MUE332 Victoria Post

Reflective Essay November 16, 2004

My current ability level on the LoTi Framework is level 2: expansion. I myself am most definitely technology-literate. As a teacher I need to introduce technology to my students with activities that are purposeful. However, at this point I don’t think that I am completely clear on how to do that. Right now technology serves to help me and not so much the students. The computer is used for the grading system, to make tests, and to make worksheets. Computer programs are also used for students who complete assignments early or come to class at free time. I know how to use PowerPoint, so some of my lessons are given on PowerPoint. However, if I were to ask students to make PowerPoint presentations, I would still be stuck in the exploration level. The goal would be the PowerPoint presentation itself and not the musical relevance. This would merely be a lower-level thinking assignment.

As a student raised in the eighties and nineties, I should be more comfortable with integrating technology, but I realize that the ways in which my education was enriched really didn’t go beyond level two most of the time. This unfortunately clouds my understanding of what exactly to do in the higher levels. Whenever I think about what I could do in a lesson, I revert back to my personal education, and therefore this cycle perpetuates. This should not hinder me though. I need to extend my education and broaden my views of technology. There are plenty of resources out there to help me as a teacher, which will then help my students.