Reflection

This course is the best I have had at Walden and the best I have had since I began my teacher education.  I think the biggest reason for this is that I was allowed to explore the content on my own--I used every tool in class--and that really helped me evaluate myself as a teacher.  The primary way this course helped me was in showing me some good ways to link all of the technology together.

Prior to this course, I had my own blog and my own Google Reader, but I never thought of combining the two into a tool that I could use to make my life easier as a teacher.  I love using blogs in class and in less than a month, students have grown to love it as well.  I like the convenience of the RSS feed--I can grade anywhere I can access the internet without lugging any papers around--and I have found that students work harder on the blogs than they did on ordinary papers.  I still have a few students who neglect to complete the assignments, but I no longer have any students who only go halfway.  If they take the time to log on, they finish the assignment completely.

The course showed me that tools like podcasts and wikis were available and potentially beneficial for the classroom.  I have yet to use them extensively, but they will definitely be in my mind when I'm coming up with new projects and activities.

I did not expect to emerge from this course more aware of my role as a teacher, yet my focus has shifted almost entirely from a teacher-centered approach to a student-centered approach.  I always wanted to give my students more responsibility for their own learning as opposed to me lecturing day in and day out, but I never found an approach that worked until I started incorporating more technology.  Now, through blogging and other tools I learned in this class, I'm getting a lot more production out of the students.  The best part is that it is not repetition but often new, independent thoughts!  I've been waiting over two years for this!

As I move forward from this class, I think it's important that I continue to utilize the methods from the course.  One that I found especially valuable, more so than the other courses I have taken so far, were the weekly discussions.  I learned something new--a website, a strategy, a lesson--every week.  I would like to try to replicate this experience at my school, perhaps not through a discussion board, but by finding like-minded teachers who have a passion for technology.  I also saw the value of education blogs have in recreating this experience.

With these thoughts in mind, I have prepared two goals for the near future:

Move towards a paperless classroom


If the world is indeed becoming paperless, I would like to prepare students for their role in that world.  I envision the individual blogs of the students becoming the hub for all of their classroom work.  I want students to utilize blogs to share their work with their classmates and to open up opportunities for collaborative research.  Of course, I don't want to go paperless just for the purpose of going paperless, so I want to continue to reflect upon why I am using technology and how it can benefit the students.

Incorporate 21st Century Skills


I had never heard of 21st Century Skills prior to this course and none of the colleagues I have talked to have either.  I really found them to be important for the students and I think it is important that my district shares in this foresight.  I would like to incorporate these skills into the classroom, but, perhaps more importantly, I would like to bring these skills, and technology in general, to my colleagues.  I've already set up a few professional development sessions to share blogging ideas with beginners.  My hope is that my school can be at the front end of technology in the district.

Podcast!

My podcast on classroom demographics and their relation to technology can be found: here.

21st Century Skills

While exploring the 21st Century Skills  website, I found myself one major complaint: that I had not heard about it sooner.  It has been frustrating to me as an educator to see the field mired in what amounts to a 19th century mindset.  Many teachers still rely on textbooks and pencil and paper to teach--it's almost as if most of the available technology had never been invented.  This organization has outlined the kind of change that education needs.  Hopefully, this is the type of reform that gets the attention of the legislators that are making the decisions.

A few things surprised me about the website:

1) This claim in the FAQ:

"There is a profound gap between the knowledge and skills most students learn in school and the knowledge and skills they need in typical 21st century communities and workplaces."

I have always viewed the younger generations as very technologically capable.  I'm starting to see that there is a difference between having an iPod and having technological skills.

2) The idea that a rigorous, challenging curriculum is a necessary 21st century skill.  I have always equated "rigorous" with "more."  I'm a big supporter of extracurricular activities and athletics in high school.  I think that they teach students valuable skills and would caution against increasing the rigor of courses at the expense of extracurriculars.

However, I'm beginning to see that rigorous does not always equal more.  In fact, rigorous can just as easily mean less.  It's all about the type of questions we pose to students and the lessons we have them complete.  My job as a teacher has to become more rigorous as I seek to challenge students.

3) I was surprised by the number of states already on board with the Partnership.  It's great to see that they have already been successful in reaching so many states.  I'm hopeful that the next step will be for P21 to go national, similar to No Child Left Behind.

As an educator, I first need to get more familiar with the P21 initiatives.  I would like to take a closer look at what is being done at the state level.  While doing so, I need to emphasize P21 skills in my classroom.  As a history teacher, I would place emphasis on global studies and communication.  I believe that having broader goals than the content of the classroom will make me a better teacher and the students, hopefully, better learners.

How to Use a Blog in the Classroom

I have used blogs in the past in Creative Writing classes as a showcase for student work. It worked decently well. If I had it to do over again, I would make a single class blog and post all of the student work there. Sharing and commenting would be easier.

One lesson that I will implement next semester for World War II in my 10th grade American History class will greatly be enhanced by a blog. This summer I transcribed my grandfather's journal from the war. It was extremely eye opening for me--I'd never really thought of him as anything other than my grandfather, even though I was familiar with his war service. Seeing the events transpire in his own words was very powerful.

I plan on posting his entires to a blog. I will do this in real-time as much as I can, but will have to condense three years into a semester, so each post will have to include a few journal entries. I have read some other blogs in the past that used the same idea, mostly using journals from World War I and World War II. This will allow students to see the war unfold from a unique perspective--a soldier just a few years older than they are--and (hopefully) really drive home how his personal life was profoundly affected by the war.

In addition to the journal entries, I hope to link articles, pictures, encyclopedia entries, etc. to enhance student understanding of the battles my grandfather participated in, the cities he saw, and the people he met.

Students will both comment on the actual blog postings and be responsible for any questions or worksheets that go along with the project.