EDUC 6710 Reflection

In what ways has this course helped you to develop your own technology skills as a professional teacher?

            This course has really opened my eyes to the myriad ways I can use technology in the classroom.  Up to now, I have not used much technology in my classroom and really never thought much about it.  I now see how important it is to teach with technology in order to reach the needs of my students.  The truth of the matter is that most of our students are more technologically savvy than us teachers. This course has helped me acquire skills and knowledge that will make me a better teacher and enable me to utilize technology more.  For example, until recently I had never done a blog, wiki or podcast.  Additionally, this course has helped me find some wonderful websites to help me integrate technology into my classroom.

In what ways have you deepened your knowledge of the teaching and learning process?

                I have learned the importance of introducing technology to my students.  I always felt that I did not need to focus too much on technology since I teach young students at the Kindergarten level. I have since discovered that, no matter the age, kids need to be introduced to and start learning new technology as soon as possible. My job is to help prepare them for society, and as they get older they are expected to expand on what they have already learned. I need to provide them a sound foundation early in their education.

In what ways have you changed your perspective from being teacher-centered to learner-centered?

            To be honest, this was my first time working with Web 2.0 tools. Previously I have always done a lot of teacher-centered activities. I now know that, in order to teach the 21^st century skills, I need to focus more on giving the kids hands-on time with computers and other technology instead of me just showing and demonstrating to the kids. 

In what ways can you continue to expand your knowledge of learning, teaching, and leading with technology with the aim of increasing student achievement?

            My main focus will be to continue educating myself on the use of technology in my classroom.  I want to have a good understanding of how to use the technology and start integrating it into my classroom.  The Web 2.0 tools are fairly difficult for my students, but I have learned that there are ways I can scale them down to start introducing these to my students.

Set two long-term goals (within two years) for transforming your classroom environment by which you may have to overcome institutional or systemic obstacles in order to achieve them. How do you plan to accomplish these goals?

Setting goals for myself has never been an easy thing for me to do.  I honestly have a hard time following through with all of them.  I have good intentions and do complete most of my goals, but the fact is that I am not always successful.

My first goal would be to work on getting a grant to help get more technology into my school.  I am in a small school and we do not have much with which to work.  Unfortunately, my district does not see the importance of technology and does not spend much money on it.

My next goal is to educate my fellow teachers on the importance of teaching with technology and teaching the 21^st century skills.  I would like to teach them all the Web 2.0 tools (at least the ones I have learned myself so far).  I actually have a lot of old-school teachers in my building, so this might be a little bit of a challenge.  I am going to put forth every effort I have, however. Even if I can only get a couple of teachers to work with me, that is still better than doing it on my own.

Refer to your checklist from Week 1. Have any of your answers changed after completing this course?

I will definitely start using a lot more technology in my teaching.  Before this class, I thought that it would take a lot of extra work to integrate more technology. I have since learned that not only is it in the best interest of the students, but it is helpful to me.  I can easily incorporate technology into my lesson plans, and the kids love it. Plus, they are a lot more focused to learn something new, which has been an added benefit to me as a teacher.

Kindergartners & Technology

I have 26 wonderful students in my Kindergarten classroom. For a project in one of my courses at Walden University, I interviewed four of them with a digital recorder during some "down time." I asked each student 10 questions that pertained to their use or perception of technology. A sampling of their responses can be listened to by clicking here.

***I used a cool tool called MP3 Trimmer to splice together the various audio files and edit the joined file. A big thank you to the people who created MP3 Trimmer!***

Hyperbole, Money and Bureaucracy, Oh My!

Call me a skeptic, but I couldn't help but find myself disenfranchised with the Partnership for 21st Century Skills website. To me, the organization seems like an over-reaching entity full of hot air.

Let's start with the Partnership's founder, Ken Kay. Mr. Kay is the founder and CEO of Washington, D.C.-based E-Luminate group. A visit to the company's website, found here, reveals that E-Luminate is a for-profit company that helps its clients conduct business with education programs, school districts, states, etc. Check out this enlightening text, taken directly from E-Luminate's site:

 "Do you have a sales and marketing strategy that aligns with the agenda of the new Administration? Are you in need of a mesage that will help you take advantage of stimulus dollars? If you want to work with a D.C. insider, contact us."

Great. My question is this: Does the Partnership for 21st Century Skills exist to help America's students and schools perform better and reach new heights, or does it exist as a way to help E-Luminate's clients make more money by selling goods and services to the education sector?

I noticed on the Partnership's website that its founding members include AOL Time Warner, Apple Computer, Cable in the Classroom, Cisco Systems, Dell Computer, Microsoft, National Education Association and SAP. Most of these members are large corporations that gain direct financial benefits by marketing themselves to the education sector. In fact, Mr. Kay's firm, E-Luminate, is essentially a marketing agency that helps companies such as these attract the attention of school corporations and educational policy wonks.

Now, let me state that I don't necessarily see corporate involvement in education as evil. America's education system is in distress, and it could greatly benefit from some of the business world's ways. At the same time, I have found that education, in general, is clouded by layers of bureaucracy. Often, policies are set not based on what is best for students, but on which well-funded lobbyists make the best sales pitch or have the most influence.

Again, this is admitedly a skeptical view. But that's what I was left with after my first glance at the Partnership for 211st Century Skills website. It sure seems like hybperbole to me. For example, the site repeatedly boasts its mission of serving "as a catalyst to position 21st century readiness" and advocating "for 21st century readiness for every student." But, really, what does that mean? It sounds like glossy, yet intenionally ill-defined, talk to me. The kind of talk that sounds good and makes people say 'Yeah, great idea, we should support that,' even though they don't fully understand what they are supporting.

Perhaps I missed something, but I did not really find anything on the Partnership's site that led to a greater understanding of 21st century skills or the issues surrounding them. Again, I found a lot of talk about how important it is to advocate for 21st century skills. My best understanding is that the Partnership hopes to see what it calls the "four c's" (critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration & creativity and innovation) get as much attention in schools as the traditional core subjects of Math, English, Science, etc. But what I do not see on the site is a plan for helping school districts achieve the increased funding levels they would need to make widespread, meaningful curriculum changes. Nor do I see any plans and funding that would get teachers the additional training they would need to better incorporate technology and the other tools that would be needed to place more emphasis on the four c's. It mentions a three-day professional development affiliate program in New York City ... How many schools can afford that? Mine can't. Our corporation just closed four of its 13 elementary schools due to budget shortfalls.

What surprised me most about the site is that it manages to say so much, yet say so little at the same time. What I mean by this is that it appears very ambitious. But when you get down to the nuts and bolts, I simply do not see where anything is happening in the classroom as a direct result of the Partnership's efforts. Perhaps I am entirely misguided. I hope I am, because I do think education needs more input and collaboration from business and civic leaders. Companies like Apple and Dell are stocked with brilliant minds who could make a major difference in education (and may perhaps even work in the field if it paid better!). But the Partnership appears to be seeking to define and implement more standards, which I believe will add another layer of bureaucracy and lead to more teachers simply hyper-focusing on particular areas and tests.
For example, I have copied and pasted this from a PDF available on the Partnership's site:
 So, does this mean the Partnership hasn't yet been able to define what a 21st Century School of Education looks like? Perhaps its "vision paper" (another white paper ... will it lead to results in the classroom) will shed some light on the matter!

"The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education

(AACTE)

include 1) a consensus definition of “21C-SOE: 21st Century Schools of

Education”, and 2) specific steps and recommendations on the federal,

state and local levels that will help guide the creation of 21st century

schools of education. http://www.aacte.org/"is partnering with P21 to generate a vision paper that will

As you can see, I obviously disagree with a lot of what I found on the site. My differences are philosophical: I believe tax money should be used by the schools wherever the funds are most needed. In some schools, that may mean more emphasis on math or science. In others, it might be a focus on the arts. In just about every school, teachers need ongoing training and there needs to be a substantial investment in technology. But instead of all this educational propaganda, let's first focus on simply getting the technology in schools and getting the educators properly trained. And let's also get realistic about what is happening in American schools each and every day, where creativity isn't exactly as lauded as one might think. Just take a look and the lengthy list of books and paintings that many school boards have banned. Students are often encouraged to be creative so long as their creative expressions fall into a somewhat strict zone. As a Kindergarten teacher, I don't have that problem. My students work creatively by drawing, coloring, sharing stories, etc. But I know plenty of high school teachers who cannot teach some of the best literary works on the planet, or cannot dissect some of the world's finest art ... because the school board has determined these works are inappropriate.

When that is the reality, how in-depth can an elementary or even high school teacher go when talking about global problems and how to solve them?

As for something on the site I do agree with, it would be this statement from the Partnership:

"A profound gap exists between the knowledge and skills most students learn in school and the knowledge and skills they need for success in their communities and workplaces. To successfully face rigorous higher education coursework, career challenges and a globally competitive workforce, U.S. schools must align classroom environments with real world environments ..."

In the end, what this all means to me as an educator remains to be seen. If my state adopts the recommendations and policies of the Partnership, then I'll one day be performing even more assessments and perhaps even tests (though that's doubtful at the level I teach). As to how it will impact myself and my students in the future, I'm not sure the Partnership will have a profound impact. I think the real impact is going to come through school districts finally recognizing and accepting that the aforementioned gap between "school skills" and "workplace skills" exists. When that happens, the curriculum is going to face an overhaul and there will be greater emphasis placed in many areas, such as technology. However, this can't happen until the funding is in place. Moreover, these changes will not erase the importance of core subjects such as English, math and science. These are the essential building blocks to any education. Teachers at other levels will likely have a different take on the matter. At the Kindergarten level, though, my time is really occupied teaching life skills, social skills, reading, writing, early math. I'm laying the foundation that others will build upon.

Happy Thanksgiving

To any friends, classmates and family members out there who happen to catch a glimpse of my blog today - Happy Thanksgiving! I know I'll forget to post on Thursday, so I thought I better say it now.

What are you thankful for this year?

I'm thankful for my family, my health, my career, my students ... I could go on all day.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Every day is a gift. Cherish it.

Parental Involvement

I was thinking of ways that I could utilize my blog in my Kindergarten classroom. If I taught older kids, this would be an easy task. With five-year-olds, however, the blogging world isn't exactly accessible and easy to understand.

One thing that immediately came to mind is using the blog to get parents more involved. I could incorporate my blog into homework for my students one night per week. Let's say Thursday is the chosen night. Every Thursday, instead of sending home a worksheet for my students to complete, I instead send home a note instructing the students — with parental help — to visit my blog for their assignment. Each week, the blog will contain a link to a new Website that is both fun and educational. For example, I would provide a link to sites such as www.starfall.com or www.compasslearning.com.

The students would be instructed to visit the link and play at least one of the games or read one of the stories. For example, one week in November I would have them visit www.starfall.com and play the "Turkey" game. I would also ask them a question in my blog, such as: "Which hat did you select for the turkey to wear?" When the students complete the game, they could return to my blog and their parents could help them answer the question in the comment box. It might be fun for the kids to have their parents look through the comments and tell them which hats their friends placed on the turkey.

This homework would not take much time, plus it would be interactive and fun. The idea here is for the students to learn something — in this case, how to spell turkey — without knowing they're being "taught."

The next day in class, I could reinforce what they learned in the game by talking about turkeys and Thanksgiving. We would work on spelling the word, counting the number of syllables in the word, etc.

Thanksgiving!

I am looking for good Thanksgiving-themed books to read to my Kindergartners over the next couple of weeks. I have one of the "Biscuit" Thanksgiving books that I have read to my son, Caiden, for a few years. He loves it.

If any teachers or friends out there know of a good one, let me know. I'm planning to talk to my Kindergartners about why we celebrate Thanksgiving in the U.S. Also, if you know of any good "turkey day" songs we can sing, send me information on those, too!

From the Other Side of the Coin

I once had an obstetrician tell me that an ordeal she went through made her a better, more understanding doctor. Well, I can relate to that. As a Kindergarten teacher, I perform a very important educational task — I help children learn to read.

Think for a moment what an illiterate life must be like. If you can't read, an entire world of possibility closes itself off. From basic tasks like ordering off a restaurant menu to important things like purchasing a car or home, there is nothing we humans do in life that is more important than reading. So I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the skills I provide these five- and six-year-olds every day is priceless.

That point really hit home with me this week. I now have a Kindergartner myself. My oldest son, Caiden, is 5 years old and has been in Kindergarten for roughly two months. He entered school with a good vocabulary and a strong command of the alphabet, but he wasn't yet a reader. Watching him acquire this life skill over the past two months has been exhilarating for me. He's doing so well that he is taking part in a special advanced-reading program with a small percentage of his classmates.

I am so proud of him. As he read a book to my husband and I the other night, I was impressed with how much he as accomplished in such a short time. He has a wonderful teacher that he adores, and I am grateful for that.

Seeing a Kindergartner learn to read, from the perspective of a mother, has shown me what the parents of my students must feel like when their little ones first grasp reading. Just like the obstetrician told me a few years ago, this experience has motivated me and made me a better teacher. It's amazing how watching something from the outside can alter your outlook!