Technology Survey Results

Last week, I had my students participate in a technology survey.  I recorded the results on a podcast.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to have my students participate in the actual recording because we were on Thanksgiving break.   This was my first experience using a podcast, but found it to be quite fun!  I think that this could be a great media for students to work with.  Now that I have a bit of experience using podcasts, I will be looking for ways to incorporate them into my teaching.  Check it out!

http://odelli22.podomatic.com/entry/2013-11-30T22_11_49-08_00

21st Century Skills and Technology

There is a great need for education to change in order to prepare our students for the ever-changing, fast-paced work force that they will enter.  It is hard to know what steps we must take to prepare them, when we don’t really know what the future holds for them.  However, we do know that the jobs available today and in the future do and will require a more advanced skill set.  Our students need to gain 21^st century skills and become proficient in all facets of technology to have a leg up.  21^st century skills include: information literacy, critical thinking, problem-solving, communication skills, teamwork and collaboration, information technology, leadership, creativity and innovative thinking, lifelong learning, self-direction, professionalism, ethics, and social responsibility (Laureate Education, 2010). 

According to Miners and Pascopella, our students also known as “digital natives” are pretty tech savvy.  They spend endless hours using computers and smartphones to access social media sites, blog, download music, and play interactive video games.  However, our students aren’t using a lot of information.  They are unsure of how to determine reliable resources, evaluate them, and use critical thinking to process them (Miners & Pascopella, 2007). Knowing this should empower educators to do something.  We are responsible for providing an education that prepares our students for higher education and beyond. 

The website, Partnership for 21^st Century Skills (http://www.p21.org/) is full of valuable information supporting integration of technology and 21^st century skills in every classroom.  P21’s mission is to serve as a catalyst to position 21st century readiness at the center of US K12 education by building collaborative partnerships among education, business, community and government leaders.  They recognize that what is being taught in schools is disconnected from the actual needs of our students. 

When investigating this site there was nothing I didn’t agree with.  I think that there is a great urgency to make these changes in our educational system.  All schools around our nation need to provide professional development for teachers in the areas of technology and 21^st century skills.  Students need to be using technology everyday, throughout the day, in meaningful ways.  I was not happy to see that the state of Oregon has not partnered with this initiative to improve education for our students.  All educators need to get on board.  We must be willing to continue our own education in these areas and do all that we can to implement them into our lessons. We should also work on partnerships with businesses and professionals that can help to support our students in the classroom and out.

Laureate Education, Inc. (2010). Skills for the 21^st Century. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Miners, Z., & Pascopella, A. (2007). The new literacies. District Administration, 43(10),

            26–34. Used by permission. 

Blogging: Changing the Learning and Community in the Classroom

Blogging is an important tool for a teacher to use to increase the learning and engagement of students.  Blogging allows for students to have quick, easy access to information and other peoples’ responses, perspectives, and opinions to material they have read (Richardson, 2010). 

According to Will Richardson, blogs:

-are a constructivist tool for learning

-expand the walls of the classroom

-archive the learning of teachers and students

-are a democratic tool that supports different learning styles

-can enhance the development of expertise in a particular subject

-can teach new literacies that students will need in our information society (Richardson, 2010)

I have been thinking about ways to utilize blogging in my own fourth grade classroom.  I think that my blog could be a great way to share information with students, colleagues, and students about curriculum, schedules, field trips, rubrics, homework assignments, etc. (Richardson, 2010).  However, it is more important to me to use blogging as a learning tool.  Thus, I have decided that I want to give my students the opportunity to blog themselves. 

I will begin by introducing them to blogs that will be of personal interest to them.  After the students have read several blog posts and started to understand the blogging medium and how it was intended, I will post thought-provoking essential questions and ask them to respond to at least one per week.  They will also be required to respond to the post of another classmate during the week.  When answering these essential questions, the students will be required to support their ideas and opinions with text-based evidence when appropriate.  The blog will also be used to post published written assignments and other complete student projects. 

Knowing my students’ current level of experience with technology, blogging will take time to incorporate into the classroom.  It will also be necessary to teach some basics about blog safety.  I will also make sure to get permission from parents and my administrator before beginning this venture. 

Blogging will present many opportunities for my students.  They will learn how to write with purpose and for a global audience.  Blogging will also support the newly implemented Common Core State Standards and the ISTE Standards. 

I have included a link to the Getting Smart Blog.  It contains some great information about writing in the Common Core.  I think that blogging can support these types of complex writing.  The more experience the students have with this type of writing in their early educational years the more they will be prepared for higher education.

Go to GettingSmart.com

References:

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin. 

11/2/13 Blogging: Doing Different Things

I am taking a course on understanding the impact of technology on education, work, and society.  This week we are learning how technology helps us to do things differently and do different things.  In my attempt to do different things, I am blogging for the first time.  Blogging will give me the opportunity to share ideas, insights, and reflections about teaching.  I plan to document my journey with technology in my classroom.

Collaboration is the key to great teaching.  I welcome any and all feedback, suggestions, and help as I am learning new knowledge and skills in this area.  I have a great deal to learn and am highly motivated to do it.

I found this quote that really resonated with me:

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”

― William Arthur Ward

I want to inspire my students.  I believe one way to do this is to continue educating myself and build opportunities into my teaching to use technology and gain 21st century skills.  If my students are prepared for the future, they will be inspired to do great things.