We live in a world of ever changing technology. The development of new technology allows society to complete tasks we haven’t been able to before and in ways we haven’t been able to before, in a more efficient manner. Education needs to keep up with the advancements in technology in order to help our students be successful in their future work environment. To prepare our students for the 21st century work force we must integrate technology in the classroom and provide classrooms which enable them to acquire skills needed for to succeed in the 21st century.
When I began this course, I thought I integrated technology effectively in my classroom. I am privileged to have a Mimio (interactive white board), a Mobi, a document camera, and access to laptops in my room, which my students utilized for creating power point presentations, Glogsters, accessing our class wiki page, and playing interactive learning games. Although I integrate technology into my classroom on a daily basis, through this course I have learned, “the real power in learning technologies is when you use them not just to do old things differently, but to truly do different things, ”(Laureate, 2010c). Many of the technologies I previously integrated in my classroom were primarily to complete old tasks in a more updated way. This course has taught me ways to have me students accomplish new tasks altogether. From experimenting with blogs, wikis, and podcasts in this class I have discovered ways to incorporate these tools into my classroom. Through integrating blogs, wikis, and podcasts into instruction, my students will be introduced to a new, more engaging, and collaborative way of using technology.
Through this class I have gained a better understanding of the learning styles of my students. Many of my students would be considered “digital natives,” as they are exposed to technology in their home at an early age. I believe their exposure to technology has changed the way in which they think about and process information. Due to this, they way in which I educate digital natives needs to change in order to better meet their needs, play to their strengths, and develop new skills along the way. I need to provide a range of learning opportunities to support the different types of learners now among us in this digital age (Laureate, 2010a). Prensky (2001) states, “we need to reconsider both our methodology and out content…going faster, less step by step.”
In addition to integrating technology in the classroom, I need to develop students’ expert decision making skills and complex communication skills; the two skills humans are better at than technology (Laureate, 2010b). In order to achieve this I need to take a step back and become more of a facilitator in my classroom. This will lead to more student collaboration and communication throughout the day. I also need to provide my students with authentic problem based experiences to develop their critical thinking skills. Integrating technology with these activities will help prepare my students for the 21st century by building skills such as critical thinking, communication, and collaboration.
I will continually strive to expand my knowledge of learning, teaching, and leading with technology through integrating technology in my classroom, seeking professional development, sharing with other educators my successes and ideas in regards to increasing student achievement through integrating technology, and learning from my failures. This course has given me the courage needed to try wikis, podcasts, and blogs in my classroom. As I integrate them in my classroom, I am learning as I go, adapting and changing the activities to make them more successful each time.
It is amazing to see the growth I have made in the mere seven weeks of this course. When I review the checklist of Practices to Support 21st Century Skills I filled out during the first week of this course, I am able to now change many of my responses to often. This course has inspired me to integrate technology into my classroom in new and exciting ways. Last week I experimented with math blogging. My students worked in cooperative groups to solve a word problem. They completed their work using kidspiration, snipped and uploaded their work to their blog, and recorded an explanation for their solution on a podcast, which they attached to their blog. It was invigorating to see how well my third graders responded to the activity. Already, I am making changes and adapting the activity for the next word problem my students will solve.
At the conclusion of this course, I have set two long goal goals for myself to transform my classroom environment to prepare my students for the 21st century. The first goal I have set for myself is to integrate technology rich activities in my classroom in which the technology tools support student-centered instruction practices. I want my students to be able to fluently use blogs, podcasts, and wikis in my classroom as they complete cooperative learning activities. The second goal I have set for myself is to promote the development of leadership and technology skills in my students and colleagues. I plan to share with my colleagues what I have learned in taking this course. If my colleagues also integrate technology successfully in their classrooms, my school will be better preparing our students for the 21st century. Therefore, I plan to work with my colleagues to develop technology rich learning environments using the tools we have learned about in this course.
References
Laureate Education, Inc. (2010a). Millennial learning styles. Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society. Baltimore, MD: Author
Laureate Education, Inc. (2010b). The changing work environment, part 2. Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (2010c). The emergence of educational technology. Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5).
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