Reflection: Final Blog Posting
In two years I plan on
mastering wiki’s, podcast and blogs. These
three academic tools will provide 21st century skills (2011b)
that is currently lacking in my classroom.
There is a huge difference
between knowing about technology and knowing how to use new technologies to
teach. I knew that new technologies existed,
however I did not know how I could take these new technologies and integrate
them into my daily lesson plans. This
class has opened up a whole new world that I knew existed, but I did not know
how to access these technologies, let alone integrate them into my classroom. Thanks to this class I am excited to teach
again, and I have regained that passion for teaching I had as a new teacher. I now have my own blog (Digital Language) that
I am very proud of and I will use it as a catalyst for next year. The URL for my blog is http://digitallang.blogspot.com/. I truly believe that millennial learners (2011a) speak a digital
language. It our responsibility has
teachers to learn and speak this digital language to engage and impact these millennial
learners to become global lifetime learners.
I
have been on a wiki before but did not really understand what it was or how to
use them. I always got stuck just trying
to navigate thru them. I have been on Wikipedia
a hundred times and did not know that I could edit a topic or revise it. I have always heard in the past that Wikipedia
is not a reliable source for research papers.
Dr. Thornburg (2008) spoke about how he finds it to be very reliable and
how old encyclopedias edit and revise their topics much the same way that Wikipedia
does but in a less reliable process. The
difference is that hundreds of people edit and revise Wikipedia while only a handful
of people edit and revise encyclopedias
My plan to integrate technology into my classroom is through 21st century
Web 2.0 Tools (Dede, 2011a) in the form a classroom wiki that will also include blogging and
podcasting. Initially, I will begin the
year with a classroom wiki instead of the old weekly newsletter. This will inform parents and students of
weekly happenings for the week including homework, spelling words, weekly
literacy, and math concepts. Students
and parent will be able to respond and comment daily to transform the weekly
newsletter into an interactive wiki Web 2.0 Tool that will also include blogging and
podcasting (Thornburg and Dede, 2011b).
As
parents and students are able to navigate and participate in the classroom
wiki, I will then introduce them to the new writing curriculum. I will inform parents and students that we
will be using classroom blogging project to provide students with opportunities
for creative writing using higher order thinking skills. Blogging will also provide my students with
many opportunities to edit and revise their writing sharpening their academic writing
skills. More importantly blogging will
incorporate 21st century skills (2011b) such as communication skills and technology
literacy.
Students
will eventually gain the knowledge and skills required to create and post
podcasts (2011c) on the web. I have always wanted
to create a podcast and I am grateful that this class gave me the opportunity
to gain the knowledge on how to create and publish a podcast. A podcast is a great tool to incorporate
reading, writing and technology with higher order academic skills.
Kottler,
Zehm, and Kottler (2005) wrote about Attributes Of A Great Teacher in
their book On Being a Teacher: The Human Dimension. Thanks
to this class the complexion of my classroom is already changing from a
teacher-centered classroom to one that is more student-centered. I plan
to be a facilitator (2011d), who is aiding students'
understanding.
This
summer I was truly
inspired by the movie Man of Steel. Superman’s father knew he was raising a boy
who was going to one day change the world.
I want to teach everyday knowing
that my students will one day change the world.
Technology will be my catalyst to engage and impact future generations.
References:
Kottler, J. A., Zehm, S. J., & Kottler, E. (2005). On
being a teacher: The human dimension (3rd Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:
Corwin Press.
Laureate Education, Inc. (2011a). Millennial Learning Styles
[DVD]. Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society.
Baltimore, MD: Dede, C.
Laureate Education, Inc. (2011b).
Skills for the 21st Century [DVD].
Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society.
Baltimore, MD: Thornburg, D. & Dede, C.
Laureate Education, Inc. (2011c). Spotlight on Technology:
Learning with Podcasts [DVD]. Understanding the Impact of Technology on
Education, Work, and Society. Baltimore, MD
Laureate Education, Inc. (2011d). The
Changing Role of the Teacher Part 1. Baltimore, MD: Dr. Thornburg, D.
Laureate Education, Inc. (2008). The Emergence of Educational
Technology. Baltimore, MD: Dr. Thornburg,
D.
