Reflective Post

This class has really changed my view on how I teach and what to do with the technology that is out there to help my students succeed. Through the experience of developing a blog page, a wiki page, and even a pod cast I have seen the benefits that are available to teachers and students to help advance the way content is presented. As Dr. Thornburg talked about in the video, I have found that technology can aid me in becoming more of a facilitator instead of just an instructor. With this I am able to proceed with more project based learning for my students ((Laureate Education, Inc., 2008).

Learning how to use the different aspects of technology and seeing the skills that students need to succeed in the “real world” has inspired me to change some of what I do in the classroom. Since I now know how to design and use both a blog and wiki one of my goals for the future will be to use these two 2.0 technologies to teach math. I will be using both of them in a way that will allow students to figure out problems of the week on their own. Students will be able to use each other and any other resources to produce and answer to the problem that they will post to the class blog. The wiki will be the place where they can talk about anything that is going on in the math class and help each other out. By doing this I am hoping to increase their 21st century skills through their ability to become independent thinkers. I will have to make sure that I have access to computers at some point during the week and also make sure that students are responsible enough to find time to use the computers at school if they do not have the internet at home.

Another goal for my classroom, my teaching, and my students is to be able to enhance their learning though the use of the smart board and smart technology that I have in my room. I have realized throughout this course that there is a big difference between just using technology to do the same thing differently and actually teaching differently. At the beginning I was just using the smart board as a whiteboard and not actually using it to enhance the lessons. What I am trying to do now in summer school, and hopefully over the next couple of years is to use the smart technology to enhance the learning experience for the students by letting them use all of the tools available to completely understand the content we are learning. I know my administrators like to see student centered learning, but I have had comments made before about letting the students do too much. This type of teaching and learning will be an adjustment for everyone from the students to the administration but it is necessary to create the best learning environment for these students.

The last thing I have learned and will continue to learn about is the way this generation of students learns. I have realized that students no longer think about learning in the way that I did as a student. Even though I grew up around technology I do not see myself as a digital native in the same sense as these students (Prensky, 2001). They need something that will entertain their minds and keep them interested in what is going on. If all I do is stand in the front of the room and teach I will lose their interest quickly. If I challenge them to find the information needed to complete a task they will stay involved and really help them learn the material. I will be working very hard to try and give up some of the power in the classroom and let students use all of the technology available to us to create their own learning environment. Hopefully this will keep students interested and give them the skills necessary to succeed outside of the classroom.

References
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2008). Understanding the impact of technology on education, work and society. Baltimore: Author.
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5).