Reflection on Class

As I reflect on my time in class I realize how much I have come to understand during the past seven weeks.  What I thought were great teaching practices, were not.  Prior to Walden, I was a teacher with an open mind, but this class made me push to actually make changes within my classroom.  Change does not occur overnight, but little steps mean an impact on the future.   Some realizations that continue to play in my head:

• ·         Technology stimulates students, yet technology should not be used just to use it.  It must have a purpose. 
• ·         Collaboration is necessary!  (Teacher to teacher, student to student, and between students and teachers)
• ·         21^st century skills will be needed for many years to come.
• ·         Most classrooms are not ready for today’s students – mine being one of them. 
• ·         Having a finished project gives ownership to the students.  (Wikis, blogs, RSS readers, Posting, Podcasts)

Twenty -first century skills related to problem solving, communication, teamwork/collaboration, leadership, creativity, professionalism, and life-long learning will continue to play a key role in the lives of our students (Laureate, 2010).  Students will be required to use these skills when seeking employment, while completing a given job, or to make a decision in the direction a business will take.

One issue educators quickly realize when beginning to plan a lesson containing 21^st century skills is that the skills are not specifically listed in most state standards, or even tested on final exams.  Have a list of standards that will be tested, how do educators have time to teach, mold, and develop these 21^st century skills in our students?  After all, if states do not list them, then they are not important - right?  Completely incorrect!  What will develop the skills, and cover the correct material, comes down to strong and in-depth planning on the educator’s end. 

In Marc Prensky’s opening of Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants he states, “Today’s students are no longer the people our education system was designed to teach” (2001). Students no longer pay attention in school because adults say they need to.  Students need to feel there is meaning behind what their administration and teachers ask them to learn.  While daunting at first, it is not too difficult to attach meaning to lessons today.  With the web, teachers are able to pull up videos, articles, or applications that show the students how they can relate to the information. The difficult part is finding the time to put in the work to find the videos, articles, or applications for our students to use as starting points.  Teachers cannot continue to teach the same way they always have.  Yes, it is difficult to learn new technologies, but in the end, the teacher’s job will be much easier if they are not fighting kids to stay awake in class, to do their homework, or to show respect for the subject. 

Students today want to have a say in what and how they learn.  It is their education after all right?  Yes, they should continue to take the normal math, English, history classes, and they should be covering the standards the states require for learning, but the way they learn the material will help with remembering the material.  If they find the material online through a webquest, they most likely will remember it better than if they were taught the material during a lecture.  The webquest also allows for deeper understanding, because students can quickly research more material, instead of being stuck in a desk taking notes on paper. 

I look forward to continuing to learn how to best support my student’s learning.  I must continue to remind myself that I am no longer expected to know all the answers.  My students can do the research.  They might need my direction on how to look information up on the computer, but they can report back to the class.  I must be prepared with lessons, but everything does not (and will not) be perfect.  My role has changed from information giver, to guider. 

One goal I have for the future is to put more effort into bringing meaning into the math, especially with Algebra I.  Algebra I topics are the basis of a multitude of classes to come.  Since it is a basic class, little can be done in showing connections to previous knowledge.  Especially, if the students have taken the class multiple times (7^th or 8^th grade and again 9^th grade), the class can quickly become boring at the beginning of the year.  By the end of the year, when the material is new to everyone, the students have completely lost interest in the class. 

My second goal is to have more collaboration within the Algebra I class.  Since some students have had Algebra I before, the beginning of the year would be the time to have them teach the material to their classmates.  This will begin to develop bonds between the class, and hopefully a more class enjoyment.

I must work on letting go and become a guider, not a giver.   

References:

Laureate Education Inc. (Producer). (2010). Skills for the 21st century. [DVD] Understanding the impact of technology on education, work, and society. Baltimore, MD

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

Podcasting!

I just completed my first ever podcast.  Our assignment was to create a podcast about our student's usage and thoughts about technology in the classroom and at home.

Website Review

This week our class has been asked to review the Partnership for 21^st Century Skills website.  It can be found here. 

According to their website “The Partnership for 21st Century Skills is a national organization that advocates for 21st century readiness for every student. As the United States continues to compete in a global  economy that demands innovation, P21 and its members provide tools and resources to help the U.S. education system keep up by fusing the 3Rs and 4Cs (Critical thinking and problem solving, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity and innovation).”

Overall, I was not impressed with the site.  While there was a lot of information, I found it hard to focus on the main purpose of the website, as the set up and design was not clear for searching.  For example, I clicked on resources for educators but was asked to purchase them, or download a PDF format.  I tried to download the PDF files, but was unable to view them. 

One thing I did find interesting is that 16 states have bought into the initiative and are currently, or already have, implementing the skills into their standards.  

The question I ask is:  If Common Core Standards are being implemented soon around the nation, and 21^st century skills are very timely for the present and future, why are the two not already interconnected into the same list of standards?

-Danielle


Update: After more reflection on the website I did find the Common Core Toolkit.  It shows examples of the use of state standards and the 21st century skills together.  In all, it is the binding of the two resources together that makes an impact on student's learning.  It is the educator's planning of the lesson, and knowledge of their students, that brings everything together.  ( 3/24/12)

Using a Blog in the Classroom (2nd time)

Please note my original posting about blogs within my classroom can be found below but that this is an extension from a meeting that occurred today.

Oh happy day!

Last year our school received a technology grant which has allowed us to think big and purchase many amazing technology tools for a large lecture hall that typically sat empty.  More of this to come (I promise) but the reason for this post is that this morning I had a meeting with my principal and it looks like I will be over a group of student leaders that will be in the lecture hall every period of the day (instead of having their scheduled IS time).  The student leaders will assist the teachers and students using the lecture hall throughout the period - basically, running troubleshooting.

Anyway, during my meeting my mind was running and I spit out "Yeah, and I could use a blog to get quick information/announcements out to all the leaders.  Also, they could use the blog to report how they fixed a problem and that way it could be a resource later in the day, month, or year!"

While this is still a work in progress, and technically it will not be my classroom, I still think it is a great way to use a blog.

-Danielle

Flashcard Idea

Caitlin  and I attended college together.  She has a degree in Secondary Education Math but is currently pursuing her library media certification.  Just recently Caitlin posted about two easy flashcard ideas and I figured I would share!  Her posting is here. (FYI: Her blog is much more fantasy with many recipes, clothing ideas, and resources as well!) 

-Danielle

Using a Blog in the Classroom

While I have seen many interesting ways to use blogs in classrooms this week, I still do not know what direction I would like mine to go into. Knowing a website called Blackboard will begin next year for my Algebra I and Geometry classes, I cannot think of a reason for every student to have their own blog when they will have access to links, classroom calendar, and postings boards on the blackboard website already (why reinvent the wheel right?). 

In January of this year I started following Math Teacher Mambo.  She is great at giving ideas and showing off what is currently happening in her precalculus and geometry classes.  I could see my blog going this way as well - to use as an outlet for what is happening in class and any cool things (technology and math related) I find.

To get the students in the mindset of visiting a blog I have thought about setting up a weekly post about something related to what we are studying in class.  The first few students to answer questions correctly about the post/article in class will receive a prize of some sort.  Also, I always have students asking for extra credit and I could post extra credit application problems on the page.  

Another idea would be to post an article related to our current topic and have the students read it outside of class.  Within class we could discuss the mathematics application part behind the article.  Students learn through discussions and it is something I wish occurred more in my current classroom.  The difference between this idea and the previous one is that it would be mandatory for the students to read the article during this time.  

I am struggling with other ways to implement blogs. I already have a classroom website which can be found here.  It has homework listings, PDF files of the notes, and other information for parents and students.

Anyone else feel overwhelmed by all the possibilities on the web?  I want to implement it all, but I do not want to weigh down my students either.

-Danielle

Funny

It is funny how one day you make the comment "I will never have time to blog" and then you sign into your Master's class the next day and find out you are required to do so. 

Must be a sign!