Reflection

Education is starting to make some major changes as it strives to become more in tune with the 21st century.  One of the biggest aspects of the change that is happening now is the use of technology in the classroom.  The role of technology is not only for teachers, but for students to use as well.  As teachers, it is our job to start integrating it in our classroom as we teach and as our students learn so the can become fluent with it.  During the current course I am enrolled in, I was able to create and use three great technologies:  blogs, wikis, and podcasts.  I grew up with technology around me so I have felt comfortable using it in many aspects.  To be honest, I was way out of my element when it came to blogs, wikis, and podcasts.  I picked up on blogs and podcasts fairly quickly but struggled to become familiar with wikis.  I owe my classmates a big thank you for working together with me and collaborating to create a wonderful wiki with many great resources included in it.  Being able to collaborate with classmates over the internet greatly helped my understanding of wikis. 
I have a greater sense of the teaching and learning process now thanks to this course.  I have always known that students learn differently but it was not until this course that I really started to understand this completely.  I have a very small class (six students!) so after learning about how important it is to reach every student even if they learn differently, I have been able to implement this in my classroom.  My students get at least fifteen to twenty minutes of one on one time each day, so I feel I have been able to meet their learning needs using various methods. 

As a teacher, I have felt since day one that a classroom needs to be learner-centered rather than teacher-centered.  Growing up and going through school, I had plenty of teacher-centered classes I was a student in.  Honestly, those classes are the ones I remember the least from.  I loved the classes where I was active and was able to discover things on my own and learn by doing rather than listening or taking notes.  I vowed never to become the teacher that lectures and gives notes and tests.  I have been using learning centers in my classroom so my students are independent and still learning.  I take this time during the day to pull students and work with them one on one while the rest of the class is doing their centers.  I have found this to be a very effective way of creating a learner-centered classroom. 

I know that teachers are constantly learning and that this is something I need to keep up with as well.  I came across many great education blogs with great resources and ideas to use technology in the classroom.  I plan on continuing to read these so I can stay up to date on the latest technological ideas to try in the classroom.  I also hope that my classmates continue to blog so I can read about what they are doing in their classroom to get new ideas as well.  I think another great way teachers can learn is to go to professional development conferences and participate in the workshops provided.  Recently in my school, a presentation was given about a new website for our school.  The teachers were all able to use the new format and talk about it with the presenter.  We are all very excited to get it up an running for the new year. 

One goal I have for my future is to get parents more involved in the classroom.  I think the best way to do this is through the use of technology.  If I have a class website or blog then parents can stay up to date with what their students are doing.  Many parents are becoming more technologically savvy, so I think they may be more apt to check a website.  It would be great to upload a podcast or video of students giving a presentation for parents to view at home.  Another goal I have set for myself is to get more technology in my classroom.  Currently I have an interactive whiteboard and that is it.  I would love to have more at my hands to enhance my teaching experience and my students learning experience.  The only thing in my way is the school budget, which is hard to overcome.  Working in a private school has its advantages though, one of them being parents.  Many parents are willing to donate to the school if they think it will help their children learn and grow.  If I can convince parents, members of the community, and the school board how important technology is, I am hoping they will help find a way to get more in our school. 

At the beginning of this course, I competed a checklist to assess how I integrate technology in the classroom by filling in often, sometimes, and rarely.  Looking back at this checklist, I have changed the most in many of the categories for developing technology skills for the school and workplace environment.  I felt hesitant to bring new ideas to my colleagues because I am a first year teacher and I was still learning new things.  Now that I am more familiar with my colleagues and surroundings, and the fact that I have practiced many of the technologies I learned about, I will take more of a leadership role when it comes to integrating technology throughout the whole school.   

First Graders and Technology

I recently interviewed my first grade class on their use of technology both inside and outside of school.  Because my students are in first grade, I kept the questions simple enough so that they would understand them.  I was impressed with their answers and it was nice to see that my students are using technology outside of school as well.  Marc Prensky called students that grow up in a technology rich world are called digital natives (Prensky, 2001).  My students are definitely digital natives and are already comfortable and familiar with the idea of technology.  I feel that this will only help them along their educational path and after it as well.  I hop you enjoy the interview, you can find it here.


References:

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5).

21st Century Skills

            As educators, we need to be aware of 21st-Century skills that our students will need to succeed in life after they have finished school.  It is important to find time in your day to teach these life-long skills to your students.  I know there is already a lot of pressure for teachers, some of which can include busy schedules, standardized testing, set curriculums, and pacing.  However, I found out that I am already teaching some of these important skills and I did not even realize it.  I recently explored the website “Partnership for 21stCentury Skills” to explore which skills were important and to research effective methods of teaching them. 

            After checking out this website for a while, I was very impressed.  Just the format alone and home page were very eye-catching and it is organized for easy navigation.  One of the very first things that jumped out at me was that this organization has a Twitter account.  I think this is a great idea because it will keep people updated even if they do not visit the site.  The top of the website also has a mission statement which basically states that the organization was developed to get every student prepared for the 21st century (Partnership, 2011). 

            The website also offers a nice graphic to help explain the student outcomes and support systems.  The four outcomes are life and career skills, learning and innovation skills, information, media, and technology skills, and core subjects.  The four support systems are standards and assessments, curriculum and instruction, professional development, and learning environments.  Looking at this picture on the website really helped me to understand what this organization is striving for and how they plan to achieve it.   

            I could not really find anything I disagreed with on this website because I think it is a great organization with great ideas.  I was a little surprised however to see that there were only sixteen states that are a part of the Partnership for 21st Century Learners (Partnership, 2011).  It was nice to check out each state and see the level of their involvement.  I also liked how there was information given on how a state can become a partner.  I wish there was a section on this website that gave information on which states were in the process of becoming a member.  I feel like if this information was made public, and on this website, then states may receive more help from people who view the website.  Who knows, it could expedite the process of a state becoming a partner, or even just get started. 

            After exploring this website, I felt much better about teaching 21st century skills to my students.  It is nice to know that this kind of organization is out there and that they realize the importance these skills have on our students future lives.  Without these important skills, they could struggle to have a successful job.  I am excited about this website and all they have to offer.  I hope that it starts to get more positive press from the media so more states can become involved.  This website and organization is truly dedicated to helping all students achieve important skills to succeed in life. 

           

References

Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (n.d.). A report and mile guide for 21st century skills.
Washington DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/images/stories/otherdocs/p21up_Report.pdf

Using a Blog in a First Grade Classroom

I teach first grade at a private school and have been thinking about how I could successfully use a blog at this level.  At first, I did not think a blog would be that useful for a first grade classroom.  The more I thought about it, I realized I was completely wrong and I finally came up with a few good ideas on how to use a blog at the first grade level.  The first idea that came to mind was to use the blog as a tool to communicate with parents.  Most parents are becoming more and more savvy in the field of technology and are also becoming more familiar with blogs.  Some parents find it easier to communicate with their child's teacher online because they are around computers all day.

I also like the idea of putting up student work on a blog in first grade.  First Graders are very eager to show off their work.  If it is on a blog, this would allow for friends and relatives across the country to see their work.  The blog could also be used to interact with other classes in the community, or even from afar.

Welcome!

Technology is constantly changing and keeping up with it can be a difficult task.  Some schools around the country are adapting to technology well, while others are struggling to keep up.  I am currently a first grade teacher at a private Catholic school where technology is limited.  I do have a SMART Board, which has been a great asset, but am looking forward to finding more ways to incorporate technology in my classroom.  I am excited to share new methods of incorporating technology in the classroom, and look forward to your comments!