While taking a graduate school course on the Impact of Technology in Education, Work and Society, the assignment was to create a podcast and interview students on how they use technology and what type of access they have to it. Even though the students that I interviewed were not my students during the school year, they were similar demographically to my population and their answers were interesting. This was my first experience with a podcast, and even though I hate the sound of my recorded voice, I am interested to use the technology and develop lessons to use podcasts in my classroom. It was very user friendly and simple to do.
The link to my podcast is:
http://podcastmachine.com/podcasts/13900/episodes/71859
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Monday, July 16, 2012
Evaluating 21st Century Skills
There is a growing need for a serious dialogue about the need for 21st century skills and the future. Jim Bellanca blogged about this need on the Partnership for 21st Century Skills website. While reading his blog I found myself intrigued by his passion for the connection and angered by the gap in education and policy.
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills website was very user friendly. I found it easy to read with a prominent and succinct mission statement. There were links to great resources with many articles with current technology implications for classroom teachers. In addition to these helpful aspects of the website, they also have listed the state by state initiatives. It was eye opening to see what other states are doing to incorporate technology into their curriculums.
The information that I gained from the site was how we have to have the uncomfortable conversation in more states about “project based learning and integrating technology into instruction” (Bellanca, 2012). Few states have actually taken these factors into account. These changes must be made at the government or policy makers level however, “politicians are too busy saying no to each other than to think about such a piddling thing as the education of a nation that is more than at risk” (Bellanca, 2012). It is amazing to me that the politicians are so busy arguing about what to do about change instead of formulating a plan to address changes that must be made to move our future workers forward in the competitive global workforce.
Jim Bellanca, in his blog, offers ten practical suggestions to drive change in the classroom. They are; squeak, collaborate, communicate, push the envelope, investigate, stir the pot, think outside the box, connect with social media, emphasize best practices, and innovate. When first reading through his suggestions, my impression was that they were pretty bold statements and suggestions and implementing them might leave a teacher vulnerable to criticism from administration. This is due to the dissonance from traditional with traditional curriculum. However, upon reflecting and re-reading, the take away is that all of these suggestions can be implemented in a more subtle and seamless way. The conversation must be started by educators and by collaborating with each other I believe positive change can be achieved. It would be the first of many steps to drive improving upon technology curriculums that incorporate the ever important 21st century skills.
The implication of incorporating 21st century skills is that undoubtedly it is “more than making minor adjustments to current practice, innovative schools look to develop the talent of tomorrow with a new array of knowledge and skills suitable for their students’ future careers” (Bellanca, 2012). Is it not our job as teachers to do just that?
In conclusion, it is a big task to take on, change will not be instant but the dialogue must start and filter down from the policy makers to administration to the teachers. Even though it is an enormous task, I would like to think that by “thinking together, planning together, and acting together…one step at a time focused on dialogue about the shared action goal” (Bellanca, 2012), we can make a change.
Resources:
Bellanca, J. (2012). The driving question: How can we expand the dialogue about 21st century skills among those not yet engaged? Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/tools-and-resources/p21blog
Monday, July 9, 2012
Why blog?
Web logs or blogs have many benefits. Three benefits of blogging in the classroom are, “to promote critical and analytical thinking, combine the best of solitary reflection and social interaction, and they promote creative, intuitive and associational thinking” (Richardson
The idea that my classroom can be transformed into a collaborative think tank for sharing ideas and getting feedback is very exciting. By allowing my students to blog they can “learn to read more critically, think about reading analytically, and write more clearly” (Richardson
My hope is to set up a class portal in order to keep track of assignments for my class as well as their other teachers. They can use this space to journal about what we are doing in class as well. Also, setting up an online filing cabinet so that they kids have access to their work paperlessly and chronologically. Most importantly in order to collaborate with other teachers and for them to be able to see the students work would be so beneficial. With the business world going paperless, it is just another way to set our students up for their own future.
I believe that starting with these two online technology strategies would help to organize my fifth and sixth grade students. It will also serve to help my students get familiarized with the wonderful world of blogging that is available to them. Finally it will help them to become more analytical thinkers and adds to their 21st century skill set.
Resources:
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Which came first?
Hello!
For the second week of my graduate school class we were asked to share our thoughts on the relationship between pedagogy and technology. Here are my thoughts:
For the second week of my graduate school class we were asked to share our thoughts on the relationship between pedagogy and technology. Here are my thoughts:
A teachers role in the technology revolution is pivotal. Whether we as educators understand, embrace, or even believe in the need for all of it, this is the world in which we live in and we have to prepare our students to use technology and move them forward. Dr. David Thornburg spoke about the evolution of technology and its effects on good pedagogy.
The invention of certain technologies has made it somewhat mandatory to embrace technology. The evolutions from a one computer classroom to individual laptops or tablets on every students desk, there are inherent needs to alter teaching to accommodate these new technologies. Keyboarding, mouse navigation, and basic knowledge of the programs on that device are just a few of the skills that need to be taught in order to use the equipment efficiently. Also, the popularity of cell phones and their evolution into smartphones and all of the other fingertip technology offer “true, anytime learning experiences” (Thornburg, 2010). Additionally, they “shrink the space by facilitating collaboration at a distance” (Thornburg, 2010).
To have all this technology really allows more “inquiry based direct instruction” (Thornburg, 2010). Society and the new technology trends dictate what we need to address in the classroom. We have begun to “enter the main event,…an era in which technology will truly transform every aspect of business, of government, of society, of life” (Friedman, 2005).
To conclude, there are so many opportunities to use technology as a conveyer of information in the classroom. The interaction of society and technology and the important correlation between the two must be addressed in order to have a cohesive curriculum. After all, “society seeks out a new technology and they dictate how successful they will be” (Thornburg, 2010).
Resources:
Friedman, T. (2005). The world is flat: A brief history of the twenty-first century. New York
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