Reflecting on Technology's Footprints

Sometimes you just have to buckle your seat belt and enjoy the ride!

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

            During the course of this class I have furthered my abilities as a teacher who uses technology.  By experimenting with wikis early in the course I have discovered a great way to get a group of students to collaborate for a project even if they cannot physically get together.  Wikis also have a unique organizational style what could lend itself wonderfully for presentations.  Podcasting has the potential to be a stimulating device for individual learning opportunities.  I can picture myself using this in a classroom for an assignment stressing vocabulary.  Blogging has many implications both for learning and for teaching.  It could be used for professional studies or as an online posting of information and experiences for my students.  This course has given me the confidence to push the envelope of technology as a teacher, to demand more from myself and my students.

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

             Through this course, my teaching now focuses on getting students to think about and apply the content they are learning rather than simply recite it.  If possible, my teaching should be using technology that students may need to use in the real world.  Learning needs to be an engaging activity for the students and it is my job as the teacher to make sure they are actively engaged.  Whether I am using a new technology or not, I must ensure that my students are problem solving and creatively thinking.  Only then can I be sure that meaningful learning has occurred, not simply learning to pass the next test. 

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

I think the biggest way this course has affected my professional career is the emphasis of making my class a learner centered experience for my students.  Previously I think my classroom was more teacher centered than it was learner centered.  Through this course I have focused on how my teaching has affected the learners in a way that I never expected.  21^st-century learning puts the onus on the teacher to engage the student like never before.  Students need to work collaboratively because that is how most jobs function.  The ability to find solutions and apply content knowledge are some of the skills that students need to start working on at early ages to prepare them for life after standardized tests.

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

            As I move forward with my teaching career I feel it is important that I continue to strive to find new and innovative ways in increase student achievement.  Sometimes this may involve using new technologies, sometimes it may involve using professional blogs to receive different ideas, and sometimes it may involve an old trick.  It is important to note that student achievement and increasing their job skills is the goal, not to incorporate new technologies.  If the technology does not increase one of these two aims, then it probably should not be used by me in my classroom.  Experimentation and monitoring are the key factors – find out what works and how well it works.

·                     Set two long-term goals (within two years) for transforming your classroom environment by which you may have to overcome institutional or systemic obstacles in order to achieve them. How do you plan to accomplish these goals?

My first impulses as this course closes are to try out three projects for my students before the end of this school year, one using each of these new technologies.  This way I can see how they work with groups of students and how they work with my personal style.  In this manner I can work out some of the kinks so that next year I can work towards my goal of having my students use some of element of technology in every unit.

Beyond implementing these technologies in my classroom a second goal for me has to be help others with similar strategies.  Some of this is rooted in self-interest – the more often students use these types of skills the better they will become at using them in my classroom.  But if student achievement is attained through podcasts, wikis, and blogs in my classroom I should be encouraging others to maximize their classroom learning potential as well.  I know I can easily find other teachers in my building at my grade level who would be willing to try new strategies to enhance learning.

·   Refer to your checklist from Week 1. Have any of your answers changed after completing this course?

            I do not believe any of my answers have outright changed from the checklist I completed in Week 1 of this course; however, my desire to change them has been jump started.  I was a pretty normal technology user in my classroom previously, but I believe I can implement it more successfully by what I have learned in this course.  I have more confidence in using certain elements of technology, like wikis, than I had before.  I had not considered using something like blogs for an activity; now it is hard for me to comprehend teaching a unit without using some element of these technologies.

Note:  No Butterfingers were consumed during the writing of this entry, which is almost a miracle.

Students Today and Technology

Students Today and Technology

I recently finished my first podcast and I hope you will take the time to listen. I really enjoyed the experience, I think in a few more tries I will become more adept at executing them to the point where I could do them regularly without much difficulty. This could have some easy teacher benefits such as putting a lecture of mine online for students to listen to at home or on their Ipod as they study for the test. Enjoy!

21st Century Learning

At first when I visited the website Framework for 21st Century Learning I was at first overwhelmed.   There is a lot of information and links to articles and websites that I didn't know where to begin. 
As I began to peel away the layers I discovered there was a method to the madness.  The three R's are standard fare, but the four C's (Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, Collaboration, Communication, and Creativity and Innovation) are something that I could really get my head wrapped around.  What is the purpose of school if not to prepare students for the next step of their lives?  I understand the need for national accountability in the way of testing standards, but I have found that they are not preparing students for actual life, just for the ability to take and pass a test.  (One that in Virginia is based upon at 50% pass rate, but do not get me started on that one.)
There were a large number of links to various businesses that have interest in technology and the ability to aid students in learning technology.  These could prove very useful indeed.  I was interested to find that some states are taking initiative in creating 21st Century standards to promote learning using technology based skills.  My home state of Virginia is not one of those, but I would hope would one day.
Overall I was more overwhelmed with the site than I was able to pull information from it.  I found myself developing a personal Attention Deficit Disorder as I was reading over items - I would click on a link and then hit the back button after a short perusal.  Some of the information looked very worthwhile and worth more in-depth study.

Using a blog for learning

My immediate thoughts for using a blog to enhance learning is that would be more of a resource for students to use at home... to be a virtual textbook as it were.  (Not that my students use a textbook very often, but the metaphor is sound.)  I guess I am thinking of it as a place where a student can get a copy of the notes if they left them at school or find a few links to websites that will their play off their curiosity.  It could simply serve as a reminder message board about due dates and such.
A distinctly different use would be for me as a professional to use it to reflect upon the goings on in my classroom and to encourage feedback from other professionals.  As I teach 8th grade Civics (with the occasional language class for good measure) I could use it to connect with others of the same vein.  (That sounds more like work than fun, however, which dampens my excitement as it enhances my instruction.  Why can't everything be sugar that is dipped in chocolate like a candy bar?)

My First Post!

I like Butterfinger Bars and I'm not afraid to admit it!

Okay, actually I haven't bought a Butterfinger in years, but I have eaten dozens in that time.  How is this possible you ask?  Well, I am a teacher of 8th grader Civics and Economics and I make a big deal out of Butterfingers.  They work with just about any lesson - need a crime to commit for a lesson about the courts?  Rob the 7-11 of a few Butterfingers.  Discussing companies and their advertisements?  "Nobody better lay a finger on my Butterfinger!"  Its simply a trick I've come up with to get my students to buy into the learning environment of my classroom.  It works for me, I'm not saying it would work for everyone. 
On the first day of school I tell students I don't do extra credit, but you can get on my good side by bringing in a Butterfinger bar... that is normally good for one or two per class.