Final Reflection on the Impact of Technology (MEDU 6710)

 
Developing My Technology Skills as a Professional Teacher 

Throughout this course, the media, readings, and activities helped me strengthen my confidence and skill with purposeful technology integration rather than using technology “just to use it.” Lanier’s (1997) message reminded me that the teacher’s role is no longer to deliver information, but to guide students in how to think, evaluate, and create. That idea stayed with me across the course and pushed me to reflect on whether my technology choices truly improve learning outcomes for my students—especially my multilingual learners. 

Richardson (2015) describes the shift from “master teacher” to “master learner,” which has been one of the most practical takeaways for my growth. This course pushed me to approach technology with a mindset of experimentation, reflection, and constant learning. Instead of feeling pressure to know every tool perfectly, I learned to model curiosity and problem-solving, and to learn alongside students while still keeping instruction intentional and structured. The work in this course also helped me build skills in planning with digital tools (e.g., wikis, blogs, podcasts, and social bookmarking), communicating professionally through online platforms, and evaluating technology in relation to student needs and classroom goals (Richardson, 2010). 

Deepening My Understanding of Teaching and Learning With Technology 

My thinking about teaching and learning has become more focused on student agency, authentic tasks, and how technology can support collaboration and communication—not replace teaching. Tarbutton (2018) emphasizes that 21st-century learning environments require thoughtful design and strong relationships, not just devices or apps. That aligns with my classroom experience: students learn best when technology supports interaction, language development, and meaningful creation. 

I also deepened my understanding of the equity side of technology integration. Marx and Kim (2019) explain that technology can widen gaps when access, design, and implementation are not intentional. This course reinforced that I have a responsibility to plan for access, differentiation, and accessibility so that technology supports all learners—not only the students who already feel confident with it. Moving forward, I plan to apply this by continuing to design lessons that blend digital and non-digital options, incorporate scaffolds for multilingual learners, and build digital literacy skills that students can transfer beyond my classroom. 

A Web 2.0 Tool I’m Open to Trying: Student Blogging or Podcasting 

One Web 2.0 tool I am open to expanding in my classroom is student blogging or podcasting. Richardson (2010) highlights how these tools give students a real audience and encourage reflection, creativity, and stronger communication skills. For my Spanish students, this also supports language development through authentic speaking and writing opportunities. Students can produce short bilingual blog posts or podcast episodes where they explain learning, share cultural connections, or reflect on topics connected to our curriculum. 

A potential roadblock is time and consistency, including planning routines, managing quality, and ensuring students use digital tools responsibly (especially with AI). My plan is to start small: short monthly posts or short podcast segments tied to clear rubrics, sentence stems, and structured peer feedback. I will also include mini-lessons on responsible technology use, source evaluation, and digital citizenship. 

This tool supports 21st-century skills such as communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking. It also aligns with the ISTE Standards for Students by helping students become empowered learners and knowledge constructors who communicate and collaborate through digital platforms (International Society for Technology in Education [ISTE], n.d.). For my role as a teacher, it supports the ISTE Standards for Educators by encouraging me to remain a learner, design meaningful digital learning experiences, and facilitate student voice and agency (ISTE, n.d.). 

Two Long-Term SMART Goals (Within 2 Years) 

SMART Goal 1 (Student Creation and Communication): Within the next two years, I will implement a consistent student creation routine (blogging and/or podcasting) so that at least 80% of students publish a minimum of four standards-aligned digital products per year (bilingual when appropriate), measured through a rubric and completion tracking.  

Plan to accomplish: I will build a monthly publishing calendar, create templates and sentence frames for multilingual learners, use clear rubrics, and integrate peer feedback routines. I will also model examples and maintain a simple workflow so students can focus on quality rather than tools. 

SMART Goal 2 (Data-Informed Instruction With Digital Tools): Within the next two years, I will use digital formative assessment tools consistently (at least two times per week) to analyze learning trends and adjust instruction, with the goal of improving student performance on key assessments by 10% as measured by class data. 
Plan to accomplish: I will use regular exit tickets and short digital checks for understanding, analyze results weekly, and use the data to plan reteaching and small-group support. This goal connects to the course emphasis on purposeful technology use that supports instruction and assessment. 

A Professional Issue I May Want to Study 

One issue that stands out for future study is how to support authentic learning and assessment in an age of AI, especially for multilingual learners. In my setting, students have increasing access to AI tools that can support learning but can also reduce independent thinking if misused. This creates a real dilemma: how to embrace tools that can support language development while ensuring students still build the skills of writing, reasoning, and communication. This is an area where I have control through classroom expectations, learning design, and assessment choices, and it directly impacts student learning and long-term skill development. 

Conclusion 

Overall, this course strengthened my understanding that the role of the teacher is expanding—not shrinking. Lanier’s (1997) early message is still true: students need teachers who design learning experiences that build critical thinking and knowledge creation. This course reinforced that effective technology integration is about purpose, equity, and student-centered learning. Moving forward, I plan to continue growing as a “master learner” (Richardson, 2015) while designing meaningful, inclusive digital experiences that prepare my students for the real world. 

 

References 

International Society for Technology in Education. (n.d.). ISTE standards for educators. https://www.iste.org/standards/for-educators 

International Society for Technology in Education. (n.d.). ISTE standards for students. https://iste.org/standards/students 

Lanier, J. T. (1997, July 1). Redefining the role of the teacher: It’s a multifaceted profession. https://www.edutopia.org/redefining-role-teacher 

Marx, S., & Kim, Y. (2019). Technology for equity and social justice in education: Introduction to the special issue. International Journal of Multicultural Education, 21(1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.18251/ijme.v21i1.1939

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (3rd ed.). Corwin. 

Richardson, W. (2015). From master teacher to master learner. Solution Tree Press. 

 

Tarbutton, T. (2018). Leveraging 21st century learning and technology to create caring diverse classroom cultures. Multicultural Education, 25(2), 4–6. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1181567 

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