In what ways has this course helped you to develop your own technology skills as a professional teacher?
This course has taught me a lot about certain technologies that exist, as well as ways to use them effectively in the classroom. For example, I have never experimented with podcasting before and it was a challenging, yet informative, learning experience. Also, I have heard about how to set up both blogs and wiki spaces before, however, have not had the opportunity to create and use one of my own. Doing this gave me great insight into how I may utilize them both in my third grade classroom, as well as what parameters need to be set up to make them run successfully. Richardson (2010) makes the point that teachers must experiment with technology before introducing it into the classroom, and I could not agree more, as it gave me a better idea of what to expect from students.
In what ways have you deepened your knowledge of the teaching and learning process?
Upon looking at the Partnership for Twenty-First Century Skills website, as well as reading other course resources, I became much more aware of what skills students will truly need in the future workplace. The Partnership (2004) claims that students need to attain and use the skills of problem solving, creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration to be successful in the twenty-first century work force. I have reflected on how I will encourage students to learn and use these skills on a consistent basis throughout their learning in school, so that they will be better prepared for the adult world.
I have also learned how essential it is to use new technologies within the classroom. Thornburg (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010) insists upon utilizing technologies such as SMART phones, blogs, and digital cameras as they embrace ‘anywhere, anytime’ learning. Because students are using these tools greatly outside the classroom, it makes sense to make use of them at school in a positive, safe manner.
In what ways have you changed your perspective from being teacher-centered to learner-centered?
One of the key pieces of information that Dede (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010) shares that helped me to better understand my role as a teacher is that because students have immediate access to various sources of information through different types of technology, teachers need to help students interpret the knowledge, rather than ignoring it completely. He goes on to say that students will learn much differently within the classroom now, because of the technology they are exposed to. I need to embrace more of a project-based learning environment because many students are coming to school with millennial learning characteristics, such as the ability to think quickly and critically. If I want my students to communicate and collaborate well with others, both important skills for the future workplace, I need to give them inquiry-based projects that encourage them to think critically to get to a solution. My students will be taking ownership over their own learning, while I am there to help guide them in the right direction.
In what ways can you continue to expand your knowledge of learning, teaching, and leading with technology with the aim of increasing student achievement?
One way that I can continue to expand my knowledge of integrating technology into the classroom effectively is to stay informed and take some risks. Kirschner and Erkens (2006) make the point that teachers will often get access to new technologies and then rarely use them in different ways. It is my duty to be aware of what technology is available for classroom use and how I can use it to better my students’ learning and achievement. I also need to experiment with some of the technologies that become available to see if they will effectively work within my classroom setting. If I do not take the chance, students will not even have the opportunity to use some of these tools that are becoming more common in the workplace.
Another way I can continue to build on my knowledge of technology in the classroom is collaborating with others. Nieto and Bode (2008) assert that teachers need to collaborate with other teachers and students at times, to create new thinking. I would like to learn about what other teachers are doing with the same technologies I have to make their students be successful. I will listen more closely to my students to find out what technologies they are using and for what purpose. If students get to utilize technology in similar ways as they do at home, they be more engaged and motivated in the curriculum at school.
Set two long-term goals (within two years) for transforming your classroom environment by which you may have to overcome institutional or systemic obstacles in order to achieve them. How do you plan to accomplish these goals?
One long term goal I have for my classroom to give students more opportunities to utilize various technologies in the school setting is integrating a technology-driven project into my curriculum at least once a month. If students have the ability to make use of various forms of technology they will be better prepared for using them in the adult workforce. In Thornburg’s discussion (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010), a teacher makes the point that educators must push forward with administration within the local and state governments to get the technology needed. I think it is very important for me to be an advocate for my students’ education, so I will work with my school and district to ensure that tools are available to my students so that students get to work with a variety of technological tools and programs.
The second long term goal I have for my classroom is to create more student-centered classroom that instills communication, collaboration, and critical thinking skills. This can be difficult as preparation for standardized testing focused on independent, concrete, paper-and-pencil thinking. It will be important to find the balance between independent and group work, but it will be essential to students’ learning to get equal opportunities at both styles of learning. I plan to incorporate at least one group project into my curriculum every week that is student-driven, whether it is a one-day task, or a one-week task. In doing this, students will get the opportunity to sharpen twenty-first century communication and collaboration skills that are essential to being successful. Students will also be more accountable for their own learning, thus developing higher level thinking skills and creativity to come to a solution.
Refer to your checklist from Week 1. Have any of your answers changed after completing this course?
A few of my answers have changed on the ‘Practices to Support 21st Century Skills’ checklist since the beginning of this course. In terms of teaching practices I rarely provided students with varied opportunities for using technology to support learning, simply because I was not sure what was available. Now that I have learned of some great tools to utilize effectively in the classroom, such as wiki spaces and blogs, I feel like I now sometimes give students opportunities to use technological tools for learning, rather than rarely. I also use various technological tools myself on a more frequent basis to communicate with students, rather than rarely. One example is the fact that I am setting up a class website in which I will share classroom news with parents. Students will get a chance to add to the website as well. November (2008) argues by using some of the technology available to schools, students and teachers get an option of doing different things, rather than doing things differently.
In terms of being a teacher leader I feel like I have taken a strong initiative in promoting the development of technology skills in my colleagues, where as two months ago, this was not the case at all! I have also been making a conscious effort to research and evaluate other tools and programs to use in my curriculum. Friedman (2005) notes that the world is changing drastically because of technology, and the United States needs to keep up by incorporating tools consistently into the curriculum. In researching the twenty-first century tools that exist now I am giving more opportunities to my students.
References
Friedman, T. (2005, April 3). It's a flat world, after all. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com
Kirschner, P., & Erkens, G. (2006). Cognitive tools and mindtools for collaborative learning. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 35(2), 199–209.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society. Baltimore: Author.
Nieto, S., & Bode, P. (2008). Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural education (Laureate custom edition). Boston: Pearson.
November, A. (2008). Web literacy for educators. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin. Chapter 6, “Expanding the Boundaries: Blogs, RSS, Podcasts, and Wikis”
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2004). Retrieved from: http://www.p21.org/index.php . Washington, D.C.
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
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