The excitement of the Olympics can be felt all over the world and like those athletes who have trained hard and are proud to represent their country at the London 2012 games, I am also proud to have made it this far in my Walden University course – the end of my fourth course. I just did my celebratory lap and am getting ready for the next course to start.
Looking back over this course, I must say that I have acquired skills that will help me to grow in my technological abilities as well as prepare me to better integrate technology in my classroom, with a view to enhance students’ learning. Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work and Society, my technology skills have greatly improved. I am now comfortable and able to use web 2.0 technologies which will aid me in preparing engaging lessons and activities for the digital natives (Prensky, 2001) in my classroom. As an educator, I have had the opportunity to use technology such as computers, Internet and the Smart board in my classroom, however, not all on a consistent basis. Nonetheless, this course has empowered me to move beyond my comfort zone to try and implement podcast, wiki and weblog in the upcoming school year.
As educators, it is our job to prepare students to take their place in the work environment and society and knowing and understanding how digital natives use technology outside of school will better assist me in delivering engaging lessons especially with the use of web 2.0 technologies. Prensky (2008) stated that students today grow up in the light and are connected to the world in real time. Therefore, these students should not be seen as “intellectually empty” (Prensky, 2008) but need to be guided and their knowledge strengthened in the learning environment. These digital natives are quite comfortable and experienced in the use of digital media resulting in a new learning style referred to as “media learning” (Laureate, 2010). As a result, I must equip myself to be able to engage these students in my classroom. Learning and experiencing web 2.0 technologies is the initial step in this direction.
Knowing the 21st century skills, critical thinking and problem-solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation (www.p21.org), that are needed for the work environment and implementing them in the classroom will greatly help the teaching and learning process to facilitate student success in my classroom. Despite the lack of needed technology in most schools, collaborating with other professionals not only in one’s school district but globally, will give rise to best practices as well as creative ways teachers can utilize what they have available to deliver engaging lessons to our digital natives.
From reading Marc Prensky’s article, ‘Turning on the Lights’, it is evident that students are entering schools plugged in. With this in mind, I must find engaging ways to build on my students’ knowledge instead of allowing them to power down when they get to school (Prensky, 2008). These digital natives benefit and are more engaged through gameplay within the classroom. I have experienced the success and engagement the use of game based technology brings to my business studies class. Students are not only engaged in the activity but challenge themselves and each other to reach the highest level each time they play. It is heartwarming to see this level of engagement and interaction among the students in my class. With this experience and reading of expert findings on the benefits of learner-centered methods of lesson delivery, I am more inclined to change my old method of teacher-centered approach to teaching. According to Trilling (2005) I must move from the one size fit all and utilize technology to differentiate and personalize instructions for my students.
In an effort to continue to expand my knowledge of teaching and learning, I will begin to utilize more technology in my lessons to inspire and engage my students in order to increase student achievement. I will also actively continue to educate myself, conduct research and experiment with various technologies to enhance my delivery of lessons. I also believe that belonging to a professional group to share ideas and best practices will greatly assist with the success of my students’ academic achievement. Sharing my technological expertise with my coworkers will not only enhance my skills but will help to benefit those learners in their classroom and help the school to prepare 21st century learners.
One long term goal for transforming my classroom environment over the next two years is the increased use of technology such as web 2.0 technologies and other useful websites that can aid in students’ learning. To accomplish this goal, I will begin to introduce web 2.0 technologies in my lessons beginning this school year. As a new user, I know it will be challenging but with constant practice and the aid of my digital natives I will overcome the challenges. Whenever my research leads me to educational websites, I will liaise with the school’s computer administrator in an effort to get access to these sites via the school’s server. The second long term goal I will set for myself is to endeavor to become a facilitator of learning. I am so accustomed to lecturing to my students and have difficulty implementing the learner-centered approach. So over the course of the next two years, I will work to make my classroom learner-centered. To help me achieve this, I will continue to research and practice using this approach in my classroom until I am comfortable and it becomes a habit.
Looking back at my week one (1) checklist, I had checked ‘sometimes’ for all options under the heading of “Practices to support 21st century skills”. For the area of “Developing technology skills for the school and workplace environments” my responses were sometimes and rarely. Now that I have completed this course, Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work and Society, these responses will indeed change as I strive to incorporate 21st century skills as well as technology in my classroom.
The knowledge obtained from this course has empowered and enabled me to bring my classroom and teaching in line with 21st century skills. I will continue to educate myself and adapt my teaching to meet the needs of my students.
References
Laureate Education, Inc. (2010). Millennial learning styles. [Video webcast]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_1342456_1%26url%3D
Prensky, M. (2008, March). Turning on the lights. Educational Leadership, 65(6), 40-45.
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5).
Trilling, B. (2005). Towards learning societies and the global challenges for learning with ICT. TechForum. Retrieved from http://www.techlearning.com/
techlearning /pdf/events/techforum/ny05/ Toward_Learning_Societies.pdf
techlearning /pdf/events/techforum/ny05/ Toward_Learning_Societies.pdf
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