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About the Author
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Kim Valle was born, and grew up, in Johannesburg South Africa. It was here that she began her teaching journey over 16 years ago, after receiving a Diploma in Education from The South African College for Teacher Education. She later went on to gain her Bachelors Degree as well as qualifying as a Mathematics Specialist Teacher through the Institute of Education in London. She lived and taught in the United Kingdom for over 8 years, and is now teaching and working in administration in the United States. Kim has taught all grades from 2nd through to the 6th grade and has always been an advocate for students with Learning Differences.
Kim believes that she really has had a worldly view on education and that nothing is as it was 20 years ago. Students have changed, governments have changed, and the requirements in the real world have changed. Technology is now the primary focus in society and the technology is continually changing which challenges teachers on a daily basis.
Reflections on my Journey
Prior to entering the teaching profession I had studied information technology. I therefore felt rather comfortable with my technology knowledge until I began my new journey at Touro University. This program has challenged my knowledge, my thinking, and it has challenged me as a teacher.
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A large part of my Journey involved TPACK. TPACK for me can be very complicated if I am left to analyze, and compare, my teaching to every component. Looking at it as an overall process I am able to identify specific areas that I have grown in, and areas in which I will continue to grow. Since Technology is quite new to my school, the advanced technology we have been working on in this program is also new to me, therefore this has been a learning curve both academically and professionally for me. |
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I am happily using technology in my classroom, but I am ensuring that it is constructive and productive rather than just using it for the sake of using it. Just as I am learning how to integrate technology into my teaching style, I am also identifying ways to use technology alongside my knowledge of the curriculum.
Alongside the TPACK model my strengths are definitely the Pedagogical and Content Knowledge and I am now finding ways to use those strengths to help develop my Technological Knowledge and implement it successfully into my teaching.
It was during this program that my Pedagogical knowledge was pushed to its limits. Incorporating the Blended Learning Model into my classroom meant I had to change my pedagogy in order to improve my inclusion of the technology. Challenging...you could say that! I had to look at the TPACK model and focus on the Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK), and the Technological Content Knowledge (TCK) in order for my research to have a successful outcome.
Alongside the TPACK model my strengths are definitely the Pedagogical and Content Knowledge and I am now finding ways to use those strengths to help develop my Technological Knowledge and implement it successfully into my teaching.
It was during this program that my Pedagogical knowledge was pushed to its limits. Incorporating the Blended Learning Model into my classroom meant I had to change my pedagogy in order to improve my inclusion of the technology. Challenging...you could say that! I had to look at the TPACK model and focus on the Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK), and the Technological Content Knowledge (TCK) in order for my research to have a successful outcome.
I have to say that I am proud at where I am now and how I am able to continue to change and adapt my teaching to enjoy the success of all my students.
Lasting Learning from the Innovative Learning program
Special Education has always had a place in my heart and therefore I automatically wanted to focus on how technology can support differentiation in the classroom. Being a very practical and hands-on teacher I was really concerned that the technology would not be able to support all students. Through the Blended Learning Model I was able to see how successful technology can be. I shared these findings with colleagues and by the end of the academic year many teachers were using the Blended Learning Model (with technology) within their classrooms. Teachers have explained how this was having a positive impact on the learning of the students, as well as them noticing a decrease in behavior disruptions. This demonstrated to me that technology can have a larger impact, then I realized, when used as a tool for differentiation.