The last seven weeks have been very enlightening! I was hesitant about going back to school but
I know now it was one of my best decisions yet!
While acquiring two Bachelor’s degrees, my college experience got better
as I got older. I gained more knowledge and
was able to relate and make connections, it was more meaningful. After only one, and my very first Walden
online class and looking ahead at future classes, I believe I am going to be a
better educator and right now, that is my passion.
Walking into the classroom for the first time as a grade
level teacher back in 2009, I brought with me a wealth of knowledge and many
years of experience of integrating technology into the curriculum. In my second year, our school became a
participant in the 1:1 Computing program.
It all came together for me. To
some degree I was “putting old wine in new bottles” as Dr. Thornburg said by
using online grade books, taking attendance, keeping documents like lesson plans
and correspondence on WORD and other Microsoft products. Some of that is necessary but I was already
integrating technology by using interactive software, using streaming media,
and becoming a project based, student centered classroom. My first experiences with web tools have me
motivated and excited about the future.
Since our school is becoming more web based, Microsoft Office will soon
be a thing of the past. My excitement
has spilled over into my classroom already.
As I have been learning about web tools, so have they. I set up blogs for our next social studies
unit, we have worked on a wiki and a few students helped my with my podcast
project. I then posted the podcast on
our edmodo site and now they all want to make one.
“Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work,
and Society” was my first class at Walden.
I am completing this class with a deeper knowledge of what type of
students are now, and going to keep coming through my door each year. Our school’s focus this year was knowing your
“who”. An effective teacher knows about
each student and what they carry with them, what makes them who they are. We usually focus on home life, culture,
socio-economic status, and learning styles but now we need to also add “digital
native” (DN) and what 21st century skills they possess. This class
has given me a deeper understanding of those students as it relates to
technology. I consider myself to be a “digital
immigrant” (DI) myself but I became interested in technology at an earlier age
than most DI’s so I made the transformation smoothly. Typical DI’s conduct their classroom in a
teacher centered style. Students today
do not respond to that type of learning if it happens all day long. When students are put into the center of
anything, they respond. I give them the
knowledge to get started, let them ask questions, and give them the guidance to
research their own answers. Much more
collaboration is happening at all times of the day. Students sit in learning clubs for group work
but it is also set up if partners are required.
Seating is changed about 4 times a year to give them new perspectives
and form new relationships.
Teachers are life-long learners and we need to teach our
students that mentality too. The world
of information and research does not sit still.
Things change over periods of time, both long and short. What I have learned in my first college
experience provides a base of learning and experiences but as time went on and
experiences happened, I need to continue to build on or adjust that
knowledge. We also have to accept
change, be courageous enough to take it on and with it learn flexibility and
patience. Teachers cannot sit still in
the knowledge and ways of today. We must
take any opportunity to grow and continue to learn. By pursuing my Masters is going to help me
accomplish that but it cannot stop there.
Professional development is very important and we have to make time for
it even if we aren’t getting paid for it anymore. It teaching were on an hourly based salary,
we’ be wealthy. I didn’t become a
teacher to be rich; I discovered a passion for teaching late in life but still not
too late where I can’t make a difference in my students’ lives. It is my responsibility to continue to learn
and grow so I can be effective and prepare them for an unknown future.
Goal setting is important.
Our evaluations at my school are goal based. I set up reading, assessment, and behavior
goals for my students. One of my goals
for my classroom is to include the traits and behaviors of a digital native in
my getting to know my students from the start of the year. I was aware of these traits but before they
didn’t really fit in with what was going on in the classroom. I was fighting them instead of using
them. I know now that what the DN brings
to the classroom very useful and the way I teach material and concepts needs to
engage these types of learners.
Assignments and projects need to complement and enhance the digital
native. Another goal will be to be more efficient
and effective using web tools and sharing that knowledge to my students and
other faculty members. With our Chrome
Book computers, there will be lots of changes in the way we do things next year. I don’t just want to use technology to do the
same things only in different ways but I do want to do new things too. By the looks from my new text books for my
next class, I can see that I have only touched the tip of what I’m about to
learn and achieve here at Walden Online.
Thank you, Dr. Calvin, for guiding me as I begin this educational
journey.
