Reflection

Being part of the EDU 6710 course at Walden University absolutely helped increase my technology skills as a professional teacher.  I learned how to effectively incorporate various forms of technology into my classroom like blogs, wikis, and podcasts.  Having little to no knowledge of these forms of technology posed a concern for me prior to starting this class.  The reading and educational videos each week, along with discussion support and clear guidelines helped me be successful in this class and helped me learn more about how to use and troubleshoot this new technology .  I feel far more comfortable and confident using new technology in my classroom and am aware of the many benefits these tools can have on my teaching and on the students’ learning.   Speaking of student learning, I now because of this class more aware that 21^st century students learn the best when the teacher acts as a facilitator.  Teaching has changed over the last several decades because of new technologies and today it is far different.  The role of the teacher now is to teach students how to appropriately evaluate and use all of the knowledge available at their fingertips.  The teacher no longer provides all of the facts, but instead helps students sift through facts so they can take more responsibility for their learning.  It is no longer the case where teachers are thinking about how they can use new tools, but instead teachers think about how students can use new tools.  Learning is more hands on and real-world connected.  With all of these cycles of change in the teaching profession, it is my responsibility to stay up to date on new research and information by participating in professional development opportunities through my district, continuing to further my education by taking classes, subscribing to professional blogs and PLCs, and doing my own research and reading.  Continuing to collect student data both formally and informally and reflecting on my own practices will help me expand my knowledge of learning, teaching, and technology.  This collection of data will drive my future instruction so students can be successful at all levels. 

Two long-term goals I have for myself over the next few years is to: 1. Create a successful blog specifically for my Language Arts class to help promote the love of reading and 2. Create more opportunities for students to gather knowledge on their own through various technology mediums and evaluate and use this knowledge to further their learning on specific topics.  I plan to accomplish the first goal by practicing and doing a trial run with students for a few months, then reflecting and gathering feedback to help make sure that the process is successful when it is finally launched.  The second goal I can accomplish by planning projects that require students to gather information on their own.  I can provide the materials for students such as ipads, computer lab time, websites, podcasts, and videos that focus on a specific topic.  The second goal will require more planning time and will require time spent teaching students how to evaluate information and sources.  Initially investing time to teach students these skills will pay off in the long run as they will have fewer problems finding credible information quickly and efficiently.

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills Website

After browsing through the website called: “The Partnership for 21^st Century Skills” (http://www.p21.org/), I had to refill my ink cartridge from printing off so many great ideas.  I thoroughly enjoyed browsing the website as I found it to be very well organized and clear in its messages and goals.  It was very easy for me to follow and the ideas made a lot of sense to me as a teacher.  To me, my overall goal is to mold students into lifelong learners.  I am teaching them more than just how to take a test or which battle happened first in the Revolutionary War.  I am teaching them how to be effective and successful citizens of our future nation.  Students need to be taught so much more than just content, and I think this website paints a pretty clear picture of the other important skills that need to be developed in our students.  It was interesting to look at all of the ideas and concepts presented in this website about what 21^st century skills really are.  Before this website, I viewed 21^st century skills as just technology skills.  Now I know it is way more than just being technology literate!  I thought the framework rainbow graphic organizer was a bit difficult to follow but after further reading and re-reading, I grasped the concept a bit better.  I really liked that this website included support systems along with the student outcomes.  Professional development and classroom environment are both huge pieces of the master teacher puzzle that I think some districts fail to recognize.  One of the website’s messages that rang clear to me was the following: “Students must learn the essential skills for success in today’s world like critical-thinking, problem solving, communication, and collaboration.”  This is so true because students will most likely forget what year the Louisiana Purchase happened, but they will never forget the way they worked together in a group collaboratively to research information and communicate their findings through a PowerPoint report.  The Interdisciplinary themes I thought were also a very important piece to the goal of developing more wholesome students.  I liked the Health Literacy and Global Awareness areas especially.  There really were no bits of information or opinions that I disagreed with.  I think it is an excellent idea to develop these specific 21^st century skills within our students today.  I was surprised to see that Ohio was involved with this Partnership Program because I have never heard of it in my entire life.  It seems strange to be teaching in a state where this is apparently happening and not even know about it.  Hopefully they will shine more light on this program in the near future.  Until that time however, it is my job to continue building lessons that support 21^st century skills like critical-thinking and problems solving and to make more real-world connections.  Incorporating more technology would also be useful as it will continue to become a larger part of students’ lives in the future.  Also, making sure to tie in health, national, and global related information and issues into the content would support the interdisciplinary themes presented in the 21^st century skills framework model.  We are becoming more globally literate and competitive as we continue to do business and make connections with other countries.  Students need to be aware that other cultures exist within our world that are important components to our survival as a nation.  With my handy new print outs that I have decorated with highlighter, I hope to begin including these suggested student outcome elements from The Partnership for 21^st Century Skills website into my everyday teaching.