There are many different options available for educators when it comes to integrating electronic communications into teaching. Assigning homework has been a common practice since long before computers and internet were available. Homework is meant as a tool of practice, in which students can refine and further develop the contents of the lesson material first presented in class. Using technology mediums teachers can now continue the lesson outside of the classroom. Using classroom blogs or wikis teachers can post instructions, correspond with students, and monitor student discussions. When implementing such 21st century techniques, homework no longer needs to be sent home on a piece of paper and students no longer need to wait until the next class time to inquire more instructions or guidance. Teachers can also use these common classroom forums as a means of communication with parents. Parents can help keep their students focused within the lessons and with the assigned task, checking updates on the class blog for what is due and when. Teachers can also use these forums to display student work for peers and parents. As future educator, I am most excited to use technological communications to continue class after school hours. Perhaps, assigning less traditional style homework and incorporating more 21st century activities. For example, instead of assigning students to read and write a report, I might have students contribute their reactions to the reading assignments on a discussion board.
When teachers are designing a blog for their classroom there are three different styles of blogs of which to choose from. Blogs can be organizational, subject addressed, or learning/teaching styled.
Organization blogs are meant to be used as a tool of information. Subject blogs are focused on one particular academic area. Learning blogs are meant as a tool of communication in which teachers and students can correspond about lesson material. Regardless of the style there are also many options teachers can consider when it comes to designing the blog. What type of archives, web links, and tech tools will best support the students academic gain.
As a future educator it is imperative to start thinking about creating a classroom website of a teaching blog. Even before having an actual classroom of my own, creating a base line design could be helpful in obtaining my future classroom. As the text book suggests, principles often do look at teacher's 'homegrown" sites when making choices about which candidates to hire (195). These websites should include a link allowing future employers, future students, and future parents of students to become familiar with the individual who is or will be the teacher. A history of academic and professional accomplishments can listed on the site, as well as interests, a bit of personal/family history, and perhaps a look into the individuals teaching philosophy. When filling out applications and submitting resumes, do teachers in the 21st Century include the web address for their website or blog?
Resources:
Maloy, R., O’Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.
This chapter of the textbook, discusses the very real problem of cyber-bullying in today's 21st century society. The readily available technology mediums allow for bullies to access their victims easily, discretely, and at anytime. Text messages, social media forums, email, blogs, videos and photos are all tools a bully can use with the intent of causing harm to another person. While cyber bullying may not inflict immediate physical harm to the victim, the social, emotional and psychological harm inflicted can still be very detrimental to the victim. According to the text book, cyber-bullying victims can develop depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, poor habits such as smoking and drug use, and even lead to suicide in some cases. As a future educator, in our technology driven society, I intend to educate my students on cyber-bullying, I will be an advocate for the victims of all types of bullying, and I will work with students to prevent such behaviors from occurring. I plan to stress the importance of empathy with my students. I also want my students to know that I am here to help, all they would have to do is ask. I will encourage my students to make ethical choices. I will also make it clear that I will have a zero-tolerance policy for bullying of any form. I will also see to it that my students are made aware of helpful resources, aside from me, including their parents, their peers, as well as online tools meant to educate students on bullying. This chapter also discusses the use of technology for plagiarism and cheating. With all the readily available information on the internet, created with the intent of cheating, and with mobile devices handy cheating and plagiarism may seem even more tempting to today's students than to previous generations. With academic pressures and busy life style, taking short cuts to reach end goals faster may seem appealing. As a teacher I will do my best to instill my students with the tools they need to feel prepared and confident in creating original work. I will also explain the importance of giving credit where credit is due, as I will promote them to be resourceful and ethical at the same time. With in my own classroom, I hope to prevent cheating on test or quizzes, by implementing different strategies to make cheating seem less appealing. I will allow students to make test corrections, to achieve a higher grade and to promote the material further. I will conduct test with open books, allow for group tests, and allow my students time to study in class as well. I am a fan of reading. I love fictional novels, and will take advantage of any free time I may get to enjoy a good book. I have a e-reader for personal use. I have only used it once! My personal preference, is to read in the traditional manner, where I flip pages, use paper bookmakers, and have a light on in the room to be able to see the words on the page. I feel as though I get a more fulfilling reading experience from an actual book. With an e-reader, I missed the sound of the paper page turning, the smell of paper (especially in older books), and the actual feeling of holding a book. According to the textbook, "a survey of 2000 students, ages 6-17, 25% said that they have read a book on an e-reader, 57% said they wanted to, and 33% said they would read more if they had access to electronic books" (p 102). While e-readers may not be my personal preference of reading, I am all for encouraging students to read more. Reading is most beneficial, in my opinion, if it is enjoyed, not just required. If using an e-reader, sparks the interests of more students to read and better yet encourages their enjoyment and therefore the benefit of reading, then schools should find ways to accommodate theses digital natives in our classrooms. References: Maloy, R., O’Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.
According to our textbook, "In education,
feedback is another term for communication between a learner and an instructor.
Feedback is one of the instructional practices that has been found to promote
increased success for students." (p. 54) Feedback is very important for
students to build their knowledge and critical thinking skills. Feedback is
also equally important for teachers to receive from students in order to better
accommodate the learners and a successful learning environment.
Technology makes it possible to communicate rapidly, and effectively.
Through email, text messaging, blogs, live chats, and interactive websites
teachers can now provide feedback to students, and students to teachers, even
outside of school. Using technology tools as a means of correspondence with
students (and parents) is something I fully intend on doing as a teacher. I want my students and their parents to be
able to acquire feedback from me as effectively as possible to promote a better
learning experience for my students. I
also want to receive feedback regularly from my students. I want to know what my students enjoyed most
in class each day, what they liked least, what they would like to explore
further, any questions they may have, and any suggestions they may have for
me. As a child, I remember multiple
occasions when I would ask my parents to further explain my homework for me,
and getting a response similar to this “I don’t know how to do that, you’ll
have to wait until tomorrow to ask your teacher what that means.” As a student
I would feel embarrassed having to go to school and explain to my teacher, “I could
not complete my homework and my parents could not help me either.” It would have been wonderful if my parents or
I had access to ask for help or further explanation via a live chat, or email. I
look forward to having the ability to offer feedback to my students, outside of
the classroom, using technology as an enhancement tool.
The
textbook also discusses the importance of educators developing a sense of digital
literacy in students. The internet is a
powerful tool for seeking new information and that is very useful in learning
but the internet is also plagued with nonsense.
Educators are expected to teach students how to access information using
technology and more importantly, how to assess the information they find. Teachers need to provide lessons to grow the information
literacy skills of students, guiding them to discover reliable sources and gain
the ability to differentiate between persuasive, objective, and satirical
information. As a future educator, I plan to stress the importance of internet
literacy to my students. I want to be
sure that my students are enhancing their educations through technology, not
being misinformed. I also believe that
the concept of internet literacy, is very closely related to the idea of
overall internet safety, and therefore of extreme important in 21st
century learning.
This
chapter also discusses using technology to enhance creativity. ITCP- information technology and creative
practices, are used for creative self-expression. (p.63) Technology can be used for
writing, desktop publishing, design tools, photography, graphics, animation,
movie making, podcast creating, etc. Having many different mediums readily
available to assists students creative thinking is one of the greatest ways
technology truly enhances the learning experience, at least in my opinion. I
have witnessed firsthand in my own child how wonderfully inspirational creation
through technology can be. My son,
Andrew, is ten years old now. He has
been working on creating graphic designs, using photo shop, and movie making
aps for the last year now. While creating his digital art, he is engaged, he is
learning, and best of all, he is having fun.
He is always very proud of his creations as well. He is building
confidence, skills, and expressing his creativity with his new favorite art
tool, his laptop.
Resources:
Maloy, R., O’Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B.
(2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition.
Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.
As a teacher I will have access to my personal laptop, my IPhone,
my IPad, and have the ability to access the internet via my Wi-Fi
connection. Are these luxuries I have
access to something my students and I will have common? Digital divides and participation
gaps among students are caused by the uneven spread of technological access
available. According to the text the
less access to new technologies students have, the greater the academic
achievement gap. There is a digital
continuum, in which students fall into a wide spectrum of their overall access
to technology. The more affluent a
child’s family, the more likely they will have new technologies; in contrast,
less affluent families may not share the same access to as many up-to-date
technologies. Upon considering this wide
spectrum amongst student access to technology, my excitement about integrating
technology into the lives of my students extending beyond the classroom
dampers. Luckily, as most schools have internet and computers, possibly
tablets, or a BYOD (bring your own device) policy I am hopeful I will be able
to, at minimum, engage my students through technology in classroom. With all the drastic changes in technological
advancement over the last 20 years, it is understandable that school systems
may not have the most modern mediums available under typically tight budgets.
The optimist in me, hopes that eventually all will schools catch up, as budgets
can be adjusted, and digital divides will decrease so that today’s (or
tomorrow’s) technology will exist in every classroom.
Marc Pensky classified technology using individuals into two
groups: digital natives and digital immigrants. Digital natives are young people,
born after 1980 and grew up using all the interactive technology available.
Digital immigrants are older adults who are learning later in life how to use
all the technologies of today. By Pensky’s
definition I should be considered a digital native, by birth rights I suppose,
having been born in 1985, however, as the introduction of new technologies
continue to surface, I often feel more like a digital immigrant. In today’s
society, children are confident in their ability to use technology. They often
seem comfortable using technology because it has been such a significant part
of their lives since birth. Integrating technology into the classroom seems
logical and necessary since most children have a well-established preexisting knowledge
of technology and value their multi-media talents. Digital immigrants, or those of us like
myself who are a combination of both worlds, may not have such a well-rounded preexisting
knowledge. When digital immigrants become the teachers of digital natives are
we doomed to be subject to digital disconnect?
Digital disconnect is a term referring to the way
technologically savvy students perceive their teachers, as slow by
comparison. According to the textbook, “30%
of students see smartphones and 36% see mp3 players as essential for a 21st
century classroom, which is double the number of teachers and administrators
who see those tools as key to school learning” (p40) Students are voicing their wants
and needs for technology in the classroom. Students will be more engaged in
learning when they have access to learning tools that interest them and fit their
generational upbringing. As technology integrates into more classrooms, it is likely, that teachers will apply student-centered learning more frequently. It is important to me, as a future teacher, that my future students do not feel disconnected from me, digitally or otherwise. I look forward to implementing my student-centered teaching philosophy and bridging any digital disconnect we may have.
Resources: Maloy, R., O’Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc. Lmmatz728. (2014, September 5). Technology in School. ToonDoo. Retrieved September 6, 2014 from http://www.toondoo.com/MyToondoo.toon
The textbook discusses the term
"digital childhood"(p.3) in relation to children under the age of five. Before
even becoming school aged children are spending hours of their days engaged
with technology. By the time children are attending grade school, the average
child is spending nearly their entire day indulged in some form of media when
they are not physically at school. As a future teacher, I find this to both
inspiring and intimidating. Being born into a digital childhood, gives today's
students many advantages previous generations lacked. Looking back on my own
childhood, I can recall wanting to type up stories I had written for school, so
my mother would let me use her type writer. When I was in third grade, in 1993,
my parents had finally purchased a computer for our household. While we had no
internet connection, the introduction of the "backspace" key into my
life, as I can recall it, felt nearly as exciting as how my own children appear to feel when they get a new app! While reading Chapter
one of the textbook, I had the tune of a childhood song stuck in my mind. The
lyrics are “…I've got the whole world in my hands, I've got the whole wide
world in my hands...” Students of the 21st century have unlimited
access to nearly the entire world when they simply hold an Ipod in their hands. The
readily available technology inspires me to fully incorporate as much media and
technology as I can in my future role as the teacher. What better way to fully
engage today’s students in learning than with a medium that has been part of their
development since infancy.
My own children, Andrew (8 years old)and Aubrey Jo (8 months old)
playing together on the Ipad.
The textbook refers to a teacher’s “digital identity” (p. 15) as their
ability to practice their technology talents and competencies. I am in the beginning phase of building my digital identity
as it applies to educators. In my personal life and previous professions I have
been using a moderate amount of multimedia tools. Incorporating social media
sites like Facebook, email, my Iphone, my Icloud, online class work, Mp3
players, my digital camera and above all else the internet into my day to day
routine. I look forward to expanding my digital identity in order to better serve
my future students. The more knowledge I acquire, the more skills I will have,
and the better I will be able to reach my students, both in the classroom and
outside of the classroom. I am excited to learn more ways to stay connected
with students once the last bell rings and school lets out. I mentioned before
that I find the “digital childhood” era to be intimidating. I am hopeful that
through my studies, and practice, I will gain confidence so I can lead the “digital
child” after building my own “digital identity”
“Mark Prensky defines “must have” technologies…listing 132 tools
for teachers to use with students for learning” (p. 12) I need to start building my “must have”
technology list. I realized that I use
so many technologies presently as a student, that I already have a basic idea
of my goals for later applying technology to teaching. I want to be able to use
social networking to involve my students family with their child’s learning.
Other “must haves” I look forward to include: smart boards, podcasts, digital photography
and videos, Mp3 players, e-readers, and tablets equipped with fun and engaging apps.
Becoming a teacher in the 21st
century requires incorporating technology, both familiar and otherwise, into
the classroom and beyond. Today's children are growing in a technology
influenced world and as a teacher I will be responsible to grow with them and
lead them. I still have much technology to familiarize myself with in order to
become the best 21st century teacher I can be and I am excited to learn.
Resources:
Maloy, R., O’Loughlin, R.,
Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming
Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson
Education Inc.
