Course Reflection
As I finish my current graduate course, Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society, I am excited to reflect back on what I have learned. I was looking forward to beginning this class because technology interests me greatly. I enjoy incorporating different kinds of technology into my lessons and have found from experience that my students not only enjoy it as well, but academically benefit from it. I have seen students have the ability to retain a lesson or concept in their minds due to the fact that they were completely immersed in using technology in a hands-on setting. According to Dr. David Thornburg, students of today are considered digital natives. This means these students have grown up with technology and it surrounds them. As teachers we need to be sure to cater to this new and different mindset because if we do we have the opportunity to effectively reach each child. (Laureate, 2010)
Overall, I have benefitted greatly from this course. I felt like I was a proficient technology user, but my eyes were opened to new and different ideas over the past seven weeks. Before this course I was an avid social networker, but had never had to opportunity to create a blog, wiki, or podcast. Learning these three new platforms of web 2.0 has expanding my thinking in how to incorporate technology into my first grade classroom. I already am looking into setting up a pen pal blog with another first grade class so my students can experience blogging in a safe and very monitored setting. Along with deepening my knowledge of technology, I have learned more about how the digital native learns and what I should be doing to prepare the digital native for the real world. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, found at http://www.p21.org , lists all the major skills students of today will need to master before they graduate and embark upon their first job searches. This organization stresses the importance of critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity as well as technological skills. I understand that to prepare my students for the future, I need to put them in learning situations that foster these important skills.
I have always felt that my teaching style has been much more learner centered than teacher centered. I feel that students learn the most when they are put into situations where they need to problem solve to find a solution. I do not believe that students get the most out of a lesson where answers are handed to them. How will they ever learn to do things for themselves? Though I feel I already am learner centered, I have learned through this course that I should strive to incorporate this as much as I can. I am very excited for what is ahead for me as I continue along my graduate school journey. I am sure that there are many more aspects of technology that I will discover, and many more technology skills that I will improve. This course is just the tip of the iceberg!
Long Term Goals
The first long term goal I have set for myself is to get a blog set up for my first graders to communicate with other first graders. I have already started thinking about this idea and how I will incorporate it this year. As the years go by I would like this to be something that is done from the beginning of the school year. I would like for first graders to be able to practice communication skills, as well as correct sentence structure with children of their same age. Doing this project throughout the year would allow my students to discuss different parts of the school year, holidays, and interests in a very safe and monitored way.
My second goal is to produce a class podcast, available for parents to listen to via the internet. This goal will take much more planning, as parent consent for children to record voices has proven to be tricky. When all is said and done, I would like to broadcast a podcast once a month detailing classroom events, projects, and messages from the students. Students will be able to share what they have been working on in the classroom, what they are excited for, and their favorite classroom activity each month. This would keep the parents up to date, and also is a great way for students to learn about podcasting at an early age.
How I Have Changed
At the beginning of this course, I was asked to fill out a checklist detailing my technology skills and proficiency levels at each skill. Seven weeks ago I felt that I sometimes used a variety of digital tools in my classroom, often have students engage in real world problem solving activities, and design learning experiences incorporating technology. Though I still do these things, I believe I am more aware of the different kinds of technology available and have a better understanding of how to incorporate them into the classroom. As I am more aware, it is not as big of a task to incorporate more technology into the classroom and cater to my students’ technology rich backgrounds. In looking at the checklist at the beginning of the course, I fell short in the area of sharing new technology tools with others, and seeking out other professionals to share my practices with. At the time of the checklist, I did not feel confident that I was knowledgeable in enough technology to share with others. I saw myself as proficient, but in basic aspects and did not have much to share with my professional community. Through this course, the learning resources, and group discussions I have found more confidence. I have learned so much and put it into weekly practice that I would, at this point, be willing to share some of the things I have discovered with colleagues. As I continue on in my graduate work, I am sure that this confidence will continue to grow. Ultimately, I aspire to be a teacher that is ready and willing to share innovative technological ideas with others, and incorporates those ideas into my own classroom as much time and budget will allow.
Resources
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). Program number 14: Debate: Digital natives and digital immigrants [DVD]. Understanding the impact of technology on education, work, and society. Baltimore, MD: Author
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (n.d.). A framework for 21st century learning. Washington DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/
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