Just a few months ago I was a “Digital Immigrant” with a thick accent and a foot deeply planted in the old ways of education (Prensky, 2001). My first course in technology has helped me loose some of my accent and help assimilate to our new digital society. As a teacher, I must make students develop new technology skills in order to prepare them for the present change in the world workforce. If schools don’t prepare our students for the future they will face a “flat world” where others are already competing with these skills and knowledge (Friedman, 2005). I was awakened to a new set of skills through the Partnership for 21st Century Skills that calls on us to drastically to change our education system with a vision for implementing these technology skills (Partnership, n.d.). This course has had me apply many of the skills that I need my students to have. Without prior experience, I created a blog, collaborated on a wiki, and produced a podcast! As an “immigrant” my learning curve was long, but I also gained great empathy for my students that struggle with my native tongue.
I had thought that I already used technology in the classroom, but knew that I needed to be better prepared, so I chose technology as a focus for my professional development. I learned through this class that their is a difference between using technology in the classroom to do things differently, and doing different things (Laureate, 2008). I already had students using the smart board (when I could sign it out). I have moved from the overhead to the LCD projector and have students create power points. These are good uses of technology, but do not have students become expert decision makers and sophisticated collaborators. I know that students learn differently and are engaged by new technologies. I have also learned that I will do them a disservice If I do not help them with the skills used in the Web 2.0 world (Richardson,2009).
I have introduced a new learning experience using pod casts to create a documentary about a field study to the local Historical Society. Students are excited and engaged in the planning and producing a podcast of their work. I have also been contacted by an enlivened Historical Society, parents and colleagues, who are asking questions and showing great enthusiasm for this activity. It has become more than just an assignment.
I also had a great student centered experience with a research project on the leadership qualities for the President of the United States. Students collaborate and evaluate different President’s leadership qualities that they prescribe. They then produce a movie from Photo Story that the whole class evaluates. This has lead to a lot of teacher hands off, constructivist type learning which my students really excelled at. I was learning that many of my students want this type of learning format.
I have two goals to reach with this new heightened level knowledge of technology. First, to introduce a blog for my current events assignment. I have met with some road blocks from my school district because they have a very conservative Internet blocking policy with regard to blogging. I project to be up and running with my student blog by the end of November. I also want to convert a Civil War project in May to a Wiki format. It appears to be easily transferable. I see my Wiki experience with this course very rewarding. The fear of something new lead to a confidence that I can contribute and participate! I want my students to experience something similar, not to mention prepare them for future virtual collaboration. I am thrilled to find that the Media Specialist in my school is also interested in developing Wiki experiences with students. We are on the way to developing a learning experience for May.
In conclusion, I find that the gap between my old world and the new digital world is closing. I am better prepared to help my students succeed in their future lives which has always been a goal of mine as a teacher. Just as importantly, I have gained an awareness of the dramatic change that is occurring in our lives and not in our schools. I see my role as an teacher partially undefined because of the factors of a changing world and a stagnant educational system. Regardless of the impediments to infrastructural changes, I myself can be an agent to change that Richardson says is of the “highest importance” (Richardson, 2008). My job is to balance the needs of the my students with the limitations that they may face.
References
Friedman, T. (2005, April 3). It's a flat world, after all. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2007). The emergence of educational technology. [Motion Picture]. In Understanding the impact of technology on education, work, and society.
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (n.d.). A report and mile guide for 21st century skills. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/images/stories/otherdocs/p21up_Report.pdf
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5).
Richardson, W. (2006). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
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