Reflecting back, my first semester in the Ed.S. Instructional Education program seems to have flown by. This course on 21st century teaching and learning has really made me reevaluate my knowledge and understanding of some of the foundational concepts that are teaching in the classroom today. Roblyer & Doerring emphasize in their text the use of not only the basic productivity tools and web 2.0 tools in the classroom, but also the use of online projects. While I have been familiar with many of the basic tools used in the classroom and continually search for new ones to integrate, I had not been exposed to the use of online projects like The Human Genetic Project that I explored and used in my engaged learning project for this course.
One of my biggest revelations this semester as a teacher and future technology coach has been making sure that the technology I use and suggest others use in the classroom truly has a purpose other than to just be using technology in the classroom. From my studies on TPACK and some of the articles we read and videos we viewed, I have begun to do more serious reflection internally to decide the intention behind each piece of technology I choose to use with my students and other teachers. For example, I work with my colleagues at school to introduce new technologies that are available to them, but if they do not serve a specific purpose for their particular class it may not be useful information.
After all of the readings and videos this semester I feel more prepared to sit down with other teachers in my school and district and guide them as they use strategic planning and design to develop learning experiences with the performance indicators of engaged learning and levels of Technology Implementation at the forefront of my mind. The students in today’s classroom are surrounded by technology everywhere but the classroom it seems. It is time for the teacher leaders who are comfortable with technology to find a way to step up and start filling in the gap so that we as teachers are providing our students the skills and knowledge they need to be successful in the 21st century.
Roblyer, M.D., Doering, A.H., (2013). Integrating educational technology into teaching (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
One of my biggest revelations this semester as a teacher and future technology coach has been making sure that the technology I use and suggest others use in the classroom truly has a purpose other than to just be using technology in the classroom. From my studies on TPACK and some of the articles we read and videos we viewed, I have begun to do more serious reflection internally to decide the intention behind each piece of technology I choose to use with my students and other teachers. For example, I work with my colleagues at school to introduce new technologies that are available to them, but if they do not serve a specific purpose for their particular class it may not be useful information.
After all of the readings and videos this semester I feel more prepared to sit down with other teachers in my school and district and guide them as they use strategic planning and design to develop learning experiences with the performance indicators of engaged learning and levels of Technology Implementation at the forefront of my mind. The students in today’s classroom are surrounded by technology everywhere but the classroom it seems. It is time for the teacher leaders who are comfortable with technology to find a way to step up and start filling in the gap so that we as teachers are providing our students the skills and knowledge they need to be successful in the 21st century.
Roblyer, M.D., Doering, A.H., (2013). Integrating educational technology into teaching (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.