Personal Learning Goals

            I love technology. As simple as that may sound, my love can only go so far when my lack of competence forms a barrier between technology and me.  I cannot fix any technical problems nor use any devices with the ease and fluidity one may presume someone who uses them as much as I do should be able to.  Nevertheless, I spend hours upon hours in front of my tablet or laptop daily, reading e-books, watching shows, or slaving away at completing my homework assignments.  Technology has been a big part of my life ever since I was a kid, for my greatest joy came from watching cartoons and Disney movies, playing Pokémon on my Game Boy, or playing Neopets on the computer.

            If technology means so much to me and has embedded itself so deeply into my life, I cannot help but think of how big of an impact it has on the lives of children nowadays, who were born in a society where technology is everywhere and is easily accessible.  According to the text, we now have an iGeneration of technology users, students who grew up using technology as part of their daily lives.  It is amazing how students can now gain access to vast sources of information by merely typing key words into the search engine, Google. 

There are also young kids who carry around a cell phone, a smartphone even, and can easily navigate through them with more prowess than an adult.  Moreover, according to the text, students must be able to comprehend technology-based literacies, proficiently use technology tools, build good communication and social skills, analyze information from different sources and medias in order to live and work in the modern, 21^st century.  Therefore, for an aspiring teacher such as myself, or for a teacher who wants to become an effective teacher, yearning to be competent in using and incorporating technology into the classroom is a major and worthwhile feat to accomplish.  To be able to use technology-based teaching tools for whole-class instruction, for small group instruction, or even for individual students who need programs to assist in their learning is something I want to be able to achieve for my diverse learners.

My personal learning goals are the following:

1)   To become confident and capable of using educational technologies in my classroom

2)   To be able to create lessons incorporating technology to engage my students in learning that will be memorable

3)   To be able to draw from different sources, such as the web and the media, and be able to integrate the information from them in my educational activities

4)   To be able to relate to my students better through the technology they use and to make learning meaningful for them through that technology

5)   To be able to use technology to cater to the needs of my diverse learners, such as my visual learners and those with disabilities, through tools that are available through modern technology

6)   To be able to explicitly teach my students how to use technology inside and outside the classroom to conduct internet research, complete group projects or individual projects, create digital stories, and use a class website

7)   To be able to use online simulations and gaming to help my students understand concepts better, such as using the place value simulation to help students understand the concept of regrouping

8)   To be able to meet different instructional and student needs though TPACK (technological pedagogical content knowledge)

9)   To be able to teach my students how to proficiently read and comprehend technology-based literacy

10)                  To be able to transform learning by incorporating the following technologies: internet technologies, information management technologies, problem-solving/inquiry-learning technologies, social media technologies, multimedia technologies, differentiating learning technologies, and assessment technologies

11)                  To build my digital identity