Reflection on Technology and it's use in the Classroom

I think the first and most important and significant part of what I learned in this course has to do with shedding light on the way in which our students, the students of the 21 st century learn. I believe it was Dr. Dede who pointed out that there are now three types of thinkers; linear, web, and gaming (Dr. Dede 2008). That piece of information has caused me to adjust the thought process that takes place when I design a lesson. And when doing so I need to take into consideration the change in how our students learn. Understanding my student’s habits of mind and changing my own is a necessary step that has to be taken to be able to provide my students with the tools they will need in the 21 st century.

I have just scratched the surface of developing my skills in the use of technology. Before beginning this course I had heard about blogging but didn’t really understand how to do it, or the significance and impact it has had and will continue to have on education, from sharing ideas with other teaching professionals, to student communicating ideas and discovering new way to do thing and to do different things (Thornburg 2008). I knew of Wikipedia but again did not realize the significance of the tool when applied to education, learning and student research. The most interesting and productive application of technology as an educational tool in the classroom, encountered in this course was podcasting. I have thought of applying the creation of podcasts for math education by developing instructional mathematics lessons that my students participate in and can access from home.

At the level of math that I teach, 8th grade Pre-Algebra, I am having a difficult time understanding how to changing from a teacher-centered approach to a student-centered approach to teaching. I say this because at this level of teaching there still some basic skill development that needs to take place. There is the possibility of using games specifically designed for skill development, but I think a significant amount of research on my part needs to be done to find those games that can be adapted to my curriculum.

By completing the ITC program at Walden and possibly taking additional technology classes I will be developing the necessary tools needed to prepare my students for the 21 st century job market. I can also continue to increase my knowledge of the use of technology in he classroom by participating in educational blogs that deal with my content area. At some point in the future I am sure I will be able to introduce my students to the use of classroom blogging and researching for information on the web, but first I have to become familiar and comfortable with the use of technology in the classroom.

The first long term goal I have set for myself is to ask administration to get the sixty computers the school has ready for use with the school network. Once that is accomplished then I need to get the computers in my classroom for my students to use. I have also begun developing lessons for the students using power point presentations. That may seem like doing things differently but I have taken it one step further. I have included audio with the presentations and downloaded the presentation to my schools remote desk top. This has two purposes one of which is so the student can access the presentations if they need to refresh their memory of the class presentation. The second, is for those students who have been absent, they now have access to what was done in the classroom. Finally, the second goal is to have students work collaboratively on math projects that have real life applications that may or may not involve research on the web. Once the projects have been completed the students can then post the final artifact on the classroom blog.

21 st Century Skills

My reaction to the web site Partnership for 21st Century Skills is that I found the site to be more of an informational site, in other word more commercially orientated, describing who they are what they are in an effort to inform the general public that professional teachers. It was time consuming for me to locate the specific information I was looking for given my competency level with technology. I did find the following links to be helpful when trying to implement 21 st century skills in my math curriculum, http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/images/stories/matrices/ictmap_math.pdf, the link is to a curriculum map for mathematics instruction in the 21 st century.

I am biased when it comes to technology and available web sites, and I am looking for resources and information pertaining to my specific content area, mathematics. I would say the site, Partnership for 21st Century Skills, in that there was more emphasis another content areas specifically science and geography.


I realize the sites emphasis is on 21 st century skills but I believe it is making some assumptions. The first being that all students have acquired a basic understanding of the three R’s, reading writing and arithmetic, those basic skills need to be developed before higher level think skills can be taught. The difference is how those skills are taught.

I have to find a way to include in the curriculum I have been given to teach, those other skills that my students will need to be successful in the 21 st century

Links

While setting up my school web site at hsd36.org I included the following links to interactive web sites that my students can access if the need to supplement their assignments. If you don't already know about them they might be helpful.
http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/FractionFour/

http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/Angles/

http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/AreaExplorer/

http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/PerimeterExplorer/

http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/FractionQuiz/

http://www.worldplenty.com/grade8.htm#topic50

Middle School Math and Blogging

This year I included in the math curriculum, writing assignments to be completed each week to reinforce topics and concept we will be discussing during the week. I am also having my students write short reflection after the completion of each day’s lesson. My school has very limited recourses in the form of computers so it very difficult if not impossible to get the student on them. I would like to get my students to blog but the request would have to go through administration and they are not usually receptive to new ideas. I would like my student to create a math blog about the topics I have assigned each week along with the daily reflection they write. I believe it is beneficial for the student, in that more in depth learning takes place if students are able to communicate understanding through writing.

Using technology in the math classroom

I am interested to find and implement the use of technology in my pre-algebra class. I have started this year having my student write about what they are learning in math. I require that they write the reflections using word and then e-mail me the final copy. I would really like to expand the use of technology in my classroom. If you have any ideas pleas let me know. Thanks