Reflecting upon Technology Integration in the Classroom

“Schools are struggling to keep pace with the astonishing rate of change in students’ lives outside of school. Students will spend their adult lives multitasking, multifaceted, technology-driven, diverse vibrant world-and they must arrive equipped to do so” (Partnership, p. 4). Being an active participant in Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society has given me a heightened awareness and a sense of urgency to examine my curriculum and current teaching practices to ensure that I am teaching the 21st century skills that my students will need to succeed in a global economy. Despite various professional developments or tutorials on different educational technology tools, never once was I expected to devote time exploring these tools and contemplating how I could effectively incorporate such technology into my classroom; after all, they were just another resource. Today’s students do not view technology as resources; they are an everyday part of their lives. Being a “digital immigrant”, it is critical that I explore the tools that are or will be commonplace to my students. Creating a blog, wiki, and podcast demonstrated how one’s learning can transcend beyond the walls of a classroom. Throughout my use of Web 2.0 tools, I was able to discover ways to incorporate such beneficial technology into my curriculum to teach my students the essential 21st century skills. Without this exploration, I doubt that I truly would have obtained a clear picture of how my teaching practices must be altered and realigned to meet the needs of my millennial learners.

“A powerful vision of public education is critical for closing the gap between how students live and how they learn in school. Students who have access to technology outside of school will find schools without access to and integration of technology into their coursework to be antiquated and irrelevant to their world” (Partnership, p. 7). To increase relevancy in regards to the mandated curriculum, I must continue to think creatively in how I approach various subject matters. When developing units of study, I need to ask myself: Is there a Web 2.0 tool that can be used to more effectively teach my students the core content in addition to critical 21st century skills? Consistently reflecting upon my teaching practices and how they can be adapted to increase engagement and active learning is essential to ensuring that I remain current and relevant to my students. In addition to thinking creatively when designing units, I must reexamine my role as a teacher and become more of facilitator of discovery. “[t]wenty-first-century learning requires re-envisioning what learning looks like, teacher and student roles, as well as content learned” (Cramer, 2007, p. 128). This means loosening the reins of what my students learn and the methods in which they actually do learn. I believe that if I remain aware of what is required by my mandated curriculum but use my students’ natural curiosity to meet these standards, engagement will increase and student achievement will rise. “Classrooms in the 21st century need to be collaborative spaces where student-centered knowledge development and risk taking are accepted as the norm and where ecology of learning develops and thrives” (Nussbaum-Beach, 2008, p. 3). In my classroom, I will be taking a risk by exposing my insecurities in regards to my knowledge of technology integration; however through collaborative efforts, my students and I will be able to experience authentic learning at its finest.

As educators, it is important to set achievable short and long-term goals to promote a continued momentum towards relevant and effective teaching practices and to lessen the chance for burn-out. “The challenge now is to emphasize other key elements of learning and leverage existing technology to truly make a difference in student achievement” (Partnership, p. 5). Within the next two years, I plan to incorporate a Web 2.0 tool into each of my units of study. By doing so, I will be promoting critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and other essential 21st century skills. This period of time will be one of reflection as I will be determining which tools are most beneficial in teaching and assessing student knowledge of various core concepts. For example, after my students create a podcast to demonstrate their knowledge of a particular topic and then post it to our classroom blog for feedback from others outside of our classroom, I will then analyze engagement levels and gauge the activity’s overall effectiveness. This information can then be used to determine what changes need to be made in regards to my instruction and role as a facilitator and how the use of this Web 2.0 tool may be utilized more effectively.

Over the next two years, I also plan to utilize my classroom blog to promote collaboration and communication in and outside of the classroom and to teach beginning reading and writing skills. “Blogging can teach critical reading and writing skills, and it can lead to greater information management skills” (Richardson, 2009, p. 36). Having my Kindergartners share what they are learning about through the use of a classroom blog provides endless opportunities to teach 21st century skills. Collaboration will be essential as the students will have to decide the best way to express what they have learned. Creativity will be encouraged as students will have the opportunity to have their work displayed for an audience that has the ability to provide constructive feedback. The challenge that I have faced in the past is keeping my class webpage or blog updated. Therefore, it is my goal to maintain our classroom blog as a source of current information that parents can refer to when talking to their children about what they are learning in school.

“The ability to harness the power of Web 2.0 tools wouldn’t be as critical if it were not for the fact that we are educating our students to succeed in a globally connected economy” (November, 2008, p. 3). Today’s students must graduate proficient in 21st century skills. Continually reflecting upon my teaching practices and how I can integrate technology into my Kindergarten classroom will help to lay the foundation for 21st century skills that my students will need to build upon. No longer is it acceptable to continue to teach using only “tried and true” methods of the past. Today’s millennial students deserve to learn using the tools that are an integral part of their lives and will continue to play a role in their futures.

References:
Cramer, S. (2007). Update your classroom with learning objects and twenty-first century skills. Clearing House, 80(3), 126–132.

November, A. (2007). Banning student 'containers'. Technology & Learning. Retrieved from http://www.techlearning.com/article/7468

Nussbaum-Beach, S. (2008). No limits. Technology & Learning, 28(7), 14–18. Retrieved from http://www.techlearning.com/article/8466

Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (n.d.). A report and mile guide for 21st century skills. Washington DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/downloads/P21_Report.pdf

Richardson, W. (2009). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.