A Vision of K- 12 Students
It is essential that educators engage the learners of today now! Using Web 2.0 tools is not merely a form of entertainment; they are products that enable life-long learning. Many "teachers ... seem to be guilt ridden over what might be called 'The Entertainment Factor' of these new media, worrying that, by opening up their classrooms to Web 2.0 and other new literacies, they disrupt the seriousness of school and 'dumb it down.' All this cyberspace activity is seen as too much fun for the kids with not enough 'rigor'" (Kist, W. 2010. The Socially Networked Classroom: Teaching in the new media age. p. 118). One only needs to observe students using Web 2.0 tools to see that the learning is engaging and at a far deeper level than traditional learning methods.
As a classroom teacher, and hopefully as a teacher-librarian in the near future, my vision for the next five years and beyond is to learn as much about Web 2.0 tools as I can and incorporate them into authentic lessons. By authentic lessons, I mean that the instruction is not one that fits all students in the classroom, but instead allows for choice in meeting students' particular learning styles. I had the opportunity to try this out this past semester and I found the results very satisfying for me as a teacher and for the students. For example, as pointed out in previous posts, students were given a choice about how they wanted to present their learning for an independent novel study. Auditory learners used podcasts, visual learners used Movie Media and You Tube, tactile learners used PowerPoint, art and scrapbooking. Many groups Blogged--collaborating, sharing, and reflecting on their learning. Of course, each of these projects appealed to more than one learning style. The collaboration, sharing, and learning were far superior to previous novel studies completed in any of my prior classes. Integrating technology definitely enriched the students' learning.
While students enjoy using Web 2.0 tools because they are interactive and fun, it is also important to connect students with the real world outside of school. In the future, I plan to extend this learning with Skype, Wikis and RSS feeds to go beyond the classroom--talking to authors, and other experts from around the world. For example, the podcasts that The Life of Pi group created can be shared with another group studying the same text at another school in the district, province, country, or another continent. Interacting online provides students with the opportunity to apply new knowledge as well as interacting with the information. I have definitely learned a lot from this course--interacting online and applying new knowledge that I plan to incorporate into my lessons.
How can educators use this tool for success in a digital world? |
Online technologies have become an integral part of education; however, it is not mere access that leads students to success. "Learning is enhanced by opportunities to share and learn with others. Students need to develop skills in sharing knowledge and learning with others, both in face-to-face situations and through technology." See Standards for the 21st Century Learner (American Association of School Librarians). This is where the teacher as facilitator and teacher-librarian play a key role. In addition, in order to enhance learning, students need to learn the steps of the inquiry process to question, think critically and gain knowledge before they can share knowledge and participate ethically. The following are two excellent examples of Inquiry models:
Stripling Inquiry Process
Points of Inquiry
Students must be taught how to use these tools competently, responsibly and effectively for learning. By becoming more aware of privacy issues through this course, I plan to teach a variety of ethics and responsibility for student online use. For example, do not tell others your password; use first names only; do not post phone numbers or ages; do not use other people's words for your own, etc. The following plagiarism tutorial is fun and interactive for use before research projects: Acadia Plagiarism Tutorial. After the plagiarism tutorial, I asked students to create a BIBme account, a bibliography creator. Students must develop critical thinking skills and learn how to collaborate with learners within and outside the school. Collaborating with students from different cultures helps students develop understanding and compassion, in addition to, thinking more critically about the world around them. It is not the technology that makes the students better learners, it is the teacher who guides and facilitates effective learning. I plan to be a facilitator, whether it be in the classroom or the learning commons.
In the next five years, I also see myself as part of the technology committee where I teach. In previous years, I have had a say in purchasing a lot of technology for the school and in particular the learning commons. Currently, I have ordered a document camera and a mobile lab of thirty laptops at the school where I teach. Discussions have come up to allow access to Facebook, You Tube, and cell phone use because it is recognized that teachers want to use these tools, as well as students, for learning tools. It is important to have a say in these decisions.
In addition, I feel enthusiastic about passing on the learning through workshops and collaboration with colleagues. I would like to develop a Blog or Wikispace for continued professional learning as an educator or teacher-librarian. I particularly want to create a awesome page, such as the following: Web 2.0 Guru. This is a great educational Wikispace called The Best Web 2.0 for Relevant Educational Technology Integration.
In addition, I also feel that it is important to collaborate with colleagues and administrators. I shared my students' novel study projects with the administrator to showcase student learning. I would like to give work shops to my colleagues at the school and in the district. I would love to be a part of a Learning team grant next year. See the following link for the Vision for the Future PowerPoint that I would share with colleagues and administrators.
I had the privilege at one time of beginning the change of a library into a Learning Commons. It is my goal to have that opportunity again. With the addition of my new found skills, I can hardly wait. In the meantime, I will continue to incorporate technology, not for the sake of incorporating technology, into my classroom, but as collaborative, sharing, and reflective lessons. I will continue to search out new Web 2.0 tools and develop creative authentic lessons, not as a form of entertainment, but because we are social people.
21st Century Learner Wordle.
Reflection
Although there are bits and pieces of reflection above, I want to say that I saved the best course for last. This was a very difficult and frustrating course for me at many turns; however, I persevered and feel that I have learned a lot of valuable lessons to apply to my teaching and learning for the future. Even writing this Blog post, I somehow ended up with two versions and it took me two hours to fix. I was very nervous to close the Blog in case it did not save. Many times, I wished I had more time to learn and play for more than a week at a time. Sometimes I spent way too much time trying to upload videos and then did not end up doing and moving on to the next assignment--a little late sometimes. I loved the fact that I could apply what I was learning in the classroom because it allowed me to see the enthusiasm and engagement of the students while studying an independent novel. When students thank you for allowing them to use their artistic skills in an English class, you know you made an impact. I have to admit that I did not think too much about Twitter at first, but now I am a huge fan. I even encouraged others to follow certain people. I still need to progress from a lurker to a participator, but all in good time. One of the topics that I was surprised about in the class was the issue of privacy and safety. This is another message that I passed on to others is to make sure that you have a professional online presence. I am still phenomenally amazed at how technology works and information is passed from one person to another. I would never want to go without it. I am very excited to be a part of this Web 2.0 world during this phase of education where the learner collaborates, a shares, interacts, and reflects. I really enjoyed the course and how much I learned from everyone in the class. Thank you very much! This is my last course towards my Teacher-Librarianship Diploma. Yahoo, I can't believe I did it--one course at a time! Good luck everyone in the future. I now know that I will see you blogging, or tweeting somewhere along the line.