http://techtechteach.com/page/4/ |
As the semester
comes to a close, I am absolutely baffled by how fast it went. Not only do the
past 3 months seem to have flown but also the whole year seems like such a
blur. I am happy to say that this year I have gotten to immerse myself in a
variety of educational theories and experiences, leading to much excitement and
nervousness for the Faculty of Education next year. With all of this learning
in mind, my task with this blog is to somehow sum up exactly what I’ve learned
and reflect on the process of learning about 21st Century literacies
and skills. Hopefully in doing so I can also create a good reference for myself
in terms of resources that will benefit me in my future teaching endeavors.
As
a major part of our class blogging this semester we were asked to follow
different teacher blogs. In following these blogs there has been a great
personal capacity for learning and reflection. In seeing how other teachers
brand themselves, participate in a global discussion and share in the
development of a 21st Century identity I have been incredibly
fortunate to learn about the wide range of resources and support systems that are
in place to help teachers all over the world. I have specifically been
following three blogs over the later half of the semester, and will definitely
continue to do so in the future. Although my initial blogs unfortunately went
inactive, I was fortunate to come across three very distinctly different
resources. The first blog that I have been following is Larry Ferlazzo’s Website of The Day.This blog is holds an
abundance of educational resources curated by Ferlazzo, aimed at teaching ELL,
ESL and EFL. Centered almost fully on web-based resources Ferlazzo makes it
very easy to find a new technological resource for your students. I think that
a lot of the time the digital world can be overwhelming, and knowing where to
start in your search can be daunting. I believe that this potentially could be
where a lot of push back comes from in terms of technology. It is great to
integrate technology and websites into your lessons but if you don't know where
to start it can be incredibly hard. I think that this is why Ferlazzo’s blog is
so wonderful. Ferlazzo fully embodies many 21st Century skills and
literacies in his blogging, tweeting and curating. With almost 45000 followers,
he opens the educational boundaries and pushes to share information in our
digital age. He looks to incorporate media literacy into the classroom for
students, but also makes it an accessible construct for teachers. By connecting
others so easily to the multitude of online resources, Ferlazzo reminds
teachers that BYOD and other
technological based educational lessons can be more rich than every imagined. If you don't know what BYOD is, check out this great informational video from the Peel District School Board.
The
next blogger that I followed throughout the semester is BYOD, ASAP. Although this
blog isn’t updated as frequently as Ferlazzo’s, it offers valuable insight into
the process of integrating the BYOD movement into your classroom. This blog is
focused on a Secondary Math and Science classroom, where students are asked to
be metacognitive about their own learning. The blog is separated into project
ideas, teacher experiences and other thoughts and questions. Heather speaks
frequently about student centered learning, and how teacher understanding can
nurture this learning. Furthermore, this blogger is admittedly new to BYOD and
is “ convert[ing]
my classes over to BYOD, focusing on independent and proficiency-based learning”.
By sharing the process and journey with her followers, Heather is creating
accountability and transparency for the integration of 21st Century skills
into her classroom. As an experienced teacher followers watch her work with new
concepts and skills, and can see the ways in which students thrive in the BYOD
world. If you get a chance, I would really recommend reading “Pioneers” as it gives an incredible
amount of information surrounding teacher and student reactions to BYOD
integration. Heather contributes to the media and technological literacy of her
students, while showing other teachers her process. In showcasing this process,
I think that this blog shows that integrating technology isn’t the easiest or
most streamline process. However, if you work hard at it and do it properly,
the learning community that arises is absolutely incredible!
The last blogger that I followed
closely over the semester is Heidi Siwak(The Amaryllis). Siwak is a middle school teacher from Ontario who is
highly recognized for her teaching philosophy and strategy. She is a highly
metacognitive thinker, who constantly reflects on her own strategies and how to
foster similar understandings in her students. Her blogs are diverse in content
but offer great insight into the ways that she is always adapting and
developing herself as a teacher. Recently, Siwak has blogged about her
experiences of teaching students to recognize how negative feedback can be used
productively. She discusses how to take emotion out of the equation to
positively adjust projects for the most efficiency. Another set of blogs focus
on the projects that her students become immersed in, and how they are part of
the assessment and learning process. She also admits that she is sometimes
stuck on how to approach a concept or how to teach her students something in a
meaningful way. In approaching this as a learning opportunity Siwak also
discusses the importance of networking and learning from others. This
incredibly diverse blog touches on an incredibly amount of the 21st
Century skills and literacies. Student centered learning, project based
learning, moral education, collaboration and technological understanding are
just a few ideals that she grapples with in her classrooms. I also really appreciate her insight into the
Ontario classroom and seeing all the incredible learning she facilitates within
bounds of the Ontario curriculum. It is incredibly inspiring to see that she is
constantly bettering herself in the means of professional development, and
constant learning.
http://nowvoyagereducation.com/professional-development |
In following these blogs I have
learned a lot. To see how other teachers are constantly reinventing their
teaching techniques and strategies to benefit their students is incredibly
inspiring. In seeing how each of these bloggers puts an incredible amount of
thought and work into their own professional development, it really puts into
perspective the ever changing world we live in. If you had told me when I was
12 that classrooms would now be using smart boards, or even computers to do
complex projects I would have been baffled. And although I personally have some
understanding of the 21st Century Skills that this generation is
currently working with, I definitely need to continue in my own professional
development. These blogger/teachers do not rest on the knowledge and skills
they walked out of the faculty of education with, and I think that their transparency
in the process of understanding new expectations is a great example for new
incoming teachers.
So… you may ask what I will take
away from this semester of educational learning, and I can honestly say that I
have learned a lot. I really appreciate our discussion surrounding branding
yourself and creating an online footprint. Although I have been taught to be
wary of social media and the negative side of it, I wasn't very aware of the
positive aspects of these platforms. In creating your own footprint online, you
are also creating a professional brand that allows for connection with
educators all over the globe. As a class we have created our blogs and group Pinterest page while learning of the
positive implications of other resources like Twitter and Cube for Teachers. In doing so, we have already begun to network with the ever
growing group of educational professionals that are out there. In doing so, we
have also learned that the educational world is a broad and welcoming
community, and in this community is a wide range of peers willing and ready to
help whenever needed. Personally, I think something that I have taken away from
this experience is the unbelievable depth to the resources available for
engaging and meaningful learning. In watching Susan Kwiecien create a QR code
of her voice recording, I had an
epiphany. I have not even scratched the surface of meaningful ways to engage
and identify with future students. The possibilities are limitless and I think
that it has been an eye opening experience seeing the ways that teachers have
to constantly adapt to new and developing students.
And with that, I end my final blog
for this course. Yet, I have a feeling that this wont be the end of this blog.
As I find myself entering another summer job within a primary classroom, and of
course the Faculty of Education next year I think that this will be a great
resource for reflection and understanding. I look forward to continuing my
experiences in the great online educational community, and can’t wait to see
where this global community takes me next.