Unit 2 - Technology and Learning

While I was reading Chapter 1 for Unit 2, I could not help but keep coming back to the fact that the school that I used to teach at is now a "Classrooms for the Future" school. What this means is that technology has been installed in certain classrooms for teachers to use in order to incorporate the use of technology into their lessons and teach 21st century skills. Overall, students truly enjoy this added technology simply because it is what they understand and are willing to pay attention to. After all, we are now teaching learners that are considered "digital natives."

On the other hand, it is the staff that is feeling overwhelmed. Even though the majority of the staff would be considered "young," not all of the teachers feel comfortable using this type of technology. Several training sessions have been held for instruction, but the constant demand for more technology in the classroom outweighs the skills that the teachers possess.

I must admit, that if I was still teaching right now and was required to use this new technology, I would also feel overwhelmed. Collaboration and instructional time is not set aside for teachers in order to learn how to use this new technology. In addition, there are many different formats available that would be beneficial to classroom instruction like YouTube, blogging, etc., but these features and sites are currently blocked. So, my questions remains...How can school districts expect us to have a "classroom for the future" when they do not provide the resources, time, and training needed to accomplish this?

On another note, after reading Hendron's Introduction I finally understand what RSS stands for and the its basic concept (2008, 2-3) I liked how the chapter went on to explain the "jargon" used with creating blogs and wikis. I found it interesting that the term wiki comes from the Hawaiian "wiki-wiki" which means "quick" or "fast" (Hendron, 2008, 6-7). Hendron goes on to state that wikis are considered "quick and dirty" types of web pages (2008, 7). After using a wiki for another course, I do not consider them to be "fast" by any means. While they can easily be updated and can be accessed by several people when working in groups, creating our wiki was never "fast." Perhaps this comes with practice. At times, I feel like learning all of the tech terms and procedures is a major within itself!

Chapter 1 of the textbook discussed engaged learning. From both a teacher's and student's perspective, I support this type of instruction/learning. I had the opportunity to work with problem-based learning this summer. In project-based learning, students are involved with "hands-on experience with real-life tasks." (Johnston & Cooley, 2001, 12) The students really seemed to enjoy learning in a way that made the content applicable to their lives and future. They were able to make real-life connections which directly impacted their attitudes toward learning in general and made the experience more meaningful.

Problem-based learning is a model that allows and encourages the use of technology. Not only do students need to find data about their specific topics, they need to use technology in order to document their process whether it is through blogging, creating a webpage, etc. Hendron goes on to talk about blogging in Chapter 1. I liked the connection that was made about blogging with administrators. "My superintendent practices what he asks his teachers to do," meaning that he maintains a blog. (Hendron, 2008, 26) The rest of this section goes on to talk about how one district encourages teachers to maintain a blog to keep both students and parents up-to-date with teaching practices, homework, field trips, etc. Here is a school that actually practices what they preach and leads by example. I find it refreshing that there are some individuals out there that take the time to learn new technology and model it in order to promote its use to the staff. Perhaps teachers would be more likely to embrace new forms of technology if they witnessed their superiors using these forms. After all, aren't we as teachers taught to be models to our students? If we want them to do something, we are encouraged to model the behavior.

Finally, what I think really hit home for me throughout the readings is the fact that in today's classroom, teachers are currently instructing "digital natives." These students have always been around and used technology and will continue to use it in their future. As a teacher, it is my goal to prepare students for the "real world" and for future jobs: "preparing for future work, however, is the job of educators now" (Hendron, 2008, 10). I am completely onboard with allowing students to explore all types of technology that currently exists based on the fact that probably 90% of the students we teach are going to pursue jobs that have not even been created or exist at this point. I really wish that administrators would keep that in mind. If we continue to use archaic methods of instruction and do not stay up-to-date with what is available, we are doing the students a disservice and putting them at a disadvantage for their future jobs.

Hendron, J. (2008). RSS for educators: Blogs, newsfeeds, podcasts, and wikis in the classroom. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.

Johnston, M. & Cooley, N. (2001). What we know about: Supporting new models of teaching and learning through technology. Arlington, VA: Educational Research Service.