Reflection
–
Technology
in Work, Society, and Education
Over the course of the last eight
weeks, I have begun to transform my theory about how students learn and what
they need to know to be successful beyond the classroom. In the first week of this course, I thought I
had a technology-rich classroom. Now, it
is clear to me that I had only scratched the surface of what it means to
utilize all the many ways technology can be integrated into the classroom. I want to be the courageous educator who
works with students to explore the power of 21st century tools with
the intent of empowering my students to be lifelong learners and active shapers
of a world we cannot yet imagine (November, 2007). Many
students explore the technological world without realizing the implications of
what they are doing. I am determined to
create an environment that supports my digital natives’ needs while teaching
them the necessary academics, critical thinking skills, and how to use
technology ethically.
21st Century Learners need
to be given opportunities to expand their critical thinking, collaboration, and
creativity skills in an environment where it’s safe to take chances and make
mistakes. Although students are
digital-natives and tech savvy, they don’t know how to think critically about
the information they use (Miners, 2007).
One way to encourage my students to push through the challenges of
learning how to learn would be to teaching them how read Web pages and search
engine results. Throughout the first
month of school, I envision taking a question my students have about a
particular topic and showing them by thinking aloud how I would filter through
the results and information on the website.
I would repeat the modeling of this skill until my students begin to
demonstrate the skills on their own. Students
will use search engines throughout the rest of their lives and by developing
their critical thinking skills at such an early age, will only set them up for
success in their future.
Collaboration over a shared project
is something that my students struggled with this last year. I tried many things last year to help my
students gain positive experiences in working with others, however, many were
simply not interested in the projects. I
have seen in my students their need for instant gratification and rewards but
am often reluctant to it to them so they learn how to be intrinsically
motivated (Prensky, 2001). I see now
that my students need the gratification to feel successful in the classroom. With this in mind, I am setting two goals
for two technology-based, collaboration projects. First, I will be setting up a classroom blog
to encourage exceptional thinking and clear communication. A blog gives students an opportunity to read,
think, and respond, in writing to events and issues that are important for them
to understand (Miners, 2007). To ensure
that all of my students can find success in using a blog, I would expect all
students to respond to the blog as a part of our literacy block at least once a
week. Initially, students will create
one post as a group and eventually, post as an individuals. Secondly, I want to deepen my students’
interests in science and expand our use of technology by using wikis instead of
tri-folds for our science fair projects. I will show my students how to use and create
wikis throughout the first half of the year and by January, have students begin
creating with a group. As we move to
small groups, then partner work, and eventually individuals, students will
critique and offer suggestions to each other. Knowing they will be creating for an audience,
will deepen their motivation as students are deeply motivated to produce
outstanding artifacts when they are creating for others instead of creating for
a grade (Laureate, 2010). The
accomplishment of these two goals will give my students a vast number of authentic
opportunities to collaborate and critically think about the content in 4th
grade.
The technology skills I have gained
as an educator will allow me to effectively develop responsible 21st
Century skills in my students. I am
confident that I will be able to infuse technology throughout the curriculum so
that it fits with my students’ learning styles.
I know that throughout my future courses at Walden I will continue to
expand my understanding of technology and all that I can do with it in my
classroom. I have also reached out to my
principal for support in the coming years and accountability for the goals I
have set for myself. I am completely excited for all the possibilities and skills technology can offer my students!
:) Katie
Resources:
Laureate
Education, Inc. (2010). Designing curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
Baltimore, MD: Author.
Miners,
Z., & Pascopella, A. (2007). The new literacies. District Administration, 43(10),
26–34.
November, A. (2007). Banning student
“containers.” Technology & Learning. Retrieved from http://www.techlearning.com/article/banning-student--containers-/44387
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives,
digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5).
