Walking Away with Something I Can Use

Now that my course, Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society is coming to a close, I’ll take time to reflect on how this course has shaped me as the computer/technology teacher in my school.  I don’t know what made me believe this, but prior to taking this course, I thought my focus should be on teaching my students how to use programs on the computer that can be used to prepare projects and reports for their classroom teacher.  This kept my focus mainly on Microsoft Office.  My focus has completely changed.

By me designing projects using Microsoft Office applications that followed a specific set of guidelines, I was limiting my students to learning very specific skills and was closing the door to any type of feedback from them that might change the direction of future lessons.  My focus up to this point this year has been how to use different web 2.0 tools.  My students seem to be more involved in this process, and the guidelines aren’t as constraining as they were last year.  If I give a topic, they are freer to take it in a direction that makes sense to them.  They are also able to communicate with each other and share ideas.  I’m also able to give them regular feedback that not only helps them, but also helps others who read the suggestions I may leave a classmate.  While teaching things like Microsoft Office are important, I now think I’d better serve my students by exposing them to a variety of software and online activities rather than teach them to master just a few.  I only need to think back to my early years of learning how to use a computer to realize that this was the method used for me and this method is why I’ve had success in this field.  I was given enough information from my professors to master certain applications on my own.

My long term goal over the next couple of years is to continue to what I’ve started this year, to expose my students to a wide array of programs and technology.  I would also like to put myself into a leadership position so that I may guide other schools and teachers toward effective uses of their technology.  Presently, I think my school district wants to see a higher level of use of technology, but their policies are outdated and a hindrance to this goal.  I would like to be part of a team that could help the school district update their policies so that our children can do more and the parents of our students can do more.  Ultimately, my goal down the road, past the 2 year point, would be to become some type of technology consultant/staff developer for my district.  I enjoy teaching the students, but if this direction takes me out of the classroom, then I will have to do that in order to give direction on the district level where very little direction regarding technology exists.

Upon evaluating my practices to support 21^st Century learning, I can now say I’m almost always doing everything outlined by ist.org.  My greatest weakness was in having my students work collaboratively.  All of my projects this year have had opportunities to collaborate.  Most of these projects have an online communication component that allows my students to share and discuss ideas.  What I have had trouble with, up until this point, was to find other professionals who teach in my content area to share ideas with.  Online communities have given me some assistance, but communication is slow, and in some cases, my reaching out doesn’t yield results at all.  At a recent workshop for technology teachers, I touched base with a few teachers who are very enthusiastic about technology and have also been seeking out others to share ideas with.   The information we’ve shared with each other has been very valuable.  I also have the wiki I worked on with several of my classmates form this course.  We can continue to share ideas there and other possible contacts.

Overall, this course has moved me back on the right track, the one that will best help prepare my students for the 21^st century.  Prior to beginning graduate school, I stated that working on this degree wasn’t just about getting a raise or fulfilling a requirement, I wasn’t to walk away with something I can use.  So far, I’ve been walking away with a lot I can use.