In the most recent course of my master’s program, I learned
about the impact of technology on education, work, and society. My knowledge and skills have greatly
increased in the areas of technology and implementation of 21st
century skills in my classroom. I have
learned how to use the Read/Write Web to support learning and how to
incorporate other powerful technology tools in my every day teaching practices.
Prior to
this course, I didn’t read blogs for information, nor did I know how to set one
up and use it in a classroom. I knew
that several of my colleagues have used them as a means of communication to and
from parents. However, I didn’t know any
that used them as a learning tool. During
my course, I started my own weblog and learned how to use them in the classroom
to: promote critical and analytical thinking, increase access and exposure to
quality information, and combine reflection and social interaction (Richardson,
2010). When creating the blog, I made it
accessible to a global audience. Really
Simple Syndication (RSS) is a great tool that brings pre-determined information
directly to you. It allows subscription
to news and blogs. This is a tool that
cuts down on wasted time doing endless Internet searches. My classmates and I also created a wiki. We had to collaborate to edit and revise
information that we wanted to make public.
A wiki is a great tool for teaching 21st century skills. Using a wiki requires students to work
collaboratively, think critically, problem-solve, and be creative. It is a simple, yet effective tool. Another tool that will benefit my students is
podcasting. Podcasting provides a way
for students to record information rather than write it. It is a medium that also promotes creativity
and problem solving.
Now that I
have new tools in my toolbox, I can implement them into my teaching
practices. Taking this course has
brought more awareness to the fact that education needs to be more
student-centered. Teachers must work at
“doing things differently and doing different things” to support students in a
continually changing society that has become increasingly effected by
technology (Laureate Education, 2010).
Technology is a way to engage students as well as differentiate to meet
their needs. Over the past several
years, I have worked diligently to make teaching in my classroom more
learner-centered. I use a lot of
collaborative groups during activities encouraging students to share ideas,
knowledge, and skills and learn from one another. I also encourage my students to develop their
own questions, opinions, and projects that promote critical thinking and take
their learning to the next level. The
more engaged and responsible students are for their learning, the more
successful they are.
I am
continually working to expand my knowledge and skills in the area of technology
and the latest tried and true practices for student success. The more I have incorporated technology and
21st century skills into my daily teaching the more student achievement
has increased. I have come to the
realization that students thrive in an educational environment that supports
their strengths and learning preferences and provides opportunities for the
students to choose their own learning path.
I have become more of a guide in the process.
I have set
two long-term goals for transforming my classroom environment.
Goal 1: I will continue to add technology into my classroom
in a variety of forms to include blogs, wikis, podcasts etc.
This goal will require getting permission from all of my
students’ parents. I will also need to
get my principal to release the restrictions on blogging sites. My students need to learn some basic computer
skills that will help them along the way.
I will accomplish this goal by using computers, iPads, and
Chrome books at least three times per week to enhance my current lessons. The students will use these tools to complete
projects, research, word process, etc. I
will use video clips to introduce and support topics in our curriculum.
Goal 2: I will develop engaging, authentic performance tasks
to assess my students’ knowledge and skills in the areas of reading,
mathematics, science, and social studies.
I will use professional development and planning time to
create these tasks with the help of my grade level colleagues. These performance tasks will incorporate 21st
century skills. Creating performance
tasks such as these will require a tremendous amount of time in the
beginning. It will also require the help
of others. Time is hard to come by in
our current schedules. We don’t have
imbedded professional development time which means there is very little time
available to meet with other teachers.
As I looked
back on the checklist we completed in week one, I realized that I haven’t
changed any positions on the continuum as of yet. I am still in the process of making these
changes in my current practices.
However, I now feel more equipped with the tools, knowledge, and skills
that will be necessary to do so. I am
very excited to continue to develop my own skill set with technology and help
my students to achieve the same. This
course has brought light to so much I did not know and given me practice with
many of these tools. I will continue to
learn and advance my skills and knowledge, so I can be a better educator. I believe that I need to set the example for
my students.
References:
Laureate
Education, Inc. (2010a). Emergence of Educational Technology. Baltimore,
MD: Author.
Richardson, W.
(2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for
classrooms (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
