Reflection

            This course has opened my eyes to some great technologies available and how to implement them into a course by giving hands on experiences with that technology. The main point that kept reoccurring was what Thornburg said about ensuring that when you are utilizing technology to do different things, and not just do the same thing in a different way (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).  Also Thornburg made an excellent point that just throwing technology into a classroom will not ensure that improvements will occur, the teacher needs to know how to use that technology to its fullest potential (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).  By having hands on experiences with blogs, wikis, and podcasts I now know some of the pitfalls my students may encounter when I attempt to have them utilize that technology and have an idea of how to avoid those pitfalls. Another thing this course has done for me is to help me understand that students need to be guided more than told what to do. The role of the teacher is no longer one of distributor of knowledge, but more of a facilitator who constructs real world situations for his or her students to learn (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010). While I was taking this course I was already searching for more ways that I can step back and let my students take the reins, and guide their learning experiences rather than just telling them the answers. For example, I now have my students take their notes at home through my website for the class, and then we have class discussions about the information they reviewed at home, rather than me just standing in front of the room and telling them what was important from the notes. One way I intend to ensure that my knowledge base for technology continues to expand, is I plan to learn about all the technology programs and hardware available to me and first learn how to use it on my own and then see where I can fit it into my curriculum.  

            This course has given me many insights into ways that I can incorporate technology into my course and integrate ways to instruct 21^st century skills to my students. One goal I have is to attempt to get a computer cart devoted solely to my classroom so that I always have the opportunity to utilize technology in my course. If each student has a computer available to them daily then I can demonstrate appropriate ways to interact and use technology in a safe and structured environment. One issue I currently have is we only have a limited number of computers for the entire school, so I plan to write a proposal to obtain funding for laptop computers for the chemistry department. I will have to do more research to determine what grants and other sources of funds are available, but I can absolutely see that the effort would be worth it for my students.  Another goal I have is to change the way that I assess my students. Dede pointed out that students will be expected to work collaboratively in the work force, so I want to model that as much as possible for my students (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010). A problem with this is that the majority of standardized tests are still individual, so to prepare students for that type of testing teachers usually give individualized tests. I will attempt to find a way to prepare my students for these standardized tests, while still incorporating collaboration with every major assessment. I believe I can do this if I format the assessment correctly, to still have my students learn the skills to be successful on a standardized test but also teach them how to work as a team to solve problems.

            After reviewing my answers to the self-assessment from week one I do see a change with certain categories of the assessment. I have already created more assignments that require my students to be more self-reflective. Before I only occasionally had assignments where students needed to self-reflect, now students participate in assignments at least weekly where they are self-reflecting. I also have change the amount of choice students have to present information. Before, students rarely had the option to choose the way they would present information or show me what they learned; now students have the opportunity to complete a differentiated assessment that still demonstrates they have gained the required skills but offers them a choice of how they will demonstrate that knowledge. The last major change is with the use of technology itself. The availability of technology in my school is limited, so I was less prone to attempt to use the technology. Now that I see how the technology can enhance my lessons by allowing the students to manipulate the information I am signing up for the laptop carts almost weekly. Students are searching for their own information to understand concepts and I am more of a guide in the process than the one telling them where to look.

            This course has helped me to understand how much more I can help my students by stepping back and allowing them to take control. It has provided me with some excellent experience with using free technologies that can be incorporated into any classroom. Also this course has helped me to understand that the skills my students will need are not the same as they used to be, so we as teachers need to change with the times and keep abreast to the current practices and technologies available so we can give our students the best chance at success.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (2010). Understanding the impact of technology on education, work,

and society. Baltimore, MD: Dede.

Laureate Education, Inc. (2010). Understanding the impact of technology on education, work,

and society. Baltimore, MD: Thornburg.

Podcast

Here is the link to my podcast
http://podcastmachine.com/podcasts/14134#

to access: go to wk5 podcast channel, then scroll down to files, and open the file.

P21 Site

            While I was perusing the Partnership for 21^st Century Skills website I found some very useful and interesting information (2012). What I found the most interesting was the section with the 21^st century skills curriculum maps (Partnership for 21^st Century Skills, 2012). After reading all of the science outcomes for twelfth graders I was really surprised how many of the outcomes dealt with the students gaining the skills to critically think about information they are gathering from multiple sources and then critiquing those sources for accuracy (Partnership for 21^st Century Skills, 2012). This relates directly to what Miners and Pascopella thought about students needing the ability to evaluate internet sources for the accuracy of the information presented (2007). Students are bombarded by information daily through a multitude of sources; they need to be able to distinguish between what information is believable and accurate and what information should be ignored.

            One of the outcomes listed on the Partnership for 21^st Century Skills science curriculum map was that students should be able to read and view scientific information on both popular and professional media in areas that interest them and then be able to discuss that information with peers informally (Partnership for 21^st Century Skills, 2012). I think that this is a great skill for students to learn because this is what they will have to do in their post educational lives. Students will continue to learn about science outside of school based on interest, and they need to learn the skills to hold an intelligent conversation about scientific issues they will face in their lifetimes. This is a concept that I have previously ignored based on attempting to cover all of the topics that I need to cover in the science curriculum.

            As I was browsing the P21 site, I did not find anything that I disagree with. I think that technology is changing and that every student needs to be prepared for these changes. We as educators need to foster this change in every way we can, and that is what this site is all about. I did not have time to look through every single resource on this site, but everything that I have found I find interesting and applicable and I agree with all of the viewpoints presented on the site.

            The implications for my students and I are that we need to start preparing everyone for the technology and thinking process that will be necessary for success. I, as an educator, need to provide my students with every opportunity I can to evaluate multiple sources of information that they gather on their own. I need to prepare my students to think critically about what they are reading and how they go about synthesizing that information in a form that other people can understand. My students will need to be tech savvy as well as be able to problem solve in creative and innovative ways to be competitive in the economic market they will be entering into.

References:

Miners, Z., & Pascopella, A. (2007). The new literacies. District Administration, 43(10), 26-34. Used by permission.

Partnership for 21^st Century Skills (2012). Retrieved from: http://www.p21.org.    

Utilizing a Blog in an Educational Setting

            There are many great ways to utilize a blog in an educational setting. One way I think that I could use blogs to enhance my eleventh grade chemistry students learning environment would be to have them complete online journals and post comments weekly on each other’s journals. I already have my students complete weekly reflection journals where students can write about what they understood from the week’s lessons and what they need assistance with, but the only person reading and responding to these entries is me. I think that the students would benefit greatly from reading each other’s journals because then they can answer their classmates questions and read entries others have posted to gain a better understanding of the content being covered in class.

            Other aspects of online journaling that would be beneficial to students would be that they would learn how to appropriately communicate on the internet (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010). Students just do not understand how to interact in a professional manner without guidance (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).  What makes journaling a great introduction to blogging and appropriate online behavior is that it still deals with content but it is content in the students own words. What sets blogging journals apart from standard paper journals is the interaction that the students will have with one another (Richardson, 2010).

            Some points that give me pause with my student’s blogging are that I am not exactly sure how to set blogs so that the comments do not publish without being approved first. I do not want students to post content that is inappropriate so I would like to review every post before it is submitted to the class blog site. In addition, I am also nervous about how much of my student’s information I want to be available on the blog. I’m not sure how I will handle students’ names while still being able to identify who contributed in the time they were supposed to.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (2010). Understanding the impact of technology on education, work,

and society. Baltimore, MD: Martin.

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (3^rd

ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Hello!

Hello blogosphere! Just wanted to post something to see how this works.