My vision for technology in education is far-reaching and is one of "endless possibilities." Technology will transform the way I teach, from planning to implementation to assessment. It will transform the way my students learn, communicate, and ultimately approach the world. Technology promises to make our lives easier, and in many ways it does and will. However, there will be both short and long-term pitfalls. We know all too well that technology is only really as good as its user. We have to be trained to use it, and in the absence of training, we need to possess the skills needed to experiment, navigate the pitfalls, and master it. Long-term challenges abound: technology is always changing, evolving, moving faster than we can. If we are to be leaders in education and technology, we must commit to being life-long learners, not only of the content we teach, but also of the methods available to teach it. In addition, we must be ever mindful of our students, and strive to use both our content area knowledge and technological expertise to meet their needs, stimulate their interest, and move them into the next phase of their education with a passion for learning and ability to excel in a digital age. The future holds great change for these students: blogging for class discussions, using google docs and wikis for collaborative work, participating in virtual labs, and communicating across the globe with people from various cultures and backgrounds. They will have access to more information than we have dreamed possible, and will work and communicate in ways that we cannot yet fathom.
As I look at the learners in my classroom, I am increasingly aware of what an impact technology can have in their lives and on their learning. They will be able to use technology in creative, innovative ways in nearly all subject areas, if they are given the opportunity. We are beginning to scaffold them for such experiences, using basic word processing software as well as resources from websites such as readwritethink.org. They are able to see the ease with which they can create quality, professional-looking documents using simple tools in Word, Power Point, or Publisher. Currently in my classroom, students are working with engineers from General Motors in the program A World In Motion. They work in groups to make the most efficient "skimmer," which looks at first glance like a paper sailboat. However, they use trials, measurement, variables, and graphs to collect and analyze data. based on this data, they make changes and create the best product possible. As part of this project, students work together to create a group presentation using Power Point. In addition to the basics of the program, they are taught about importing pictures (approved by GM) and adding backgrounds to make their product more appealing to consumers.
My students have embarked on an author research project using a WebQuest that I designed for the purpose of both research and evaluating skills. This required them to search for information, read, critically evaluate the information, take notes and cite sources. In the final phase of the project, the students had to "defend" their author as an "All-Star" based upon the quality of information they had collected. They were able to recognize in the final preparation stage where the "holes" in their research were, and they had the opportunity to go back, conduct additional research, and add to their final product. This project certainly wasn't without problems: many students needed to go into sites beyond those contained in the webquest and the school data base. This required a fair amount of teacher intervention, which made the project move slower than anticipated. However, these pitfalls provided perfect teaching moments about safety and responsibility in this age of digital citizenship.
I am in the beginning stages of implementing technology in my work in education. I use it in the most basic ways: writing lesson plans, creating a newsletter, e-mailing parents and colleagues, and maintaining a basic website on my district system. I have begun to incorporate a few more elements in the classroom: using United Streaming videos to enhance Science instruction (www.unitedstreaming.com), creating power point presentations for math, using a WebQuest for language arts, and teaching students to use Microsoft Word for typing and planning personal narratives. We are currently beginning to experiment with the few software programs our district offers: taking another look at Kidspiration for planning stories, which adds a visual component that benefits most writers of this age, and consistently using Type to Learn, which gives the students invaluable practice learning to keyboard appropriately.
In the years to come, I envision myself using technology in a variety of ways. I would like to use surveys before the year begins to collect data from both students and parents (using surveymonkey.com) to determine learning styles and needs. If I combine this with district data already available, I will be able to more adequately plan individualized instruction for my students that will be relevant and meaningful. In addition, having such data collected will allow me to easily defend requests for more computers and software from the district. It will also enable me to easily write grants to obtain equipment that my students will need to move ahead. I envision myself accessing a database to do all record-keeping online, thus enabling parents to log on and see student progress. (This is currently available in secondary ed, but not elementary.) I am determined to find a blog space where students can dialogue about math problems in a constructed response manner, allowing them the opportunity to refine their answers to give the best possible solution; where they can have book talks that extend beyond the classroom, but which are tied to the classroom as well. Using e-pals, I want my students to begin to connect globally with other children their same age, to discuss curriculum challenges and perspectives. I want to develop a database of sites (I am beginning with delicious) that I can share with my students so they can access relevant, up to date data for every subject area. Eventually, I want to master podcasts, so that I can teach my students and they can construct their learning through creation of these as well as webpages.
Professionally, I will continue to pursue courses and workshops that keep me on the cutting edge of educational technology. In addition, I will maintain a personal blog space that brings the information I most desire to me via RSS feeds. My timeline thus far (subject to inevitable change) looks like this:
My plan for enhancing and increasing my use of technology in my work in education is ever-evolving. I am constantly finding myself in both a state of excitement and frustration: I am excited about the wealth of technology available, and the possibility that it holds; I am frustrated at my inability to access it for my students. Still, I persevere
As I look at the learners in my classroom, I am increasingly aware of what an impact technology can have in their lives and on their learning. They will be able to use technology in creative, innovative ways in nearly all subject areas, if they are given the opportunity. We are beginning to scaffold them for such experiences, using basic word processing software as well as resources from websites such as readwritethink.org. They are able to see the ease with which they can create quality, professional-looking documents using simple tools in Word, Power Point, or Publisher. Currently in my classroom, students are working with engineers from General Motors in the program A World In Motion. They work in groups to make the most efficient "skimmer," which looks at first glance like a paper sailboat. However, they use trials, measurement, variables, and graphs to collect and analyze data. based on this data, they make changes and create the best product possible. As part of this project, students work together to create a group presentation using Power Point. In addition to the basics of the program, they are taught about importing pictures (approved by GM) and adding backgrounds to make their product more appealing to consumers.
My students have embarked on an author research project using a WebQuest that I designed for the purpose of both research and evaluating skills. This required them to search for information, read, critically evaluate the information, take notes and cite sources. In the final phase of the project, the students had to "defend" their author as an "All-Star" based upon the quality of information they had collected. They were able to recognize in the final preparation stage where the "holes" in their research were, and they had the opportunity to go back, conduct additional research, and add to their final product. This project certainly wasn't without problems: many students needed to go into sites beyond those contained in the webquest and the school data base. This required a fair amount of teacher intervention, which made the project move slower than anticipated. However, these pitfalls provided perfect teaching moments about safety and responsibility in this age of digital citizenship.
I am in the beginning stages of implementing technology in my work in education. I use it in the most basic ways: writing lesson plans, creating a newsletter, e-mailing parents and colleagues, and maintaining a basic website on my district system. I have begun to incorporate a few more elements in the classroom: using United Streaming videos to enhance Science instruction (www.unitedstreaming.com), creating power point presentations for math, using a WebQuest for language arts, and teaching students to use Microsoft Word for typing and planning personal narratives. We are currently beginning to experiment with the few software programs our district offers: taking another look at Kidspiration for planning stories, which adds a visual component that benefits most writers of this age, and consistently using Type to Learn, which gives the students invaluable practice learning to keyboard appropriately.
In the years to come, I envision myself using technology in a variety of ways. I would like to use surveys before the year begins to collect data from both students and parents (using surveymonkey.com) to determine learning styles and needs. If I combine this with district data already available, I will be able to more adequately plan individualized instruction for my students that will be relevant and meaningful. In addition, having such data collected will allow me to easily defend requests for more computers and software from the district. It will also enable me to easily write grants to obtain equipment that my students will need to move ahead. I envision myself accessing a database to do all record-keeping online, thus enabling parents to log on and see student progress. (This is currently available in secondary ed, but not elementary.) I am determined to find a blog space where students can dialogue about math problems in a constructed response manner, allowing them the opportunity to refine their answers to give the best possible solution; where they can have book talks that extend beyond the classroom, but which are tied to the classroom as well. Using e-pals, I want my students to begin to connect globally with other children their same age, to discuss curriculum challenges and perspectives. I want to develop a database of sites (I am beginning with delicious) that I can share with my students so they can access relevant, up to date data for every subject area. Eventually, I want to master podcasts, so that I can teach my students and they can construct their learning through creation of these as well as webpages.
Professionally, I will continue to pursue courses and workshops that keep me on the cutting edge of educational technology. In addition, I will maintain a personal blog space that brings the information I most desire to me via RSS feeds. My timeline thus far (subject to inevitable change) looks like this:
- Fall 2007 - CEP 810
- Winter 2008 - CEP 811
- Spring 2008 - CEP 812
- Spring 2008 - Workshop - Web 2.0 and the Online Learning Requirement
- Spring 2008 - Power Up! 2008
- Summer 2008 - Intensive Summer Program - CEP 800, 801, 822
- Fall 2008 - CEP 820
- Fall 2008 - CEP 805 *may change to reading course
- Spring 2009 - CEP 816 * may change to reading course
- Summer 2009 - CEP 807
- Beyond...workshops, classes, I'd like to learn sign language- which would no doubt propel me into UDL!
My plan for enhancing and increasing my use of technology in my work in education is ever-evolving. I am constantly finding myself in both a state of excitement and frustration: I am excited about the wealth of technology available, and the possibility that it holds; I am frustrated at my inability to access it for my students. Still, I persevere