Synthesis

EDU 250 is a course that teaches you how to utilize technology for instructional

purposes. Throughout this course, the students have learned how to write a proper student

learning outcome, creating learning activities with technology, learning how to use

technology for better communication and feedback, how to use technology to instruct,

and how to instruct using technology for meaningful learning. In all of our assignments,

we focused on using homophones. Homophones are words spelled differently and have

different meanings, but sound the same.

To begin the course, we learned different types of instructional technology. These

include static vs. dynamic, synchronous vs., asynchronous, and informational vs.

instructional. For example, Shutterfly is a dynamic instrument because it is active, while

crossword puzzle is static because it doesnt move or change. We also talked about

Blooms Taxonomy. Within this there are lower order thinking skills and higher order

thinking skills. It is important to always instruct using HOTS. Using higher order

thinking skills allows students to use critical thinking. On Shutterfly, our class was

supposed to communicate and form a community. We were able to message one another

and post photos of ourselves.

During the first part of this class, we focused on activities that were under the

LOTS category. Those were Crossword Puzzle, Quizlet, Jeopardy, and MashUp. These

activities are teacher directed, which means they fall under the behaviorism thought in

instruction. Therefore, they are stimulus/response and students will memorize

information instead of learning. When students participate in stimulus/response activities,

the teacher does not get a clear idea of what the child really thinks. The other assignment
this semester fell under the category of constructivism/cognitivism. This always the

teacher to view the logic of a student and it is more student centered.

These two categories are important when teaching. They also can be known as

passive or active learning. Passive is teacher centered, while active is student centered. In

order to develop meaningful learning, students have to have critical thinking with higher

order thinking skills. They also have to experience, share, process, generalize, and apply

the information they learn. Our constructivism/cognitivism assignments through this

course were movie making, Storybird, StoryboardThat, and podcast. All in all, I have

learned that students need problem-based learning. They are able to apply their

knowledge to come up with a solution. We have also learned how to write proper student

learning outcomes. There are to be outcomes that are measurable and observable. They

are to include a verb that follows HOTS.

This has been a beneficial class. It has opened my eyes to unique ways to

implement technology in the classroom. I have learned that students need to use their

critical thinking skills in order to be college and career ready. Children do not learn much

by memorizing term and definitions. When they are expected to construct their own

assignments that further their knowledge, they will learn more.