learning.  Active learning can be used as a strategy in education for students to take personal responsibility for what they learn by assigning projects and presentations in which students are to collect information in order to gain understanding of the subject. I believe these assignments should involve but not be limited to creating a hypothesis and collecting information to better test it, projects be based upon real-life situations, and presentations involve demonstrating their knowledge to peers and teachers.

Cooperative learning is also a teaching style I support because it has been tested with positive results that students learn successfully in groups to achieve shared goals.  I encourage students to establish group goals, take on different roles within the group, and develop group autonomy. 

Individual learning is also important in teaching students because each student learns differently therefore a variety of technology concepts should be used to construct and express learning. 

With the rapid growth of technology in our educational settings the demand is constant therefore I believe students should be taught to explore new methods using updated resources.  In order to assure students are current with technology used in classrooms as a facilitator I continue to explore research, new devices, and ways to teach students how to integrate technology into their learning.    

I also believe as a teacher it is significant to stay engaged with students by listening to them when there is a need and give immediate feedback as often as possible.  Students learning is important to me therefore I want to facilitate them in the greatest way possible so when they leave my class they are prepared to take the information learned and apply it to the “real” world.