Reflection: Technology in the Classroom

Prior to taking my first graduate school course in Integrating Technology in the Classroom, I knew what a Wiki, Blog, and Discussion Board were, but I had not used them to create a dialogue or to collaborate with other professionals. I have a new understanding of how easy it is to use them and how great the outcomes of them can be in acquiring new knowledge, ideas, and activities to use in my classroom. This course has allowed me to not only learn more about these technology tools, but also provided me with valuable practice time for using them before I use them with my students. Time to practice a new skill is something that teachers often do not have.

More than anything, this course has opened my eyes to the way today’s students learn and process information. Through a recent technology survey a sample of my students completed, I was able to gain greater understanding of how much my students multi-task outside of school and how much they crave being able to use their everyday technology tools in the classroom. I don’t think most of my students can even imagine how much technology can be used in their education, outside of the typical word-processing, PowerPoint, or assessments, because the majority of their teachers are not using technology in “new” ways. I appreciate my student’s abilities to use technology more than I did before and I have realized that, while I do need to have a working knowledge of the technology that my students use in my class, as well as a plan on how to manage it, I do not have to perfect my use of the tool before my students can use it…it is something we can learn together! Allowing them to help me learn it allows me to model for them how to be a life-long-learner, as well as it gives them an opportunity to take ownership in their learning as well.

I have changed my perspective from being teacher-centered to being learner-centered in that I give my students more opportunities to collaborate on a daily basis. I integrate this into my daily warm-ups and reflections as much as possible by providing real-life prompts for small-group discussion. By providing students an opportunity to touch-base with peers in meaningful ways before I discuss the previous day and begin to build on what they have already learned, I am integrating valuable reflection time. For some students, this is also an opportunity to give or receive peer teaching, which helps to bring the material back to them and hopefully provides a connection from day-to-day.

I can continue to expand on my knowledge of learning new technology and integrating it into the classroom by continuing to collaborate online with other teaching professionals in order to discover new activities and tools that will allow my science students to make relevant connections between our curriculum and their everyday life (Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2008). Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society. Baltimore: Author.) It is in making relevant connections that I truly believe that my students will move themselves beyond the curriculum. As Dr. Thornburg and Dr. Davidson point out, this opens up new doors for student learning and brings greater joy back into the classroom for teachers (Laureate Educaction, Inc. 2008), which is something I have needed this year, as this has developed into one of the most challenging years in my nine-year-teaching-career. I believe using technology in the classroom will continue to bring a fresh perspective to teaching and learning for myself as a classroom teacher.

In looking ahead at how I would like to transform my classroom environment, I would like to continuously model for my students a collaborative culture. I would like for them to see me working with other teachers in order to accomplish everyday tasks in meaningful ways, and I would like to bring that into the classroom. This is a 21st century skill, but does not necessarily require the use of technology. It is my hope that my students learn to complete tasks by collaboration by second-nature. I would like for them to develop the skills necessary for them to be a meaningful addition to a collaborative group and learn how they can best support their group in their own personal way. In addition, I would like for it to be a norm for my students to communicate and collaborate through the use of a discussion board, blog, or Wiki. I feel like this would allow bring a valuable technology tool into the classroom, and open the door for them to be more responsible and accountable for their own learning, a very important life skill.

At the beginning of this graduate course, I reflected on how I supported the learning of 21st century skills in the classroom and on how I, as a teacher leader, supported and developed technology skills in my school. Upon completion of this course, there are a few areas in which I see myself beginning to emerge more than before. First, I spend more time modeling and engaging students in activities that encourage them to self-reflect on their own learning. Second, I have focused more on encouraging my students and colleagues to develop leadership and technology skills for themselves. Finally, I encourage best practices in integrating technology by spending more time researching and evaluating tools for use in the classroom and then sharing my results with my colleagues. Although these are just a few ways in which I have started moving towards a 21st century classroom, there are many more areas in which I am developing ideas about how I can be a leader and promote and support the integration of technology in the classroom and steer my classroom and school toward complete 21st century learning.