EDLD 5364 Week 5 Post Reflection

For someone who is really looking forward to what technology has to offer our students, I thoroughly enjoyed this week's videos! I love the idea of using gaming for the assessment. I like what James Paul Gee and Sasha Barab are doing with games in education. I wish that we actually had the time to utilize this type of teaching in our school. Unfortunately, focusing so much attention on passing a high-stakes takes priority. I do have the opportunity to utilize several different types of teaching and learning environments since I do teach technology, but I often just scratch the surface of what I would like to do with my students. I'm encouraged by the direction that technology is headed in our schools, but I'm concerned that my own students still do not have the tools they need to become competitive with other students their age. Our technology director was more concerned with the fact that we only had 25% of an advanced technology class attempt the Microsoft Office Certifications, and out of that 25% only 12% actually received the certification. In the mean time, I had students working with 3-D construction software that attracted the attention of a local engineer who volunteered to talk with my students about the software they use to design oil and gas production equipment. I want my students to bed the ones that are always searching and asking questions. I don't care that they had to click on the Microsoft Help button to figure out how to set a gutter on their page. Maybe that is wrong and I'm not doing what I need to be doing. However, my students designed and built dog houses to donate to a local shelter. The skills they gained from that one project alone have lead them on to projects of their own including video "how to's" and lessons on using tools properly. I do believe it is important that I continue to press forward with my classes.