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Save Our Liberty!
All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent. [|**Thomas Jefferson**]

//Welcome to Andrew Garland's Wiki page for his Spring 2011 Education Technology class at Carson-Newman College. I am taking this course as part of my M.A.T. program to obtain my Tennessee State Licensure in U.S. Government. I eventually have aspirations to be a secondary administrator here in the state of Tennessee//.

**Education 533 Technology Personal Learning Goal**:

My students from the Fall 2010 informed me through evaluations their desire to do more group/collaborative learning activities. I also would like to incorporate more of this into my curriculum as well as I feel this is the most effective and interesting manner to facilitate learning. I also want to incorporate more effectively the use of technology to achieve these goals other than the powerpoints and videos I currently use. I realize I have only scratched the surface with regard to the use of technology in my classroom to increase learning through student engagement.


 * Thesis:﻿ **

I would like to more effectively use Blackboard as a tool for effective Group/Collaborative Learning by taking advantage of the many resources it provides. I would like to use Discussion Boards, Diigo, and other external links as additional resources and forums for group and class learning outside of the classroom. The 50 minutes we have alloted does not provide ample time to fully cover topics/ideas with engaging class discussion and effective/productive/interesting for students to engage in outside of class.

**ACTION PLAN**: ﻿ I plan to become as knowledgeable as possible abvout Blackboard by taking a tutorial and spending as much time as possible perusing the site. I would also like to attend one of the information classes UT OIT holds several times a year. In addition, I plan to discuss with successful professors the many ways they use Blackboard in their classes with the hope of picking up some valubale tips and resources. Additionally, I will look on-line for educator discussion boards and videos dertailing successful ways to use Blackboard to enhance curriculum and student learning. Achievements Toward Goal: 1. I have become more familiar with the tools and resources available on Blackboard and have begun to navigate the sight with the intent of becoming more proficient with it 2. I have instituted a Discussion Board for my classes at UT to share ideas and topics for speeches 3. I have posted interesting stories from Internet on Blackboard related to college life/expenses, careers, and speeches, etc. for additional reading and resources