When I first began this course, EDUC 6710: Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society, I felt very intimidated by the things I was going to have to do to complete the coursework. As a new teacher that grew up during the explosion of technology, with cell phones, personal computers, and the internet, I understood the great significance of using technology and digital tools in everyday life and in the classroom. But even though I believed in integrating technology into my classroom, I did not have the knowledge of Web 2.0 tools to use blogs, wikis, and podcasts to use them to enhance my classroom lessons. Throughout this course, though, I gained the knowledge I need to effectively incorporate technology into my kindergarten classroom, and I am extremely excited to use these in my classroom in the future to teach 21st century skills.
Not only has this course provided me with the practical knowledge to use Web 2.0 tools in my classroom, it has also provided me with a changed attitude towards technology. While I believed in using technology with older students, I had no idea how these tools would fit in with my kindergarten classroom. However, now that I’ve actually done blogging, wikis, and podcasting, I understand how these things can be used at all levels to enhance learning. In my learning centered classroom, I passionately believe in the concept that we will never know what our students are capable of learning until we teach it. This is no different with technology. The more we expose our students to technology, the more we let them explore and work through what we present to them, the better prepared they will be to live and work in a global society.
To continue expanding my knowledge of learning, teaching, and leading with technology, I plan to continue using Web 2.0 tools in my personal life, as well as my classroom. I have already developed several lessons in which I will implement podcasting and wikis. I also plan to make technology a central focus of my continuing education in the years to come, to ensure that I stay as up to date as possible with the newest digital tools and ideas for implementation. I also have set two long term goals that will allow me to transform my classroom and school environment. One of these goals is to integrate the use of digital tools into at least one lesson of each of my 1-2 week units. A second goal deals with transforming my school climate, as I work with several colleagues to share our learned knowledge with veteran teachers in our district. It is my goal to be a teacher leader in my district to promote the development of technology skills in my colleagues. Through monthly after school classes, we hope to teach fellow teachers how to navigate and implement Web 2.0 tools in the classroom to increase student achievement.
Overall, I’ve truly enjoyed learning new and effective ways to use technology in the classroom. I look forward to completing this course of study to truly transform my teaching and prepare my students for a bright, successful future.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Podcasting with Kindergarten Students
One of the benefits of teaching full-day kindergarten is that there are more opportunities to use technology on a daily basis and expose my students to the digital tools they must learn to use to be successful in the future. One Web 2.0 tool I plan to use with my students is podcasting. My school has encouraged the use of this tool, but having never done it before, I was intimidated by it. Now that I have learned to create a podcast through my Walden University course, I'm extremely excited to use podcasting in my classroom on a regular basis. Here is the link to my very first podcast:
http://teachertube.com/music.php?music_id=965&title=Walden_Technology_Interview
http://teachertube.com/music.php?music_id=965&title=Walden_Technology_Interview
Monday, September 28, 2009
21st Century Skills
Why do students need 21st century skills?
Every child in American needs 21st century knowledge and skills to succeed as effective citizens, workers and leaders in the 21st century. There is 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. To successfully face rigorous higher education coursework, career challenges and a globally competitive workforce, U.S. schools must align classroom environments with real world environments by infusing 21st century skills into their teaching and learning.
-Partnership for 21st Century Skills
As an educator, I take this statement to heart. I understand that my role as a kindergarten teacher is to lay the foundation for the development of the necessary skills my students will need to be successful as they enter the workforce in about 15 years. The 21st Century Skills must be vital components in the education of every child in America if we hope to produce productive, successful individuals ready to enter the global workforce. The website of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills at http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/ is a useful site for familiarizing yourself with the mission, resources, and basics of 21st Century Skills. Be sure view the skills framework and student outcomes for vital information on the skills.
I was quite surprised by how many of the P21 partners are kid-oriented, such as Scholastic, Lego, Sesame Workshop, and Disney, and quite disappointed in the fact that so little of the information on the site pertains to working with young students. While it’s true that the 21st Century skills must be honed in higher grades, they must be introduced from the very beginning. More information on how to better teach and implement the skills would be welcome and very useful.
How, as a kindergarten teacher, can I be sure that I am introducing 21st Century Skills in a way that conveys to my students how important these skills are? How hard should I push my students into thinking more critically, problem solving, and communicating complexly? What is considered developmentally appropriate in teaching these skills to young students?
Every child in American needs 21st century knowledge and skills to succeed as effective citizens, workers and leaders in the 21st century. There is 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. To successfully face rigorous higher education coursework, career challenges and a globally competitive workforce, U.S. schools must align classroom environments with real world environments by infusing 21st century skills into their teaching and learning.
-Partnership for 21st Century Skills
As an educator, I take this statement to heart. I understand that my role as a kindergarten teacher is to lay the foundation for the development of the necessary skills my students will need to be successful as they enter the workforce in about 15 years. The 21st Century Skills must be vital components in the education of every child in America if we hope to produce productive, successful individuals ready to enter the global workforce. The website of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills at http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/ is a useful site for familiarizing yourself with the mission, resources, and basics of 21st Century Skills. Be sure view the skills framework and student outcomes for vital information on the skills.
I was quite surprised by how many of the P21 partners are kid-oriented, such as Scholastic, Lego, Sesame Workshop, and Disney, and quite disappointed in the fact that so little of the information on the site pertains to working with young students. While it’s true that the 21st Century skills must be honed in higher grades, they must be introduced from the very beginning. More information on how to better teach and implement the skills would be welcome and very useful.
How, as a kindergarten teacher, can I be sure that I am introducing 21st Century Skills in a way that conveys to my students how important these skills are? How hard should I push my students into thinking more critically, problem solving, and communicating complexly? What is considered developmentally appropriate in teaching these skills to young students?
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Blogs in Kindergarten?
I love the idea of using blogs in the classroom to enhance lessons and increase student engagement and learning. However, I’m having a difficult time thinking of ways that I might utilize a blog with my group of kindergarten students. Children at this level are only learning computer basics and cannot read and write well enough to use blogging. I would love some ideas and suggestions!
My only thought for using blogs in my classroom is I might partner up with my fifth grade reading buddies and sixth grade science buddies to use a blog to respond to one another and the lessons we work on together. I would work with my students as a class to post a blog topic based on our unit themes, and our buddies would respond by giving information or sharing stories to help expand the learning of my students on specific topics based on our state standards. I would hope that my students would be able to pick up more knowledge than I would otherwise be able to teach alone, and our older buddies would gain a sense of ownership and expertise on our topics through teaching concepts themselves.
I already have a plan in place to do this type of activity with paper and pencil, but I believe that a blog might be a better tool for allowing “anytime, anywhere learning.” Plus, with paper and pencil, students will only collaborate with one or two other students. Through the use of a blog, the entire class would be able to collaborate with one another at all times.
My only thought for using blogs in my classroom is I might partner up with my fifth grade reading buddies and sixth grade science buddies to use a blog to respond to one another and the lessons we work on together. I would work with my students as a class to post a blog topic based on our unit themes, and our buddies would respond by giving information or sharing stories to help expand the learning of my students on specific topics based on our state standards. I would hope that my students would be able to pick up more knowledge than I would otherwise be able to teach alone, and our older buddies would gain a sense of ownership and expertise on our topics through teaching concepts themselves.
I already have a plan in place to do this type of activity with paper and pencil, but I believe that a blog might be a better tool for allowing “anytime, anywhere learning.” Plus, with paper and pencil, students will only collaborate with one or two other students. Through the use of a blog, the entire class would be able to collaborate with one another at all times.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Full-Day Kindergarten vs. Half-Day Kindergarten
My school is in the process of moving from a half-day kindergarten program to a full-day kindergarten program. With states requiring more and more from teachers and students, full-day kindergarten seems to be the best (and only) option. In terms of curriculum, I have plenty of ideas and my lesson plans are full. But I worry about the effect that my state's strict requirements will have on my young students. Can kindergarten students physically and mentally handle the demands of a full-day kindergarten program? Or are half-day programs more developmentally appropriate for our youngest students? Any suggestions for dealing with a full-day program in terms of scheduling, routines, and expectations are welcome.
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