As my first step towards integrating technology into my classroom, this course has proven to be abundantly helpful. I have learned many different ways to make technology part of my everyday teaching strategies. This course has introduced me to some very easy and relevant options for integrating technology into the classroom. For example, I have learned to use blogs, wikis, and podcasts. These are tools that the students are excited about using and are relevant to their 21st century learning. This course has also forced me to rethink several of my teaching strategies. I now ask myself if what I am teaching is going to be useful for the students in the 21st century workforce that they will be entering. If the answer is no, I now know that I must find a way to remedy that. As a result of this course, I am also reevaluating the way I look at my students and the way I think about my future students. I now realize that the students I am teaching today are different than I was as a student. I can no longer teach them the way I was taught. My old models of teachers are no longer relevant because we have entered a new age of teaching and learning. The most important thing that I have learned throughout this course is to think of ways to use technology to “do things differently, not just doing different things” as Dr. David Thornburg stated (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008). This is essential knowledge for teaching in the 21st century. We can no longer use technology to do the same old teaching in different ways. We must change the way we teach to help our 21st century learners be successful in life.
With having obtained this knowledge, I find myself wanting to expand that knowledge base. There are so many options out there for me to use to become a more technologically savvy individual. I feel that actually using the resources that I have learned in this course is one way to expand my technological knowledge. I found that when we were exploring the educational weblogs that are available I was being led to a variety of other technologies that can be used in the classroom. Contained in many of these blogs were resources that are invaluable and only need to be put to good use. There is great knowledge in the educational blogs that can be found on the internet. I also plan to research more professional development classes that are geared towards using technology in the classroom. The information and training is available, I only need to take the next step and find it.
I have set two long term goals for myself that will hopefully transform my classroom environment to a more technology friendly place. One is easily obtainable and will be used very soon. The other is a bit loftier and may take some serious time and effort to get going. The first goal is to set up and use daily a classroom blog. I think that blogs are one of the most useful ways to keep your students connected to the classroom and engaged in their learning. This classroom blog is going to be used for every class and will hopefully get the students excited about something they are doing in school. The second goal is more like a mission. There are not enough computers in my school. There is also not enough access to the internet. My mission and long term goal is to rally in my school to allow students more access to the internet and more technology in the classrooms. I know that this is going to be a huge undertaking, but I am up for the challenge. I know that I will have many teachers, and parents, on my side. It might not happen within two years, but I hope it doesn’t take too long! Our students are losing out on valuable 21st century skills because our schools are afraid to make the transition into this new age of information and technology.
