Reflection - Technology in the classroom

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.

Technology Podcast

Here is a link to my Week 5 application:

http://trishajordan.podbean.com/

P21 Analysis

When I first began exploring this site, I found it to be a bit confusing. The layout is what is the most confusing about the website. Once I figured it out a bit and was actually delving into the information on the site, I realized that this site is a very powerful and informative one. P21's mission seems to be to educate teachers on how to bring our students into the 21st century. There are many resources that can be found on P21's website. The online tools, which include a toolkit of teaching strategies, route 21 (an online interactive tool), videos, and twitter links are all very valuable resources. There is also an abundance of publications and reports that focus on the websites mission to teach students the necessary 21st century skills. The links also include state intitiatives and other events and news related to P21/

As I was skimming through some of the articles and publications on this site, I was particularly intrigued by a report called "Beyond the 3 R's: Voter Attitudes Towards 21st Century Skills". This article appealed to me because I often wonder what American taxpayers feel about the way education is going in our country. I am going to say that I was pleasantly surprised. I hear so many parents and taxpayers in my area complain about school taxes. I always think to myself that these people must not really care about how their children are being taught. This article has proven me wrong. According to this report, 99% of voters think that schools are not teaching the necessary skills needed for the 21st century. 42% of voters think that other countries are doing it better. The voters polled listed reading comprehension, computer and technology skills, and critical thinking and problem-solving skills among the top three skills that schools are not teaching but are very important. I am surprised by this poll because I always thought that Americans were not aware of what was needed for our students to thrive.

The implications of the P21 website and many of the articles that I read are simply this: 21st century skills can no longer be just add-ons to any curriculum. These skills, such as critical thinking and problem-solving skills, need to be taught in every academic area. This website is implying that we need to change what we are teaching and the way we are teaching it. The old rules no longer apply.

Using Blogs in the Classroom

As an English teacher, I immediately thought that using a blog in my classroom could be a very handy, and motivational, instructional tool. The first idea that I had upon learning more about blogs, was to use it as an alternative to exit slips. I have used exit slips in the classroom before and I like the way that they help students reinforce what was learned in the classroom that day. They also give students the chance to ask me any questions that they might not have had the chance to during class. Using a blog in the same manner could be very useful and a lot of fun for the students. Students could use the blog to respond to a question or comment that I would pose about the learning they have been doing in the classroom. They would be able to share their thoughts with me and with the members of their class. Being a high school teacher, I usually have five or six different classes. This would give each class the opportunity to interact with one another and not just the students that are in their individual class. This could lead to a lot more discussion and deeper thinking about the material we are studying. I think that blogging would enhance the students learning because it opens the door to listen to four or five times as many ideas as they would get in their own class and it would give them the opportunity to share their thoughts with that many more students. I also think that my students would be more willing to have these discussions because they are using the internet and get to discuss it with their peers and not just their teacher.

March 1st

I am new to the world of blogging. This is the first time I have tried one. I am doing this for a class that I am taking to get my Master's Degree. This is going to be an interesting experience and I am excited to get started!