Course Reflection - What Impact Has This Class Had on Me As a Teacher?

As my course, “Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society,” comes to a close, I reflect on what I have learned, and how my classroom will change as a result of that learning. While the technologies that I learned about, blogs, wikis, podcasts, and more, aren't new to me, my views on the use of those technologies have changed in some ways. This course has helped me to view technology, not just as a way to gain more students' attention, but as an important part of every students education that schools and teachers need to make a priority in order to provide students with the 21st-century skills needed to be successful in the future.

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