Personally, this course has brought me in the right direction. I now feel as if I have the knowledge and correct mindset to enter this 21st century classroom with the correct tools and framework. I no longer feel anxious while attempting the use of new technological tools within my classroom. Ultimately, this course has helped me to change my role as a teacher. I now feel as if discovery will be a big component in my classroom. I have developed plenty of technological skills along the way, but know that I still have a lot to learn and discover. Therefore, my students and I will travel down the technological 21st century learning path together.
This path will force us to face many instructional components which I now feel are extremely important to the learning process. I will attempt to expose my students to more opportunities for learning. Instead of being the sole proprietor of information, I will facilitate the learning through activities that not only encourage the use of technology, but also the use of communication, creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving. These learning components will not only help my students to be successful in their future learning endeavors, but also in life in general.
Obviously, I will no longer need to be the center of attention at all times. By exposing my students to the previous learning components I will be preparing them to take ownership of their own learning. In other words, I will be teaching students how to find an answer, instead of just providing them with an answer. Given the elements of the information age, this shift in learning is an effective trait to possess in our society (Richardson, 2010). Furthermore, as a teacher I will no longer have to pretend like I know the answer to everything; instead I will be able to demonstrate the means for finding an answer, which will also be an opportunity to model appropriate use of the plentiful amount of resources which are currently available.
Although I will be facilitating the learning of my students, I will also need to keep abreast on all the current pedagogical philosophies so that I may continue to expand my own knowledge base. Student achievement can be increases with the use of 21st century skills and technology, but in order for that to happen I must remain active in my own use of these skills and tools. It is not enough to simply have technology in my classroom. Instead, I must use the technology that is present to do different things which will encourage higher amounts of student learning and progression. In order to stay up-to-date I will continue to face reality and become a learner right along with my students. In other words, it is no longer acceptable for any educator to hide behind the excuse, “I don’t know how to do that.” or “I have never done that.” If we are to expect our students to tackle these new forms of knowledge, then we must be willing to as well.
Therefore, it now seems impeccable for me to set goals to help ensure my own success as an educator in the future. Within the next two years I would like to increase the amount of technology that is available to my students during the school day. Based on my class and school demographic profiles, it is obvious that many of our students already have access to technology outside of school. Therefore, I would like to increase the amount of technology that is available during the school day to be at the very least equal to their time spent with technology at home. In order to accomplish this goal I will need to look into educational grants and possibly rally the support of political leaders within my area. This seems like an enormous goal, but as one person I can at least do my part to get the ball rolling.
Another goal I have is to use the technology in my room to do different things and incorporate the use of mindtools. I feel as if I have already mastered the art of using technology to do things differently. Now I need to step out of my comfort zone and proceed into higher areas of use; areas where critical thinking skills will be fostered and developed. In order to accomplish this goal I must be willing to incorporate 21st century skills in my classroom and take chances with new forms of technology.
After reviewing the checklist I completed during Week 1 of this course I did notice a few changes in my answers. Under the “In my teaching practice I…” category, I checked that I rarely design instructional activities requiring student collaboration to accomplish a joint task. Now that I realize the importance of collaboration in the acquisition of 21st century skills, I am not feeling more and more comfortable allowing my students set times to work together and co-construct an answer or solve a problem. Also, under the “As a teacher leader at my school, I…” category, I have definitely bumped up my ability to seek out other professionals, especially in the larger community, with whom I share best practices and build a personal learning community to further my own professional growth. This was done by simply becoming familiar with the use of blogs, wikis, and podcasts during the duration of this course.
Although, I feel as if I am moving in the right direction, I know that there is still plenty to learn. It is now my job to use the knowledge I have acquired and apply it to my specific teaching situation. Furthermore, I realize that I no longer have to know everything. Answers to my questions are simply a click away and when I collaborate with other educators I will not only be helping myself, but also my students.
References
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
