How I Spent my Summer Vacation

I spent this summer working on a class for my Master’s Program in Integrating Technology in the Classroom from Walden University. My class focused on blogs, wikis, and podcasts as well as incorporating 21st century skills. I learned so much about using technology and how I can use it right away in my classroom. I am very excited to start school and try out these new strategies and activities.

More importantly, my outlook changed towards incorporating technology and I discovered that how I was used to teaching was not meeting the needs of my students. I learned that 21st century skills like collaboration, communication, and critical thinking skills were very important and severely lacking in our educational system today. There remains a profound gap between the knowledge and skills most students learn in school and the knowledge and skills they need in typical 21st century communities and workplaces. (Partnership for 21st Century Skills) After visiting the Partnership for 21st Century Skills website http://www.21stcenturyskills.org, I found some really interesting and helpful sites to use to make my lessons more appropriate for the 21st century learners. After reading Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants (Prensky, 2001), my goal is to engage the digital natives and use technology to enhance learning.
My own skills in using technology have improved greatly through blogging, making a wiki, and podcasting. I am lessening my “accent” as a Digital Immigrant by using the computer more productively, multi-tasking, and reaching out globally to find new ideas on the Internet. I have more confidence in my skills and capabilities and I am ready to share them with my students.

My knowledge of teaching has deepened through the readings and resources of this class. I chuckled after reading Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants (Prensky, 2001), I related to it since I have four college students of my own. Their ability to multi-task, create multi-media, and use social networking has always amazed me. What surprised me was that the United States was so lacking in meeting the needs of our 21st century learners.

By changing my focus from teacher-directed to a more student-centered classroom, I will allow my students to direct their own learning. I will facilitate and guide them through the steps they need to meet their own goals. By using project-based learning, encouraging global communication through Skype and blogs, I will continue to expand my knowledge and at the same time, guide students through technology to reach higher student achievement.

I have set some goals for myself while I study for my Master’s Degree. First, I hope to look for more funding and grants to get Promethean Boards in all of our classrooms in order to have more interactive lessons for the students. I will work with my district’s Technology Director to search for and help to write grants. I will contact different corporations to see if they are able to help us with this goal. By explaining the connection between the school and their workforce, they should be willing to help us to help themselves.

Next, I plan on working with district administration to revisit technology guidelines for cell phone usage and blocked sites due to filters. In the Digital Disconnect, the Pew study found that in many schools at present, policies focus on restricting access rather than facilitation of instructional use. (Bull & Bull, 2003) I plan to address the use of cell phones as an effective tool for instruction and collaboration.
Finally, I hope to start a Tech Club to give students access to the computer labs after school hours. They can use this time to work on homework, research, or extending their own curriculum. Again, I will need to work with the administration to get approval for the use of the labs and money to pay for staff.

In looking back over my summer, I have learned a great deal and it has encouraged me to set my sights on increasing the use of technology and incorporating 21st century skills into my classroom. I hope to use the experiences in blogging, podcasting, and wikis to increase student engagement and achievement.

Bull, G., & Bull, G. (2003, Dec/Jan). The Digital Disconnect. Learning and Leading with Technology .
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Learning for the 21st Century A report and mile guide for 21st century skills.
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon , 9 (5).