Saturday, June 11, 2011
Time to Face the Future
The future is here and my students need and require a teacher who has the skills, knowledge and attitude necessary to support their learning and growth. As a National Board Certified teacher and with a Master's Degree in Education I suppose I felt secure and confident. I wasn't willing to face my own lack of confidence and beliefs about integrating digital tools and resources with my young students. After viewing the ICT standards from UNESCO which are technological literacy, knowledge deepening and knowledge creation and then the K-2 grade expectations in technology from the Vermont Dept. of Education I realize that I can no longer afford to wait and fall back on the old ways of teaching and integrating technology minimally. It is uncomfortable at times because things change so quickly in the digital world. There is always a new tool or website to investigate, I have felt that there is no way to keep up. However the stakes are high and it is vital that my students have the opportunities that will enable them to participate fully in the digital world of today and the future. So I will push myself to stay current, think creatively and use the examples in the VT tech grade expectations as well as other resources to integrate technology and digital tools naturally and fluently in all areas.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Empowered, Skilled and Engaged Citizens
This session's work on AUP's ( acceptable use policies), equitable access and global connections really engaged me and really helped to bring my work in this course into a familiar perspective. My work with young students is based on helping to support their development in foundational skills and attitudes that will sustain their learning throughout their lives. I hope for nothing less than empowered, skilled and engaged citizens, in their local communities and beyond. AUP's, equitable access and global connections informs my understanding of skilled and confident learners and thinkers.
AUP's and teaching students to interact respectfully and responsibly with digital media and communication are clearly foundational skills that as educators we need to model and provide direct instruction with from an early age. Just as we begin to teach the words "please" and "thank-you" as soon as a child begins to speak, we should be teaching about acceptable use, proper digital etiquette and respect for intellectual property as soon as children begin to use these technologies and tools. The most important aspect of this work with young children is to use kid friendly language and concrete examples to help students understand the purpose and importance of using these skills. In addition as teaches we need to model respectful interactions and respect of technology, both in virtual communication and face-to face interactions.
Equitable access is an important issue for our school community. Not only access to hardware and broadband connections but also to the attitudes and habits students are exposed to around the internet and technology from home. The results from an infromal survey I conductd with my first and second graders a couple of years ago demonstrated that students primarily viewed computers, smartphones and the internet in terms of entertainment, not communication, collaboration or knowledge attainment. I realized that it is very important for me to demonstrate and engage students in the communication, colaborations and learning that happens through the use of these and other technologies. Both to broaden and deepen the experiences they may be having with this technology at home.
Finally, as a former Rotary Youth Exchange student I have always been committed to helping my students understand and gain experiences that take them beyond their local communities. Several years ago I decided to begin using a Service-Learning model to engage students in working on making positive impacts in their local communities. With the advancements in communication and collaboration tools making it more accessible to younger students, I see whole new opportunities for my students to interact and apply their learning with other students from around the world! One goal for next year will be to engage in a project that connects my students with students from another country around a common curricular focus.
AUP's and teaching students to interact respectfully and responsibly with digital media and communication are clearly foundational skills that as educators we need to model and provide direct instruction with from an early age. Just as we begin to teach the words "please" and "thank-you" as soon as a child begins to speak, we should be teaching about acceptable use, proper digital etiquette and respect for intellectual property as soon as children begin to use these technologies and tools. The most important aspect of this work with young children is to use kid friendly language and concrete examples to help students understand the purpose and importance of using these skills. In addition as teaches we need to model respectful interactions and respect of technology, both in virtual communication and face-to face interactions.
Equitable access is an important issue for our school community. Not only access to hardware and broadband connections but also to the attitudes and habits students are exposed to around the internet and technology from home. The results from an infromal survey I conductd with my first and second graders a couple of years ago demonstrated that students primarily viewed computers, smartphones and the internet in terms of entertainment, not communication, collaboration or knowledge attainment. I realized that it is very important for me to demonstrate and engage students in the communication, colaborations and learning that happens through the use of these and other technologies. Both to broaden and deepen the experiences they may be having with this technology at home.
Finally, as a former Rotary Youth Exchange student I have always been committed to helping my students understand and gain experiences that take them beyond their local communities. Several years ago I decided to begin using a Service-Learning model to engage students in working on making positive impacts in their local communities. With the advancements in communication and collaboration tools making it more accessible to younger students, I see whole new opportunities for my students to interact and apply their learning with other students from around the world! One goal for next year will be to engage in a project that connects my students with students from another country around a common curricular focus.
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