Reflection

This course encouraged me to practice a variety of skills and explore new technologies in a safe and comfortable manner. Though I was familiar with a good deal of the technology presented during these past few weeks, I had not tried many of them myself. Now that I have first-hand experience and familiarity with more programs and technologies, I feel capable of implementing them in my room; before, I would have been nervous because I had never tried them myself.

I had never considered the construction of the educational system and the inconsistencies that exist between school and the working world. I am more aware of these differences now, and I think that will move me to create learning experiences that are more in line with the skills and practices that my students will experience beyond high school. I will continue to reflect on these ideas as I move forward, and I will continue to practice using blogs, wikis, podcasts, etc. so that I may feel even more prepared in the future to instruct others in these areas.

When I look to the future, I have many goals which I hope to achieve in terms of increased technology in my classroom. First, I would like to pilot the use of a classroom wiki next year, and then tweak the practice so that I may implement it fully by the fall of 2011. I will tell the kids this coming September that our wiki is a “work in progress”, and will most likely conduct a good deal of feedback sessions and have the kids make suggestions so that I can formulate a plan to use the wiki as effectively as possible.

I would also love to develop a major project that incorporates podcasts. I utilize podcasts somewhat already, but I think it would be a great learning experience for all of my students. One of my colleagues has students develop a “podcast broadcast” complete with commercials, shorts, etc. about a major novel that is read over the course of the year. I seek her help in developing a meaningful project by either next spring or the Fall of 2011.

When I look back at my checklist, a good deal of my answers have truthfully stayed the same; however, I do see some shifts. For instance, in the future I will incorporate more activities encouraging collaboration and real-world problem solving. I have always known that these were important activities, but their necessity is apparent to me now. I will use more digital tools in my daily and weekly activities. Most importantly, however, I realize how critical it is for me to be an advocate for change and increased use of technology in my district. I will do my best to make others see the necessity of this transformation, and will work to keep abreast of changes so that I am constantly equipped to help others move forward.

New Podcast

Check out my new podcast on my students' use of technology!

http://feed.podcastmachine.com/podcasts/5177/ipodvideolarge.rss

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills

Today I explored a new website, http://www.p21.org/index.php. The site is sponsored by The Partnership for 21st Century Skills. I can not believe that I was unaware of this project until recently, as the scope of the partnership is rather extensive!

The program was created to encourage the teaching of the skills necessary for students to succeed in the 21st Century. I agree with many of the skills and ideas the program advocates, and I think that we are lagging behind in the process; there needs to be a greater push for these abilities to be taught, and I think this group does a great job of that.

I was surprised to learn of the number of corporations and groups affiliated with the project; businesses from Apple to Microsoft to Verizon to Disney are involved. Additionally, I did not realize that several states have embraced the program and are incorporating the skills into state standards and expectations. My own state, New Jersey, is pushing for 21st Century skills to become a part of the curriculum in all subject areas, and I did not realize that this was encouraged by The Partnership.

Though I don't necessarily agree with everything on the site-for instance, there is a general support throughout of No Child Left Behind, which I find in many ways to be unrealistic-I thought the site was informative and thought-provoking. I would definitely encourage my fellow educators to take a look!

The blog's place in my classroom...

I will admit that I currently have a "blog" for my classes, but it is not used in a way that truly utilizes the technology. The space is mainly used to post homework assignments; occasionally, I will post reminders, school events, or other tidbits on the blog, but it is a one-sided conversation regardless. I do not use the blog for communication with and between students, and that is where its greatest value lies.

I teach 10th and 11th grade English, and I think the blog would be wonderful for in-depth or thought provoking "journal-like" responses tied to the literature read throughout my courses. Oftentimes in the beginning of a unit, we will talk about themes and ideas that will be addressed in the novel, and a class blog would be a wonderful place to get the discussion going.

I also think that blogs could provide a boost for my school's summer reading program. Our district has an out-of-date summer reading assignment that, in my opinion, does not challenge or inspire the students. A committee is currently working on a new summer reading program to be implemented for Summer 2011, and I am beginning to wonder if blogging could be incorporated.

Though it would be difficult for 2011-2012 class blogs to be developed (the students don't know their English teachers for the next school year until the first day of class), I wonder if there could be a way to pull it off. For instance, if a student is leaving my class and going to Ms. Miller's class the following year, I wonder if they could complete the blogging experience with kids from my class, and Ms. Miller could subscribe to RSS feeds for all her kids come September? The kinks would have to be worked out, but I think that discussion via blogs over the summer would be exciting to the kids, and could perhaps be the answer we need to the Summer Reading problem!

Initial Post

Greetings, everyone!

I am a secondary English teacher, looking forward to broadening my technological horizons for the betterment of my classroom instruction.