I am completing my third course on my journey to receiving my graduate degree in integration of technology in the classroom. As I continue to take classes through Walden University, I am reminded of how important media is to engage students in the classroom and prepare them for their future roles in society.
Step 1
This course has helped me to develop my own technology skills as a professional teacher. I have always heard of using wikis, blogs, and podcasts within a school setting, but did not feel comfortable enough to integrate them into my curriculum. While I use a blog and wiki as a way to communicate with parents, I never incorporated my students into the publishing process. By encouraging me to create my own blog and podcast while collaborating to design a wiki, I now have confidence in these tools and am more inclined to incorporate these tools into my classroom.This will impact my students as I teach them using media that they will use in their future careers.
I have deepened my knowledge of the teaching and learning process by researching the ways in which the "digital natives" (Prensky, 2001) think and process information. When comparing the digital natives, to the students I was surrounded by growing up in my own education settings, I have always noticed a difference. My students have smaller attention spans and are not patient with tasks or expectations. I now understand from the students perspective why they consistently want immediate feedback or they become frustrated. These are students growing up as digital natives and are consumed by technology such as iPods, Internet, and gaming systems. They are motivated by this technology and it is not incorporated enough in school settings. Teachers need to step outside the box to find strategies that engage their students because paper and pencil techniques are not as effective as they once were. Students are accustomed to immediate feedback, multi-tasking, and quick thinking that paper and pencil do not provide. Instead of continuing the teaching styles that have been incorporated for decades and complaining about the inattentiveness of students, teachers need to conform to the students to meet their needs in a technology driven generation.
I have changed my perspective from being teacher-centered to learner-centered by researching the benefits of a learner centered classroom. The national board process encouraged me to start thinking of my teaching in an inquiry based settings. In this setting, students are given the independence to find answers and test hypothesis with guidance from the teacher. Students are able to use their creativity and prior knowledge to test theories and make changes based on observations. This inquiry based setting that I have tried to incorporate in my classroom is a stepping stone to a learning-centered classroom. Through the research I have conducted in this class, it has furthered my desire to teach in a learning-centered environment. Students take ownership in their work and when able to share observations on a blog or wiki, they take more pride in their products. I have noticed an improvement not only in student engagement, but in the quality of work the students produce. They know they will publish their work for peers, parents, and teachers to view and they maintain high expectations for themselves. By testing their theories, students form a deeper understanding of the content as they learn from their mistakes and successes.
There are several ways I can continue to expand my knowledge of learning, teaching, and leading with technology with the aim of increasing student achievement. Through the use of blogs, I have collaborated, shared, and received knowledge. I have seen the impact these tools have had in sharing information and so I have subscribed to some RSS feeds that I will read to continue gaining knowledge of integration. A major benefit that separates teachers from many professions is the ability to borrow ideas. I will continue searching for ideas that have been effective in classrooms so that my students can benefit, as well as posting ideas that have worked in my classroom. Since a major reason many teachers do not implement technology in their classrooms is lack of knowledge and confidence, I will attempt to instill the importance of these tools by sharing my knowledge and experience.
Step 2
One long-term goal that I have started to implement in my classroom is the use of blogs to present information. Students have started recording their science observations on a classroom blog for peers, relatives, and teachers to review. Students are learning from each other’s observations and hypotheses and I have noticed discussions stemming from the work they have published. Parents are elated that they can log onto our blog and see their student’s progress. My next step in the implementation of my blog, is to allow students to publish their writing pieces so that others can provide suggestions and comments. This will allow students to take pride in their work as they discover the importance of revising and editing. My goal is to develop effective management of this tool and discover new ways to integrate the blog into various subjects in my curriculum.
My second long-term goal is to allow my students to communicate with classrooms and professionals globally. My school has teleconferencing equipment and the use of Skype is allowed. I have sent home permission slips to allow my students access to an email account in order to incorporate an ePals lesson into our social studies curriculum. I have taken all the initial steps and have the tools available to start communicating globally. My students will participate in activities that allow collaboration with students from across the world to learn of cultural differences and similarities. I would also like to allow my students to communicate with professionals who can broaden my students knowledge and answer questions on content we are learning in the classroom. Within the next two years, I would like to build my confidence in global communication so that my students can benefit from this collaboration.
Step 3
Before taking EDUC 6710I -3 I thought my classroom was integrating technology because we used the Interactive Whiteboard daily. As Dr. David Thornburg pointed out, I was using an “old wine in new bottles” (2010). I was not creating a new experience through the use of technology, I was just designing a different way to present the information. I have learned that integrating technology requires new ways to allow students to present or learn information differently than the old pencil, pencil, and book techniques. Students can create a blog and a wiki that allows others across the globe to access their ideas and thoughts. Students can research questions using webquests and virtual field trips that present information in a quick and engaging way.
Students have all the information that they need at their fingertips, they need to be guided on how to appropriately use the tools they have available. I was not aware that Internet safety needed to be addressed in the classroom, because I was hesitant to allow my students the independence to incorporate this tool. I was fearful of the material that would present itself. This class reminded me that students will search the Internet at home and the rest of their lives, so it is our responsibility as teachers to not withhold this tool from them, but to teach them the responsible ways to use this tool effectively.
References
Davidson, H. and Thornburg, D. (2010). Debate: Digital Natives vs. Digital Immigrants? [video] Laureate Education.
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5).
