Final Thoughts.....

Taking this course, I have learned quite a lot of information, as well as tools I can use while teaching. I hate to say I have had a revelation, but rather that I was made more aware of ways to apply technology to teach skills students need and will use in their future. I have always thought technology was the “way of the future,” but I did not know a lot of ways to utilize it in the classroom. For example, I have used blogs in my class before, but they did not turn out as well as I had hoped. This class has taught me how to effectively use them in my classroom.

I learned a great deal about teaching 21st century skills to our students, as well as how to apply it while using technology. Since beginning this course, I have started to use more learning-centered activities, where students communicate and collaborate with each other on a variety of projects. These projects are more synthesis based activities geared towards the upper levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, which help to foster the use of the 21st century skills.

Taking this class has also piqued my interest in learning how to use technology in my classroom. I have been talking with my colleagues about other forms of technology that can be used in the classroom, and am amazed at how much I have yet to learn. There are a few programs that I would like to learn more about, such as Jing, where students can learn more about what we’re discussing on their own time as I walk them through an activity step by step. Regardless of the type of technology, it is vital that teachers learn how to implement its use within their classroom. I really thought the Department of Education (2000) put it best in their report saying:

“Teachers must be comfortable with technology, able to apply it
appropriately, and conversant with new technological tools, resources,
and approaches. If all the pieces are put into place, teachers should
find that they are empowered to advance their own professional skills
through these tools as well.”

I see this as being a strong case in driving the use of technology in the classroom as frequently and effectively as possible because it is necessary for teachers to prepare their students for their future. Unless some major catastrophe happens, technology is only going to get better, and more intrusive into our lives, so it is our job as educators to teach our students how to correctly and adequately use what we have to build well educated students.

Two long term goals that I would like to obtain at the end of two years deal with utilizing technology in my lessons more effectively. I would like to create a student-run blog that my students can turn to each day to know what we covered and to ask for help among their classmates. I would also like to create more activities that promote the use of 21st century skills, such as leadership, adaptability and communication skills. A prime example of a way I could foster the use of these skills would be through the continuous use of blogs, podcasts and wikis in more than just one or two units in my classes. Running a daily blog has been beneficial for some of my students, however, my current group of students has not responded too well to using them as often as I would like. In two years, I would like to have all of my classes blogging on a regular basis, which would act as a portfolio for my students showcasing their work and progress throughout science class.

References:

U.S. Department of Education. (2000). The power of the internet for learning: Final report of web-based education ommission. Retrieved May 24, 2006, from http://www.ed.gov/offices/AC/WBEC/FinalReport/index.html