Reflection

For the past seven weeks, I have been a part of a course entitled “Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society.” Throughout this course, we have been taught how truly important it is to place 21st century technology into the classroom, as the “skills students need today are different than before” (Thornburg, Emergence of Education, 2010). “Unless we change how students are being taught, nothing is going to change” (Dede, Evolution of technology and Pedagogy, 2010) with our students and in the world today.

Part 1:
In what ways has this course helped you to develop your own technology skills as a professional teacher?

Throughout the past seven weeks, I have learned about and began using several programs and applications involving Web 2.0 tools. While I have heard of these different items before, I never really understood how my second grade students would be able to use and benefit from this more complex technology. By experiencing, using, and reading about these tools, I have learned that they have a place in any classroom. Therefore, I have realized that what Richardson had said was true, that “we have been very, very slow to react” (2010, pg 6).
I, myself, have been hesitant about placing some types of technology into my classroom, because I am not comfortable with them. Through taking this course, I have learned how to use and implement these tools within my classroom. I have gained confidence in how to integrate them into the curriculum that my students are learning in class. Most of all, I have realized how extremely important these tools are in helping the students to think critically, which is a skill they are going to need as they move through school and then out into the real world.

In what ways have you deepened your knowledge of the teaching and learning process?

The most important item that I learned about the teaching and learning process is that they are always changing, and teachers can not be afraid to adapt and to try new things. Thornburg and Davidson (2010) discussed in one of the video segments we reviewed throughout the course, is that people have changed, and the way our students learned and are prepared in coming to school has changed also. It used to be that students came to school not having any digital experience, where now students have televisions, video games, computers, and more at their fingertips in order to become a learner and be better prepared for school. While thinking about this, I realized that in the 8 years that I have been teaching, I have noticed a change in how my students learn and how prepared they are for second grade. Definitely, we can do more in second grade now in a technological aspect than we were able to when I began eight years ago.

In what ways have you changed your perspective from being teacher-centered to learner-centered?

Many times throughout the course videos and text readings, I remember learning that there is a great shift from classrooms being teacher-centered and becoming learner-centered. The role of the teacher is changing from being the one who is “all knowing” (Laureate Education, 2010), to that of the facilitator in the classroom. As Thornburg and Davidson (The Changing Role of the Teacher, 2010) stated though, this does not mean that there is less work for the teacher. Rather, there is more work for the teacher in prepping for the different technology, searching for websites that will work for the assignments and are appropriate for the school settings and students, plus helping students to verify the information that they have found to make sure that it is true and not inaccurate.
I have also found that the role of the teacher and classroom being changed has also led to a more cooperative and cohesive class. They help one another and truly enjoy helping one another when they are stuck with how to create something or find a specific website. It was said to me long ago, that students truly learn when they are teaching others. This is so very true. They are implementing what they are learning while helping their classmates. So, I think that it is great that our classrooms are going back to being learner-centered. Not only do I have to not worry about “knowing everything,” but I can facilitate what the students learn, and in the process teach them that you never stop learning because there is so much information explore and examine.

In what ways can you continue to expand your knowledge of learning, teaching, and leading with technology with the aim of increasing student achievement?

Through classes such as this one, conferences focusing on technology, and merely reading teacher magazines, I plan to expand my knowledge of the newest technology and tools for the classroom. I also plan to continue practicing and using the information from this particular class to perfect it and implement more of the technology into my classroom and curriculum. Ultimately, I truly enjoy technology and want to continue learning about it. If there were some websites that I could subscribe to, in order to keep me informed of new and interesting technology, I would do that also.
One other way that I can stay abreast of the new technology is to keep better in touch with some of the technology teachers/support on our staff. They usually know sooner than I, newer technology, websites, applications and tools that have been developed for the classroom. In keeping in closer contact with them, I will learn sooner about these items, so that I can implement them more quickly into my curriculum.
Trial and error is my best way to learn, so I will keep trying new tools that I hear about and see how well I do with them. If I am able to manage it, then I will figure out a way to implement it into my curriculum. Students love using technology and many of them find class and learning more interesting when they are working more hands on with it, so I will implement technology as much as I am able to into my classroom to keep the students as excited and interested as I am able.

Part 2:
Two Long Term Goals

1. Goal #1

Within the next two years, I plan to have a true website up for my classroom, as the one I have now is still not finished and I have not updated in a long time. Then placed on my website, I plan to have a blog or two, one definitely for the parents of my students, and the other for other teachers. If I am able, I would like to have a third blog site, where students can blog back and forth with me and with the second grade students that I have that year. Also, within two years, I would like to have a wiki site set up also.
The one big item that I am going to have to overcome in making these things happen is time. With the many different initiatives that my school gives us each year, the amount of curriculum that we need to teach, and trying to keep abreast of all of the new techniques and technology, it is hard to find time to do just one more thing. However, I know that it is important for my students and in communicating with my parents that these items be accomplished, so I am making it a goal to have these items, set up, kept current and running effectively.

2. Goal #2

This goal is for my students. My goal is to implement technology that students can use, not just using the ENO board, into each subject area. Right now, I use technology mostly for science and social studies. However, technology can be used with everything that we do, so I want my students to experience technology in math, reading, spelling and more. With the implementation of this technology, there would also be much more group work, so that students learn how to work well with one another. Then upon completion of their assignments, they would share them with the rest of the class, so that they are able to teach them what they learned throughout the course of the assigned project.
To complete this goal, I have to continue to look at the curriculum in which I teach and see how best to implement this technology. Also, I have to teach my students how to work and find information on the Internet. Being that they are in second grade, they believe much of what they read so before starting assignments; students will be taught how to tell if information is real or fake, and what to do if they are not sure.

Part 3
Reflection of checklist

In reviewing my answers from the checklist that I completed seven weeks ago, I found that what I thought was sometimes really was rarely and what I did often really was only sometimes. Before starting this course, I thought that I was implementing technology a lot in my classroom. I thought that I was doing well with having the students working in groups and pairs and then teaching one another. However, after going through the weeks, I realized more and more that I was not truly doing enough work with technology in the classroom. I also thought that I was conducting more of a learner centered classroom, but have since realized that it truly is not learner centered, as I still teach the students much of the time. There are many times, when the students could be doing the learning and teaching, while I could be facilitating, but I take control and do the teaching.
Lastly, especially while trying to create my podcast, that I truly don’t take advantage of the knowledge of my coworkers. In retrospect, I don’t seem to share as much knowledge and activities as I should either. My second grade team usually shares quite often, but while taking these courses, I found that teachers in other grade levels have lots to share that can be used in the lower grade levels also.

This course has made me realize that there are many tools of technology that need to be implemented in the classroom. Collaboration between peers and staff members is truly beneficial in many areas. Technology is the future of our students, so the early they start using technology, the better prepared they will be for school and for the world that is advancing so very quickly.


References:

Dede, C. (2010) “Evolution of technology and Pedagogy.” [Video file] Laureate Education. Unknown.

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

Thornburg, D. (2010) “Emergence of Education.” [Video file] Laureate Education. Unknown.

Thornburg, D. (2010) “The Changing Role of the Teacher.” [Video file] Laureate Education. Unknown.

Podcast

This is the site for my podcast. I am hoping that it works for everyone. Please leave comments if you have any.

http://podcastmachine.com/podcasts/6563/episodes/31030

Thank you.

A Review of Partnership for 21st Century Skills

As an assignment this week, each member of the class had to review the website for Partnership for 21st Century Skills. When first logging on to the site, there is a statement telling a little bit about this organization and what they are striving to achieve. It states that "P21 its members provide tools and resources to help the U.S. education system keep up by fusing the three Rs and four Cs (critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation)" (The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2010). Many districts today, many would think, would take the initiative to fuse these concepts and skills together on their own. My district encourages us to do just this, to place critical thinking within our reading, math, science and writing. My district trains us and expects us to use collaboration amongst our students as part of our lessons, and also to collaborate amongst teachers within and outside of the district. Even though many districts are trying to combine these items in their schools, maybe more help is needed in figure out how to to this. Therefore, this site would be able to greatly help by giving ideas and techniques to those districts and teachers struggling to combine all of these skills within the classroom.

When looking at the core subjects with 21st century themes, they seem to match the subjects many school districts require within their curriculum. Then when viewing the aspect of the 21st century themes, they are issues and views that should be important to all teachers and students, as they are topics they will face when they go out into the world after school. This is all distinguished in the framework which is in the shape of a rainbow. As I entered each section of the framework, the website supported their view with what the concept meant, ideas for implementing the concept, and additional resources for this concept. This would be very helpful to any teacher that is implementing the idea of place the 4c's within their curriculum.

Upon further investigation of the site, I did become a little disappointed. I found that my state of Pennsylvania was not part of the states that supported and were a part of this program. I would be interested in knowing why my state is not part of the program as well as being interested in knowing if some day we will become a part of the program. Something else that I was confused by, is if it has to be by state, or if individual schools could apply. The site stated that anyone could be a member or join P21, yet on another page it stated that the state had to write initiatives and how they were going to combine the three R's with the four C's. I think that my school would enjoy and jump at the chance to be a part of this, as many of the goals and statements on the website coincide and match those that we have at my school.

"There is a profound gap between the knowledge and skills most students learn in school and the knowledge and skills they need in typical 21st century communities and workplaces." (The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2010) As many teachers and community members talk about, this gap that is still occurring between knowledge and skills, what can be done to close it? It seems that when my districts takes steps forward to correct and close this gap, technology increases and becomes better, so therefore, we still end up with the gap. How can a school district successfully close the gap and not spend all of their budget money on the new, expensive technology and training for the technology?

Overall, I found the website to be very helpful. It contained great ideas about how to combine the concepts and teach the four c's while teaching the three r's. Many of the ideas are supported with reasons and resources for helping any teacher. This website would be helpful to anyone that wants to make sure their students are ready for the 21st century.

Reference:

Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (n.d.). Retrieved September 28, 2010 from http://www.p21.org/

Utilizing Blogs in the Classroom

I have been wondering for a while how I could utilize a blog within my classroom. Being that I teach all subjects in a second grade classroom, I don't think my students would be able to contribute to a blog, at least not in the beginning of the year. Since a blog "engages readers with ideas and questions and links" (Richardson, pg 18), I continued to think of how the classroom itself might benefit from a something like this, and I came up with a few ideas.

My first idea, is to set the blog up for parents. The school district in which I teach, has very involved parents. I think that I could set up a blog in order to communicate with parents, and for the parents to communicate with one another. In this type of blog, I would set up questions and concerns that deal with classroom issues, decisions, and projects. Parents could communicate with me about something that may not be working with homework, or a strategy that helped their particular child that may help another child. Also, in this type of parent blog, I could share students work with the parents of the class. Since it would be primarily for this group of parents, and with parent permission of course, I could attach voice threads, power points and more for the parents to view of what their child has made. One other item for a parent blog, would be to coordinate "elementary" type items, for example holiday celebrations, field trips, and any parent that would like to come to read or speak to the class. In creating this type of blog, I could connect it to my school's website. Like many school websites, it is not "updated on a regular basis" (Richardson, pg 25), so attaching my blog to the site would ensure that at least my site in particular would stay current and active for the parents.

My other though for a blog for my classroom would be for other elementary teachers. We could use the blog as a communication tool and to share ideas, lesson plans, strategies, and more. I could post a question for the week about behavior plans, for example, and invite other teachers to share their strategies and ideas. Also, we could share items and websites that we have found that work with different curricular areas. Often teachers are willing to help one another and to share what is working for them, while also looking for ideas as to how to teach a specific skill, or to find more information to support a topic that they are teaching to their class. In communicating with other teachers, it does not just have to be with those within my school, but it could be with those in another country. Technology has the ability to "shrink space" (Thornburg, 2010)and allow us the ability to share ideas from all over the world.

My last idea would only work more towards the end of the year, most likely. By the end of the year, most second grade students would be able to answer some short comprehension questions or opinion questions in a blog type setting with some help. I could pose questions, such as what they thought of the book, or to post a summary of their favorite book. I don't think, at least not right now, that I could have the second graders answer too many questions, or too long of a question, but I am certainly willing to give the short blog questions a try with this group of students I have. Then, I could share the site with their parents and teachers for the next year, so that they can have an idea of how the child is thinking and has progressed throughout the year.

Being in a second grade classroom, I don't want to overwhelm my students, but I also do want to deprive my students of the technology that we all love so much.

References:

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

Thornburg, D. (2010). Technology and Society. Laureate Education: video.

Technology in Education

Technology is expanding and becoming more advanced everyday. Society relies on technology for almost everything we do. It is a huge communication tool, as well as what is used to run our companies, businesses, homes, and more. Since technology is so important and vital in our lives, our children need to learn about and use the many different types and sources of technology available to them.

Even in elementary school, we are integrating as much technology as we are able into the classroom. This early exposure ensures that the students will be ready and able to use different tools and programs as they progress through school. Through using our interactive whiteboards, teachers can take students on virtual field trips, to places they would never have otherwise seen or experienced. Students as early as second grade are able to create iMovies, powerpoints, voice threads and much more, as they are exposed to it and instructed on how and why we use these tools. Other tools such as blogs, wikis, and podcasts are items which students of all ages can be exposed to, and as they get older, are able to create and maintain. These allow our students to communicate with others from all over the world, about information they are all learning. So, children are able to discuss the concepts with not just their classmates, but the students of classes in other towns, states, and countries. Technology is such an important item in todays' society that teachers need to be using it in their classroom, so that students are ready and able to live in todays' world.