Reflection

====During the last couple of years my school has shown leadership when it comes to technology and its use in the classroom. We were the first school in our division to put an interactive whiteboard in every classroom, we implemented the one to one laptops and for the last year we have been piloting the use of IPads as a teaching tool. While these new initiatives have stimulated excitement at our school, for me it has been quite daunting. I have always felt archaic when it comes to technology. It scares me not to know something. But because of the support of my administration and the gentle nudging of a couple of colleagues, I have commenced my technology odyssey. Spending a day observing the enthusiasm Alex Couroso had for technology and consequently the stimulated interest that was shown from my fellow cohorts, I realized I was not doing enough with technology in my classroom and that it could be a significant tool for my action research project. It is integral that a quality service-learning program have an opportunity for reflection. Participants need to reflect on the service they partook in and what meaning it gave to them personally as well as educationally. Scales et al., asserted that:==== ====Without strong opportunities for reflection on the experience, learners will tend to assimilate the experience into their existing models of meaning. But with the structured opportunity to reflect, describe, discuss, and construct meaning from the experience, learners have the potential to develop more complex understandings and more comprehensive intellectual functioning (2006).==== ====It is because of the extensive reflection and the continued need to retain student engagement, that technology is vital for the success of my service-learning project. The many ways in which I can integrate technology into my action research is by using:====
 * ====Online videos showing students participating in the service.====
 * ====A website that highlights the goals of the project, connect with members of the community and extend the reach of our service-learning project.====
 * ====A blog to connect and share ideas with the community partners or use the blog as an online diary.====
 * ====A widget to share the latest ideas.====
 * ====Digital storytelling.====
 * ====A wiki or social networking sites to help students and others involved in the service communicate and share helpful tips.====
 * ====Online slideshows.====