One
way this course has changed my view is by forcing me to use and
explore some of the technologies that I have never tried. Referring
to his personal use of Internet technologies, author and teacher,
Will Richardson (2010) says, “the transformation in my own personal
learning practice is what informed my work with students … we make
these connection in our own practice first so we can thoroughly
understand the pedagogical implications for the classroom.” It is
fairly obvious to me that it would be extremely difficult to
effectively incorporate something into your classroom if you have
never used it yourself. Since taking this class, I have begun to use
and follow blogs, RSS feed readers (aggregaters), and podcasts, while
also exploring many more Internet resources that could potentially be
used in my classroom or to improve my own understanding. Having used
these technologies, I will now be more successful in using them in my
classroom.
The
next way I have changed as a result of this course is in the extent
my knowledge of the teaching and learning process. While I have
always understood that there were many different learning styles
present in a classroom at any given time, I now understand that there
are also what Dr. Christopher Dede (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010)
calls “media learning styles.” Media learning styles are not
based on age, but on experience and comfort with media, such using as
paper-and-pencil as compared to typing on a word processor. With the
with the world becoming flatter (or shrinking) (Friedman,
2005) as a result of globalization,
learners who are comfortable with media and technology that
facilitates collaboration will be needed. Teachers should be
encouraging their students to use personal wireless devices, Web 2.0
applications, and other collaborative tools, especially those that
encourage creativity. As Chris Dede says, “it looks as though
media-based learning styles are going in a direction that parallels
what society is really going to need from education, but we can only
take advantage of that if we let students use in school the kind of
powerful tools that they use outside of classroom settings”
(Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).
Just as
technology is allowing for more collaboration on a world-wide scale,
it is also encouraging me to shift toward
a learner-centered classroom. Trilling (2005) states that, “we
must go from 'one size fits all' to 'the right size for each one'
using technology to help personalize, differentiate, and deliver a
more flexible, universally designed curriculum.” The Internet is
making authentic, individualized learning, that is driven by student
curiosity, possible. It also is providing tools that allow for the
development of 21st-century skills in students. Teachers need to
begin sharing the reins with students, allowing them to willingly
develop those skills through projects and activities that they have a
stake in. Richardson (2010) shares, “by inviting students to
become active participants in the design of their own learning, we
teach them how to be active participants in their lives and future
careers.”
Lastly,
this course has given me the means to continue learning so that I can
work to accomplish goals for my teaching practice. Through my web
exploration early in this class, I found many great web resources
that I will follow using an RSS feed reader, and that will allow me
to learn about best practices and stay up-to-date on emerging
technologies. Learning from these resources will move me closer to
accomplishing goals that I have for my classroom and teaching: 1) To
bring more technology into my classroom., and 2) To create a band
resource wiki that all of my band students contribute to, both in and
out of the classroom, and use, along with band students from around
the world, to improve their playing and knowledge of music. To
accomplish the first goal, I intend to seek out grants and donations
that will allow me to create student workstations where they can
write music, contribute to blogs and wikis, and access Internet
resources from my classroom. I also hope to acquire one or more iPads
for my classroom. To accomplish the second goal, I will have each of
my classes do a project in the computer lab to get started on the
wiki and will encourage them to contribute new resources whenever
they find them at home. When the wiki is up and running, I will
encourage my students to share it with their friends to spread the
word that the resource is available for the world to use.
In the first
week of this class I referenced a checklist of teaching practices
that support 21st-century skills and that evaluate if I am
effectively using technology in my own classroom while promoting the
effective use of technology throughout my school. Referring back to
the same document, I see that I have certainly improved in many areas
since the start of this class. I have already begun to design
activities that encourage more collaboration and that include
real-world problem solving. I have also been exploring many more
technologies and Internet resources and their possible uses in my
classroom. At the same time, I am sharing those resources and
collaborating with other teachers in my district to begin
transforming our schools through the use of technology. However, I
think the biggest changes will come when every student in every class
has a computer or iPad. As Dr. David Thornburg says, “If
we want to make a different in students lives, around technology, …
we have to think nothing less than one-to-one computing” (Laureate
Education, Inc., 2010b).
I
am looking forward to the coming school year and the impact that this
course will have on my work with students. I hope that I can be a
catalyst for change in my students and my school.
References
Friedman,
T. (2005, April 3). It's a flat world, after all. The
New York Times.Retrieved
from http://www.nytimes.com
Laureate
Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010a). Millennial
learning styles.
[Video webcast]. Retrieved from http://www.courseurl.com
Laureate
Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010b). Today's
students.
[Video webcast]. Retrieved from http://www.courseurl.com
Richardson,
W. (2010). Blogs,
wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (3rd
ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Trilling,
B. (2005). Towards learning societies and the global challenges for
learning with ICT.
TechForum.
Retrieved from http://www.techlearning.com/
techlearning /pdf/events/techforum/ny05/ Toward_Learning_Societies.pdf
techlearning /pdf/events/techforum/ny05/ Toward_Learning_Societies.pdf
