My Elaboration and Use of Instructional Technology has helped me realize how important pay attention to details is and that there are better ways to address the content I give to my students. I truly believe in the effective learning environment which is a reflection of all exterior school and learning conditions in which may affect the student life as an individual. There are different factors that make an effective lesson, and an effective learning environment. Throughout the course I have studied several chapters regarding teaching, but most of all I have tried to put into practice what has been taught to me. Receiving feedback from the professor was very important and meaningful to my improvement as future teacher. I consider that having an appropriate environment will help teacher’s interaction with their students, thereby; they will be able to control their students’ behavior and will facilitate students’ learning.
Personally, I really enjoyed this course. Though I can tell I have learnt a lot from it, I have already had previous knowledge regarding technology as tool of learning in the classroom. however, there were some projects or software I did not know about, and the ones I found very useful for my future activities in class. Also, the professor provided a very elaborated lesson plan for the whole course. I loved that because you had to go to class, but you did have a previous knowledge of the topic of class. So it was really up to you whether you wanted to prepare yourself for class before it started (I think that was the purpose, and loved it because it gave you the choice to organize your time better), or just do all the work assigned at your own pace.
The learning process provided by the professor was appropriate to the content we had to focus on. She helped us to take it easy in regards of technology and to not learn by just reading; she made us practice every single topic she introduced to use, and also gave feedback to us when needed. Meaningful experiences were the best I got from the course. To me was very important to take this course, especially because I could enhance my skills. I tried to apply as much as my knowledge I could by introducing Photoshop, Illustrator, or graphic design skills that I got while I was in high school.
To sum up, the effective lesson and effective learning environment have an important role. I am convinced that students and professors should face these two factors as part of their learning process. All that I studied on this course is very useful for the everyday lessons and activities. I certainly believe or agree that the interactive teaching starts with the instructors. They have to be organized in order to address the content in an appropriate way. It is not only to teach, but also to be a controller, director, and most of all a manager, facilitator and resource in your classroom. Having all these aspects, it can help students to have a meaningful, varied and situated effective lesson by creating a practical environment focused on their needs, as our professor did. This course not only introduced you to technology. It really helped you to be up to date about what you could do in your class while teaching your students. As teachers we have to be open-minded and try to be a good facilitator for our students.
