Prior to taking this course, I had always had a curiosity about high tech things. I have experience with the basics of using the computer and its inner workings. When I found out about this course I was very excited to get started. With the introduction of the blog, wiki and podcast in the course, I began to feel a bit uneasy. This new terminology was very foreign to me, topics that seemed to be a younger generation's fad. I was suddenly out of my comfort zone. I began to learn that these things were 21st century skills that students would be needing in the future. The blog and the podcast took some time to learn but were actually fun to use. The wiki was quite a challenge to navigate through, but the concept of working together as a team was great. After several weeks of learning these new tools, I began to feel more comfortable and confident. Now I am on a quest to explore this new frontier and lead others by example.
In my recent years of teaching, I have been aware of the many different learning styles that students have. My own personal learning style tends to be more visual and hands on. Now a new generation has emerged with perhaps another learning style. The new generation of students has always been exposed to the world of technology. We now need to consider these students and how they have become accustomed to this type of high tech learning. We are also realizing that the world is changing too and has become much smaller in a global sense. We now need to prepare our students for the 21st century by teaching them skills in an Information Age setting.
To have my students ready for the future, I have to start by looking at the way I have been teaching. Throughout my own education and for most of the my instruction, it has been a teacher-centered enviroment. The teacher has the knowlege and teaches it to the students. To get them ready for the jobs of the future, the classroom has to change to a more learner-centered place. This means students working in teams to solve problems. Also, the teacher will become more of a facilitator to steer students in the right direction. I have begun to have my students work in small groups to foster communication and teamwork. The results have been amazing.
To expand my knowlege of these 21st century skills, I will start with an open mind and except that the world is constantly changing and I must be willing to learn new things. I will continue to talk with other teachers who are very tech savy to share ideas. I will also explore ways of having my students develope 21st century skills for the future. If I can prove that this enviroment increases student acheivement, other teachers will follow.
For the future, I am setting two long term goals. My first goal is to lead in the use technolgy at our school. I want to be able use the SMART boards in different ways to teach Science. I also want help other teachers with technology. My second goal is to get my Science students involved in a Science blog for a study guide. This would help them prepare for their state exam at the end of the year. I will need to work with our tech person to find out which blog sites are approved by the county.
I have to admit that this course has taught me a lot. I feel more confident using technology, especially for the classroom. I feel that a window of opportunity has opened up and I have taken my first steps through it. It will be exciting to see how the Information Age transforms today's classroom into the classroom of tomorrow.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
First Podcast
For this week's assignment, we were responsible for creating a podcast. I was very excited about this and could not wait to get started. It actually took longer to create than I expected. Through the help of Gabcast, I made a recording of a Technology Survey that was given to a group of 5th graders.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
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