islt 7377
introduction to technology in schools
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
― Anaïs Nin
This quote encompasses my recent journey into the land of Educational Technology. Albeit I was a regular about eight years ago as my eMINTS training projectiled me into the realm of the digital natives, I had become a stranger to this fascinating land and had allowed my souvenirs from that trip to become dust laden artifacts on the walls of my classroom. Throughout this semester, I have grown in this genre enough to come out of my figurative cocoon and stretch my wings as I learned about the most recently available resources and the implications they have for student learning. My metamorphosis has left me yearning for my next feast on cutting edge 21st century tools and the new paths down which they will surely lead my pupils.
As a professional, I started this course with a significant belt of techie tools around my waist and even was often referred to as the “computer whiz” on numerous occasions amongst my colleagues. In retrospect, I agree with their pseudonym in a collegial sense insomuch as I could help them solve printer issues, create a kickin’ Excel spreadsheet or even create a classroom blog. I think that the neglected party had indeed become my students. With the constant reminder of our failing test scores, I had relegated my ample classroom technology to a role of glorified flash cards to drill and practice whatever GLE of the month was the focus to improve our Missouri Assessment Project (MAP) Annual Yearly Progress report. Ever presently hovering over my head was a note card on my bulletin board on which I kept a running track of statistics documenting the percent of my students that scored above the proficiency mark on the MAP test; the gleaming blemish being the first year of my eMINTS training. Throughout that baneful year I had been enthralled with experimenting with every newly attained structure or resource to get my kids authentically engaged and enthusiastic in some productive real world contextual and collaborative learning. Did they LEARN? Oh, my, more than any class ever. Did the test scores show it? Oh, my, NO! Ever since then, I've ached to find a happy medium in which I could use technology but, out of necessity and for their own benefit, prepare them for those fateful weeks in April. That conundrum has become my “tight bud” that a combination of this course and the Common Core State Standards has given me the opportunity to blossom from. Throughout the readings about the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA), shared online conversations among like-minded colleagues (of which are far too few in my building) and prompted investigations into my own pedagogy I have discovered a deep foundational understanding of educational technology. I've renewed my appreciation of inquiry, and how it can be utilized to achieve powerful results that will empower our students to become thoughtful global contributors to the ever evolving digital environment in which we live. I am infinitely grateful that the SBA will be one that will value and then assess these traits above all others and therefore necessitate that instructional practices prepare students for the world in which they will one day independently exist.
Throughout this semester I have gained a reinforcing valuation of practices I already implement but also received advice on how to take them to a higher level. For example, using concept maps for phonics? Using Audacity for fluency? The ownership a student would feel and the growth that could be documented during the evolution of a developmental, reflective and representational electronic portfolio? I would have guffawed at these ideas as a pipe dream of some lofty far wing constructivist guru until the collaboration that this course facilitated and brought me to realize their feasibility and deep rooted value.
Because this newly rediscovered tool of the Web 2.0 lives up to its namesake of reaching beyond the static nature of its predecessors, I am empowered to utilize the gifts it bears to remain in a current state of awareness. Twitter, blogs and digital publications will allow me to be constantly updated of the evolutionary developments in the field of study I've chosen. While the seemingly endless updates from these sources may be overwhelming, I can use my acquired skills of informational literacy to judiciously choose the leads I follow that best suit my professional and instructional needs. Their nature tosses aside my prior disposition of having to “find time” so seek out resources, rather bombards me with them thus enabling me to weed through their teasers to initiate my further investigation to determine their usefulness to my unique situation.
In retrospect, this course was infinitely useful in my voyage back to the technical land in which my students are steeped. The format of the online class allowed for a seamless investigation of the content that allowed me to multitask my personal, professional and collegial existence. As my metaphoric wings mature I am eager to see the reflective flight path on which I embark to lead my students on a journey to further their own sense of inquiry while supporting them with instruction in the semantics of utilizing the vast online resources available at their fingertips. Indeed, I am a bud that has just now caught a glimpse of the flower I’m destined to become.
― Anaïs Nin
This quote encompasses my recent journey into the land of Educational Technology. Albeit I was a regular about eight years ago as my eMINTS training projectiled me into the realm of the digital natives, I had become a stranger to this fascinating land and had allowed my souvenirs from that trip to become dust laden artifacts on the walls of my classroom. Throughout this semester, I have grown in this genre enough to come out of my figurative cocoon and stretch my wings as I learned about the most recently available resources and the implications they have for student learning. My metamorphosis has left me yearning for my next feast on cutting edge 21st century tools and the new paths down which they will surely lead my pupils.
As a professional, I started this course with a significant belt of techie tools around my waist and even was often referred to as the “computer whiz” on numerous occasions amongst my colleagues. In retrospect, I agree with their pseudonym in a collegial sense insomuch as I could help them solve printer issues, create a kickin’ Excel spreadsheet or even create a classroom blog. I think that the neglected party had indeed become my students. With the constant reminder of our failing test scores, I had relegated my ample classroom technology to a role of glorified flash cards to drill and practice whatever GLE of the month was the focus to improve our Missouri Assessment Project (MAP) Annual Yearly Progress report. Ever presently hovering over my head was a note card on my bulletin board on which I kept a running track of statistics documenting the percent of my students that scored above the proficiency mark on the MAP test; the gleaming blemish being the first year of my eMINTS training. Throughout that baneful year I had been enthralled with experimenting with every newly attained structure or resource to get my kids authentically engaged and enthusiastic in some productive real world contextual and collaborative learning. Did they LEARN? Oh, my, more than any class ever. Did the test scores show it? Oh, my, NO! Ever since then, I've ached to find a happy medium in which I could use technology but, out of necessity and for their own benefit, prepare them for those fateful weeks in April. That conundrum has become my “tight bud” that a combination of this course and the Common Core State Standards has given me the opportunity to blossom from. Throughout the readings about the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA), shared online conversations among like-minded colleagues (of which are far too few in my building) and prompted investigations into my own pedagogy I have discovered a deep foundational understanding of educational technology. I've renewed my appreciation of inquiry, and how it can be utilized to achieve powerful results that will empower our students to become thoughtful global contributors to the ever evolving digital environment in which we live. I am infinitely grateful that the SBA will be one that will value and then assess these traits above all others and therefore necessitate that instructional practices prepare students for the world in which they will one day independently exist.
Throughout this semester I have gained a reinforcing valuation of practices I already implement but also received advice on how to take them to a higher level. For example, using concept maps for phonics? Using Audacity for fluency? The ownership a student would feel and the growth that could be documented during the evolution of a developmental, reflective and representational electronic portfolio? I would have guffawed at these ideas as a pipe dream of some lofty far wing constructivist guru until the collaboration that this course facilitated and brought me to realize their feasibility and deep rooted value.
Because this newly rediscovered tool of the Web 2.0 lives up to its namesake of reaching beyond the static nature of its predecessors, I am empowered to utilize the gifts it bears to remain in a current state of awareness. Twitter, blogs and digital publications will allow me to be constantly updated of the evolutionary developments in the field of study I've chosen. While the seemingly endless updates from these sources may be overwhelming, I can use my acquired skills of informational literacy to judiciously choose the leads I follow that best suit my professional and instructional needs. Their nature tosses aside my prior disposition of having to “find time” so seek out resources, rather bombards me with them thus enabling me to weed through their teasers to initiate my further investigation to determine their usefulness to my unique situation.
In retrospect, this course was infinitely useful in my voyage back to the technical land in which my students are steeped. The format of the online class allowed for a seamless investigation of the content that allowed me to multitask my personal, professional and collegial existence. As my metaphoric wings mature I am eager to see the reflective flight path on which I embark to lead my students on a journey to further their own sense of inquiry while supporting them with instruction in the semantics of utilizing the vast online resources available at their fingertips. Indeed, I am a bud that has just now caught a glimpse of the flower I’m destined to become.