Final Thoughts and Refletion - EDUC 67101-16 Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society

The past eight weeks has provided me with a wealth of knowledge in the areas of implementing technology into education, work and society in general. Prior to taking this class, I had never created a blog, constructed a wiki, or recorded a podcast. While I was somewhat familiar with all three forms of technology, I was always somewhat intimidated by my lack of knowledge involving each one of these Web 2.0 tools. After completing the required readings, I soon learned the importance of becoming acclimated with the modern technology that can be offered to our students in today's classrooms. When I was a student in elementary school, I can remember being so excited to write my answers down on an overhead projector. The problem with the overhead projector was that with just a little bit of water, my answers were soon erased. There was no "long term" product or evidence that I could show to my peers. Now, students have the ability to broadcast their thoughts, experiences, questions and answers on blogs, wikis and podcasts. As a teacher, I have learned to appreciate the value of planning effective lessons that incorporate the philosophy of incorporating technology into the classroom

This course has also made me appreciate the importance of becoming leaner-centered rather than teacher-centered. I have learned that as long the teacher guides the student in the learning process, students are capable of developing useful tools to enhance their learning styles. Teachers have the ability to influence their students in many ways. Since students learn in several ways, it is the role of the teacher to serve as a facilitator and provide educational experiences to increase the overall level of student learning. By infusing technology into the classroom, teachers have the opportunity to allow students to work in small groups, assume leadership positions, and reach across the learning style spectrum.

In order to me to continue to expand my knowledge of learning, teaching, and leading with technology in order to increase student achievement, I must continue to stay abreast on new technology that continues to develop on a daily basis. I must also continue to become more comfortable with using Web 2.0 tools such as blogs, wikis and podcasts. If I become more familiar with these tools, I will be more likely to utilize them in my classroom. Another way to remain current on technology is to subscribe to several technology RSS feeds including websites and educational blogs. Educational blogs provide teachers with a resource of what may work and what may not.

Over the next two years, I plan on developing blogs with my fourth and fifth grade students. There is a mandatory fitness test that is required for all Maryland students in grades 4-12. I plan on having my students develop blogs in order list their physical fitness goals and keep track of ways that their goals are being met throughout the year. Students could share ideas, discuss methods of proper exercise, list new and exciting activities and learn from one another. The only obstacle that I could predict for this long term goal would be time. Since I see my students only once a week for 50 minutes, it may be difficult for me to implement this idea. However, through team planning with the technology teacher, this goal could very easily be accomplished over the course of one year. A second goal that I will strive to achieve is to make my parents aware of the dangers of the internet. While the internet can be a very useful tool for their students, parents must be aware of the type of material that can be harmful and have adverse effects on their students. By holding internet safety nights throughout the year for different grade levels, my parents would gain an understanding of the internet and learn to properly manage their students' use. An obstacle that I can see is parent attendance at these events. Hopefully I will come up with an exciting and engaging way to entice my parents to attend.

Overall, I truly enjoyed this class. I learned a great deal through the many videos and readings that were suggested. I would like to thank my peers for their wonderful insight and wish them the best of luck in the future!

~Rachael

Technology Podcast

Here is a link to my first Podcast:

http://www.gcast.com/u/rachaelwa/main

Evaluating 21st Century Skills

After visiting the the Partnership for the 21st Century website, http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/, I was able to gain insightful knowledge on ideas and opinions that are occurring around the United States in regards to 21st century education. After browsing through the home page, I immediately went to the mission statement. The mission statement seemed very simplistic and allowed me to further understand the the overall framework and objective of this advocacy group. While I agree that with the idea that there is indeed a gap between the skills that students learn in school and the skills that students need to learn, I feel that more and more schools today are recognizing the importance of infusing 21st century skills into the classrooms.

I was surprised to see the amount of partners that contribute to the overall success of this organization. The amount of money in which these companies possess will truly aid in educating society on the importance of infusing 21st century skills and values into today's school systems. I appreciated the fact that the organization placed great emphasis on learning and thinking skills such as: critical thinking, problem solving, communication skills, innovation and information and media literacy skills. While many of our students are familiar with these skills already, it is important for us as educators to continue to infuse these skills into our daily lessons and recognize the importance to which they hold. I also enjoyed the fact that the organization focused on core individual skills such as: leadership, ethics, accountability, personal responsibility and self direction. With such large emphasis placed on test scores, these core values can often be forgotten in the classroom. Many of our students do not receive training at home in regards to these values and must continue to gain an appreciation for them in school. With this in mind, I was surprised to see that so few states have adapted to this organization and agreed to implement these thoughts into their school systems. Hopefully as word gets out and people begin to realize that students should not be labeled as a score but rather as an individual then more and more states will look into making making changes to adapt to the 21st century.

As a contemporary educator, I plan on using this website to stay up to date on the many changes that occur within the education system. I think that it is the responsibility of an educator to teach the child as a whole. Children must learn the core values from their textbook but must also be exposed to and appreciate how to become meaningful and productive members of society.