Here is a video I think touches on some important issues about engaging the learners of the 21st century and helping them develop the skills they will need to compete in the work force of tomorrow. As a computer teacher I couldn't agree more, and I'd like to see more efforts made to integrate technology into the curriculum of today's classrooms. Enjoy the video and as always, please feel free to comment and share your thoughts as well.
I found this video on a blog site made by 5 intern teachers. I loved the site and I hope they join our community here at eledblog soon.
mohland Several days ago I
mohland
Several days ago I watched this video and thought that I commented correctly, but apparently my lack of blogging knowledge interfered, and it was not saved to this site. So, here I go again. This video leaves me unsettled, as I , a person just finding their way in the world of technology, come away with the feeling that I am not meeting my students' needs with the largely traditional means I use to teach reading. Maybe it's just me, but the faces of these students and the attitudes they project match many of those I see in the classroom, although I have my doubts that technology is all that is needed to inspire them. I find a great number of our youth expect to be entertained and do not understand the inherent value in learning for the sake of learning, or that their input and effort plays a role in their success. I get the message loud and clear and am seeking via continuing education and experimentation in the classroom with the means available to me, but I do not believe a well rounded traditional curriculum designed to meet the needs of various learning styles will fall so short as to be useless for the twenty first century.
I Agree...
Hello and thank you for your comment.
I agree with your statement that a well rounded traditional curriculum designed to meet the needs of various learning styles will not fall so short as to be useless for students of the Twenty First Century.
In fact I think that a well rounded traditional curriculum designed to meet the needs of various students should be the foundation of any curriculum. Perhaps even more so now that technology is requiring students to shoulder much more of their own educational needs (technology). I think a well rounded education should provide students with the ability to direct their own learning and the skills to carry it out. There really is no way that we as elementary teachers are going to be able to teach them the technical skills they will need to compete in the work force of tomorrow. I do however think that we can give them the tools to be able to teach themselves and as much exposure to the technology of today to make the transition to the world of tomorrow as easy as possible for them.
It really is a challenge, and I don't think it means abandoning the way we have been successfully teaching for so many years. In fact, it's the good teaching of yesterday that has gotten us to where we are at today. I think what I am looking for as a new teacher are ways to integrate technology with the tried and true methods of the past. One of the reasons we started this blog was to encourage this very discussion and I'm very pleased that you have chosen to join the conversation.
I think a great place to start integrating technology with current curriculum is to allow students more choice in how they express themselves and to include technology in those options. For example, many teachers are finding that instead of only having a pen and paper for journaling, they may allow for their students to do blogging. Perhaps instead of a word processed report or a poster, students who have the ability may be allowed to make a website or PowerPoint style presentation. I think by allowing the choice we encourage students who are already developing the skills on their own, to push their learning and apply the skills they are acquiring to a meaningful context.
Thanks again for your comment and let us know if we can help with anything on this site. I think that what may have happened with your previous post was the two stages of posting, preview, then submit. This website isn't perfect, and it's the feedback from users such as yourself that will help us make it better.
Cheers,
Robert
Integrating Technology
To me one of the most important ways for teachers to integrate technology is to use it ourselves!...by blogging, searching and allowing for continual professional development. In fact, that's why we created eledblog! Professional learning communities are essential, but unfortunately we don't have enough time to learn from other educators as much as we probably should. Or, for people like myself, an ELL teacher, who are the only specialist of their kind at their school, talking to other specialists requires meeting with educators from other schools. By meeting online we can fill that need.
While I think blogging is something teachers can allow students to do, it isn't too easy or practical to implement. I've heard of teachers doing this, but it requires that they preview everything students write, then post it. That's a LOT of extra work!
Myself, I see using computers in literacy and math centers as extremely valuable in providing immediate corrective feedback. Students need to learn to choose "just right" activities among their choices for it to be most effective. But we are limited to what our classrooms can offer. (I currently don't have a single functioning student computer in my room. Classroom teachers typically have two to three.)
I love the question of how to integrate technology and I'm therefore going to start a forum with ideas for integrating technology. Please add to it!
http://eledblog.com/content/integrating-technology-practical-ideas
You are really making me think
Hi,
I just joined this group today. Surprisingly my principal sent me this video this past week to take a peek at. I've been in education for more that 20 years, and for the past several years I've been teaching 2nd grade. Until last year, I didn't really buy into the web 2.0 ideas. My goodness they are only 7. Last year I had a student on home instruction for 4 months due to a life threatening brain tumor. My students and I began video conferencing with him because he was suffering from depression and missed his friends and the hum of the classroom. No longer could I close my door and do my thing. His mom, the doctors, nurses and whomever else was sitting close at hand when he became ill. While I was nervous being online all day, but what a difference it made in his spirits. It also transformed the children who were still in the classroom with me. As I spoke to the technology department about issues I was having, I soon had a SMARTboard delivered to my classroom to stream instruction straight to his desk top. While the kids in my class loved the Smartboard and were able to orient it, manipulate it within minutes, I was feeling more and more over my head, but somehow this was the best professional development I had in years. Seemed all of my held beliefs I was rethinking. I realized that guided reading could be more helpful if the conversation continued after-school and soon we had a class blog. Podcasting found it's way next because our little friend wanted to see and share the research projects we were doing, and looking at a poster over the internet was ..... not going to work. While Writing Workshop was the highlight of my day, it wasn't always for my at-risk or Ell students. Yet because of Podcasting and their ability to hear their writing instantly, revision became meaningful.
So here I am a year later. I've learned that I don't need to be as in control as I have always enjoyed. I've learned that boys are so very motivated by technology and are willing to revise as writers when they realize their audience is the world, and they can download their podcast to their Nano and share it with whomever they would like. I've learned that kids are going to be one step ahead of me, and they love teaching their coach something too. I think most of all, I see new possibilities. I don't have kids who always choose to share using technology, but they see it as an option just like using my special purple pens. Of course, when your student says, "You are cooler than my DS," that helps to keep imagining.
I hope you have people in your district who support you, but seems like this is a great site for support too. You've reached hundreds of children through the years, and these kids are ready for all of that... but they just want to share their new learning with the world.
Inspiring Words
Hi Jul313,
I would have responded earlier had I known you commented on this video. I've been trying to work the bugs out of the comment subscribe module on this site, but that seems to be an ongoing struggle, and another story for another day.
Thank you for sharing your experiences using technology to reach a student who wouldn't have otherwise been able to participate! What a great way to use an active board and video conferencing. What an inspiration you and the student must have been to all the learners around you.
I also love your example of how using podcasting motivates individuals who might otherwise be less inclined to write meaningful content or edit what they have written. I think your summary says it best when you seem to in a sense say that though technology may not be for everyone, it is another option that motivates students who may not have been reached any other way.
Thank you for sharing, and I look forward to you sharing more of your teaching experiences in your blog if you find the time. Technology and curriculum integration is a fantastic subject and we just don't have enough dialogue about it.
What an Inspiring Story!
Hi Jul,
Thank you for sharing your inspiring story. It's amazing to think how much your teaching was transformed in one year! I guess that shows what motivation does. Your story illustrates beautifully how teachers push themselves for their students...and just how much we care.
Despite, my blogging, I realize that I don't integrate technology enough. Of course, my resources are fairly limited. I use my projector and document camera and that's about it. I'm an ELL teacher and I think my intermediate (3-5) or all students would really be motivated to write if they got to do podcasting. Not everyone has internet, but lots of kids have i-pods somehow...unlike me. :-)
I'd be interested to hear if you are using the same amount of technology now that you (I assume) don't have a student attending class virtually.
Hello
Although I am a high school math teacher, I was intrigued by the video posted. The students pictured represent so many of our students today. These are students who are bored with the “drill and kill” method and students whose creativity has been stifled. Children today are not the same as they were 17 years ago when I began teaching. These children have grown up using computers, and as an educator, I feel I need to tap into these resources.
Yet examining my methods in the classroom, I feel inadequate many times when it comes to using technology to its fullest potential. I use email to communicate with parents and students, use some technology in the classroom and maintain a webpage. But I also still lecture, provide practice and give homework.
As you mentioned some of these methods are tried and true, however as educators finding ways to improve on these methods and bring them up to date is the challenge. Also many schools are not equipped to meet the needs of the ever changing technological advances. Educators face many obstacles in this area, but I think many are trying to do all they can to “get with the times”. Thanks for sharing the video!
Getting with the Times
Thank you for writing and I appreciate your candor when you admit to feeling inadequate at times. Even as an elementary technology teacher I get those same feelings and I think they are healthy and drive me towards bettering my practice.
I'd love to learn more about how high school students might be able to use technology and math. Some of the things that come to mind for me are using programs like Excel to collect data, create graphs and chart functions. During one of my math classes in college we were assigned a real world type group project where we had to figure out the best price to sell a fictional product at. We had to support our finding with a Powerpoint style presentation which included data, graphs, charts, and other persuasive text and graphics. I'm sure there are many more things teachers can be doing and would love for people to present ideas and post lessons plans if they get the chance.
I agree too that there are systemic issues which create obstacles towards advancing curriculum to keep pace with technology, and this is another reason I want there to be dialogue. I think we need to put the issues on the table and work to find ways to address them.
For example, as part of my recent certification program, we were required to take two technology classes which focused on understanding computers and integrating technology into curriculum. I see this as a great start towards what I think is one of our biggest challenges, that of teacher technology training. The problem with this approach is that it really is only newer teachers getting this training, and they may not be the ones who need it most. Some of these new teachers are quite adept with technology, and lacking in the good tried and true teaching experience most seasoned teachers have. Our seasoned professionals have spent most of their time engaging in teaching and honing the many skills required of the profession. Even if we put the most advanced technology in front of many of our teachers, without adequate training and support it won't do much good. Teachers need a tremendous amount of technology training and support which will be to the benefit of all learners.
Often citizens support levies and other sources of financing for purchasing technology equipment. It seems as though it would be a benefit if those proposing these levies would include a larger portion of the money be spent on professional development. Just my 2 cents worth.. for now :).
Integrating Technology
The 21 Century video made such a powerful impact on me. It is so true that our students learn differently. The list of technological tools teachers can provide for these students to learn are endless. However, many of these features are rationed to only a few teachers within my school system. It is clear that our students are more in tune with technology than their teachers. Unfortunately, many of them are exposed to these technologies outside of the classroom. It seems many teaching practices fall short in integrating technology within their instruction whether it be lack of resources or lack of knowledge.
How can we support these practices to our students if they are not offered to us?
Good question..... I
Good question..... I currently teach at a school that is far behind the times when it comes to technology. We have a population of over 1700 students and about 120 faculty members. Five, yes FIVE, of our teachers have smart boards. Everyone else uses whiteboards and/or overhead projectors. I know my school is not the only one in this same situation. Keeping up with technological advances is difficult for many school districts and with the state of the current economy things may not be changing in the near future. I also agree that many educators, including myself, have a lack of knowledge when it comes to teaching 21st century students. Many times our students are much more knowledgeable about technology then we are. The course I am taking about technology has opened my eyes to many things I need to learn. As teachers we want our students to be lifelong learners, what better way to instill that desire in our students than to show them we are willing to continue learning new things too.
Stop teaching for the 19th Century
In the nineteenth century the skills of arithmetic computation were a prerequisite for top employment. During the course of the twentieth century the need for this skill diminished as technology was able to automate arithmetic. Yet, in the 21st Century we still insist that the calculation skill is somehow the basis of the rest of mathematics. If a child cannot learn arithmetic, an obsolete skill, he will have a major problem in school. Suddenly poor computational skills become "math isability".
I do not advocate that schools abolish teaching computation. Let there be arithmetic courses, but also let there be mathematical courses where arithmetic is invisible. How you make arithmetic invisible is a matter of taste, but let me share mine.
Use a spreadsheet to present problems in arithmetic facts like an worksheet but with instant feedback and automatic storage of the results. Use a spreadsheet to teach and sharpen the estimation skills of the student.
At the same time you show the commands and formulas you can write in a spreadsheet to automatically get the answers. The child learns the arithmetic facts and, at the same time, the spreadsheet can be used as an electronic manipulative.
That is one way to teach the Theory and Practice of Arithmetic
When other parts of Mathematics are taught, let arithmetic be invisible and the student is given problems and uses the spreadsheet to solve them.
For example,
Teach them to use Goal Seek to solve one variable algebra and solver for mutlivariables. If they know Algebra enough to write those equations in a spreadsheet then let the spreadsheet take care of the arithmetic.
Another example,
A spreadsheet can produce 2 and 3 dimensional objects that could be used in the more graphic mathematics as Geometry and Trigonometry. The cosine and sine functions are arithmetic free but you have to know when to use them.
The workplace of the 21st Century does not reward mental arithmetic as much as spreadsheet manipulation.