Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts are all things that I had heard of before this class, but I never really knew what they were. The materials in this course did an excellent job of explaining how each tool functioned and how it could be used as a powerful instructional tool. This course also gave me the opportunity to practice using these tools as I created my own blog, wiki, and podcast. I found these experiences to be most beneficial, as I was able to learn hands-on how to create and modify these web 2.0 tools. Also, the process of finding and following the blogs of peers has connected me to a whole world of resources that I will continue to use after this course is over.
One of the most important things that I learned from this course is the concept of the 21st century learner. The idea that students of today learn differently than students of the past will have many implications in my classroom. Because I am more aware of the skills that students will need to possess, I am redirecting my instruction to better suit those needs. My mission is for every lesson to strengthen the skills of collaboration, communication, or leadership. These skills are essential for anyone entering the 21st century workplace and I want my students to utilize them whenever possible.
As this course draws to a close, I plan to continue the positive habits that I have formed. The most important will be continuing to follow the educational blogs that I have been reading. This simple act of staying current will help me learn about new technologies as they immerge and provide me with creative lessons that others have already found successful. Another habit that I will be continuing from this class is my occasional blogging. I have really enjoyed sharing my thoughts with the world and seeing what others have to say. I believe that staying connected to the blogging world, by reading and writing, I am keeping my professional skills sharp as strive to increase student achievement.
The first long-term goal that I have for my classroom is to increase the amount of technology that I use in the classroom. My district is well-funded in technology and I hardly take advantage of it. I am going to create more lessons that utilize technology and the Internet. I know that many of my students currently use the Internet for entertainment purposes and I want to show them what a powerful tool the Internet can be. The biggest challenge that this goal poses is that I must do additional work to revamp my lessons to include technology. This will require me going the extra mile and trying some new things, but I believe that my students will benefit from the change.
My second long-term goal is to connect with a group of other teachers from all over the world. I would really like for my students to work collaboratively with students from other classrooms across the world and to do that, I will need to make many connections with teachers from all over. This act of collaboration on my part will also act as an excellent model for my students as to how they should work with others to achieve a common goal.
Resources
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). [Motion Picture]. Understanding the impact of technology on education, work, and society. Baltimore: Author.
Richardson, W. (2009). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
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