EDLD+5364+Teaching+with+Technology+Week+1+Reflection

Reflection:

The way teachers teach and students learn is drastically changing. Educators are now dealing with full blown digital natives and traditional teaching strategies no longer work. Most teachers are having a problem with classroom management and student participation because they are not focusing on how students learn. The way we were taught no longer works for these students and those that have special needs. Students come to us with varying levels of knowledge and strengths so teachers need to accommodate those qualities. There is some information students do not need because they know it but others may not. Collaboration between these students benefits all parties involved. This is where technology comes to play. Teachers and administrators need to let go of ages-old ideals of quiet classrooms full of students busily writing and embrace classrooms full of student discussions and the use of various forms of technology. Teachers also need to let go of their own perceptions of technology use as being free time and their own knowledge (or lack) of technology. They also need to not be afraid of making mistakes and learning from their students. The future learning of these students will focus more on the use of technology so the more we use it, the better prepared they will be in order to prepare themselves.

Discussion:

Teachers who believe that learning should be interesting and meaningful for students need to move past their concern that constructivist instruction is “not teaching.” They need to understand that their view of teaching is based on an educational model that has been around since the dawn of the industrial age (Reigeluth, 1992).

This quote really made me think about how I teach. I teach PK students and sometimes I feel like I am just lecturing to them. I really need to try to find ways to make even 4 and 5 year olds realize how meaningful their learning it and how I can get them to do some learning on their own. Last year, we reviewed the importance of following rules and procedures in class so we used a digital camera to document examples of these and turn them into a video using Photostory. We have also used the digital camera to photograph items around the school beginning with a certain letter and creating a letter video using Animoto. I was trying to make them realize that everyday things around them can be used to remember letter sounds and alliteration. This year, the students used the digital camera and items that began with a letter, formed that letter and photographed it. We then created a class book using the photographs and an Animoto video in which the students had to type a sentence (i.e. A is for astronaut) themselves. During all of this, I emphasized that these skills (keyboarding, digital cameras, creating books/videos, etc.) may become something they will do in their future. Since we mostly teach socialization skills, I should try to find more ways to document these using photographs and various video programs. It will be a matter of stepping outside my comfort zone and moving past this way of thinking.

Reigluth, C. (1992). The imperative for social change. Educational Technology, 32(6), 9-12.