Reflections on “Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society”

The world inhabited by today’s digital learners looks drastically different from that of past generations. Computers, cell phones, and video games have surrounded today’s students since they were born, classifying them as “native speakers of the digital language” (Prenske, 2001).  Dr. Bruce Berry, of the Baylor College of Medicine, suggests that these “different kinds of experiences lead to different brain structures” (as cited in Prenske, 2011). While not all experts agree that current students’ brains have been altered by their exposure to technology, most will agree that the way in which we need to teach these students has changed. Advances in technology have broken down barriers in communication and created new forums for worldwide collaboration. According to Will Richardson (2010), “the walls of the classroom are literally made irrelevant by the creation of communities of learners that span oceans, races, genders, and generations” (p. 148). The opportunities for learning through technology are endless and are constrained only by the willingness of educators to delve into its integration.

Looking back on myself as a teacher and individual prior to participating in the “Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society” course, I can now see that I have experienced growth in my knowledge and understanding of the teaching styles and pedagogy I need to use to teach in this digital world. Gaining first-hand experience in the use of web 2.0 tools such as blogs, wikis, and podcasts, has improved my technology skills and provided me with the background training I need in order to model the use of these programs to my students. In collaboratively building a wiki and creating a blog and podcast, I have developed trouble-shooting skills that will be helpful in the classroom. As an offshoot to the Walden coursework, I have thoughtfully begun to consider specific ways in which I can integrate these tools into my standing curriculum.

Prior to this course, I recognized differences between the middle-school students I currently teach and those I attended middle school with a decade and a half ago. While these differences were evident in my personal experiences, the course readings and videos introduced me to Prensky’s (2001) classifications of individuals as either digital natives or digital immigrants. Prensky’s characteristics of digital natives were immediately recognizable within my students in their capabilities of multitasking, expectation for and enjoyment of readily available information, and their abilities to function best when networked with their peers (Prensky, 2001). Exploration of the Partnership for 21^st Century Skills website opened my eyes to the specific skills set my students need to leave school with in order to be prepared to participate in and compete in the global economy of the future. The correlations between the 21st century skills described on the website and the data on the skills currently lacking in graduates provided by nationwide employers through the Critical Skills Survey were blatantly apparent (P21, 2011). This information highlighted the imperativeness of the incorporation of these skills into my instruction in order to ensure that I am adequately preparing my students for their futures. My growth in understanding of the teaching and learning processes has left me considering ideas for ways I can alter my teaching in order to meet the needs of my digital native students.

One of the most valuable qualities that a teacher can model to their students is a commitment to life-long learning. Through learning new ideas and theories, I can expect my teaching practices and perspectives to change over time. As the students and available technologies change, so, too, should the classroom. One shift in education that this course has presented to me is the switch from teacher-centered to learner-centered classrooms. In an effort to support the development of 21^st century skills, a teacher should adjust their role in the classroom from that of the “owner” of the content knowledge to that of a facilitator (Richardson, 2010). Allowing students the opportunity to work collaboratively to solve problems transfers the learning into their hands and gives them practice with working in an environment similar to one they can expect to see in their future careers. My learning does not stop with the conclusion of this class. With postings from various educational blogs popping up in my RSS Feed daily, I have the opportunity to constantly learn from experts and peers around the world. The practical application of the resources presented in this class (blogs, wikis, and podcasts) will certainly provide learning experiences, as well. The most important way that I can continue to learn though, is by listening to my students. In giving them a voice, an opinion on how they should be learning new material, I will be able to stay relevant and familiar with the technological advances that come along, and I will be able to integrate these innovations into my teaching in an effort to increase student achievement.

One long-term goal that I have for myself is to adapt my classroom and activities so that the environment is more learner-centered. In order to accomplish this, I plan to provide more opportunities for my students to determine the methods in which they learn. My goal is to establish a classroom climate in which my students feel comfortable in sharing their ideas for accomplishing goals and solving problems. Ideally, I would like to do this by presenting them with a challenge or project and allowing each student group to creatively and collaboratively complete the task, utilizing any technological resource they have available to them. I also will need to make a concerted effort to alter my role in the classroom. Through the incorporation of more problem-based learning, I want to take on the role of facilitator and help to guide my students through their learning.

A second long-term goal that I have for myself is to incorporate each of the web 2.0 tools that we were exposed to during this course. During the upcoming school year, I plan to revamp the blogging program that I have previously used so that students are able to communicate more frequently and authentically with one another. I plan to utilize wikis during my science unit on meteorology. Instead of creating a mini-book on a topic from the unit, I will be splitting my classes up into groups to create digital mini-books with the help of a wiki. I do not currently have any specific plans for the incorporation of podcasts. However, I would like to develop a lesson utilizing this tool for the following year. While I am expressing a commitment to utilizing these three examples of web 2.0 resources, I do not want to be limited to just these. Through my ongoing participation in a number of educational technology blogs, I would like to stay abreast of any new technologies developed in the next two years, as well.  

Looking back upon the “Practices to Support 21^st Century Skills” checklist that I completed at the beginning of this course, I am able to see specifically how I have grown. Due to the fact that school has not been in session during this course, I have not been able to actually make any changes to my teaching practice. However, I have been able to edit the ways in which I hope to be teaching. I now have a greater understanding and level of comfort with various collaboration tools. I intend to allow my students the opportunity to use various forms of collaborative technology in the upcoming school year. My participation in this course has helped me to gain an understanding of how to design a technology-rich classroom environment. It is my intention to model appropriate technology integration and appropriate and effective technology use in my work environment to my peers. Through my continued participation in educational technology blogs, I also hope to connect with other education professionals and participate in professional learning communities to further professional development.  

References:

Prensky, M. (2001a). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5).

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (3^rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

The Partnership for 21^st Century Skills. (2011). The partnership for 21^st century skills [Website]. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org.

Digital Native Podcast

Mark Prensky is credited with coining the term “digital native” to describe any individual that was born into a media-rich environment. Prensky (2001) explained that a digital native is also a “native speaker of the digital language of computers, video games, and the Internet.” In this podcast, I take a look at my own personal technology use as a 29 year old teacher. According to Prensky’s criteria, I am a digital native myself. However, I recognize drastic differences between the characteristics of my technology use and those of other digital natives born more recently. The second portion of this podcast includes an interview with my younger sister, Annie. Annie is eight years younger than me, and certainly meets all of the criteria to be considered a digital native. Listening to both of our answers showcases the drastic development of digital and Internet-based technology that occurred between my birth and that of my sister. Though there are only eight years separating us, the amount of technology we were each exposed to during our childhoods had a definite effect on the individuals we were to become. I have no doubt that these differences would be amplified should I have been able to interview one of my current students, who has had that much more of a technology and media-rich childhood than either Annie or I.

Podcast Link

References:

Prensky, M. (2001a). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5).      

21st Century Skills

As today’s individuals leave the realm of formal schooling and enter the work world, they require a specific set of skills and competencies to meet the expectations of their potential employers and exist as productive, contributing members of society. These 21^st century skills include core subjects and 21^st century themes, learning and innovation skills, information, media, and technology skills, and life and career skills (P21, 2011).   

Core Subjects and 21st Century Themes ·       Core subjects include: English, reading or language arts, world languages, arts, mathematics, economics, science, geography, history, government, and civics ·       Global awareness ·       Financial, Economic, Business, and Entrepreneurial Literacy ·       Civic Literacy ·       Health Literacy ·       Environmental Literacy

Learning and Innovation Skills ·       Creativity and Innovation ·       Critical Thinking and Problem Solving ·       Communication and Collaboration

Information, Media and Technology Skills ·       Information Literacy ·       Media Literacy ·       ICT (Information, Communications and Technology) Literacy

Life and Career Skills ·       Flexibility and Adaptability ·       Initiative and Self-Direction ·       Social and Cross-Cultural Skills ·       Productivity and Accountability ·       Leadership and Responsibility

The Partnership for 21^st Century Skills website is a fantastic resource for educators, parents, and policy makers. It is a well-organized and visually appealing collection of information, links, articles, and videos pertaining to the implementation of these skills. The website provides information on the various organizations and individuals that have collaborated with the United States Department of Education in the creation of this coalition. It includes representatives from many respected organizations, such as AOL Time Warner Foundation, Apple Computer, Inc., Cisco Systems, Inc., Microsoft Corporation, and the National Education Association.

              The mission of this partnership is “to serve as a catalyst to position 21^st century readiness at the center of US K12 education by building collaborative partnerships among education, business, community, and government leaders”(P21, 2011). This group believes that the U.S. education system can “keep up by fusing the 3Rs and 4Cs (critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation)” (P21, 2011). In this example, the 3Rs represent the core subjects. Links from the website allow you to view the specific state initiatives of the sixteen P21 Leadership States. These states have made a commitment toward incorporating the 21^st century skills into their statewide curriculum.

              I found this website to provide a wealth of knowledge. As an educator in one of the sixteen P21 Leadership States, the topic of 21^st century skills and dispositions has been at the forefront of recent curricular discussions. In fact, last year, I sat on two separate curriculum-mapping committees.  As a part of these committees, my team came up with ideas for the incorporation of the 21^st century themes. I regret not having access to this website during the process, as I feel it would have been a wonderful asset.

              One aspect of the website that I found especially interesting and thought provoking was the Critical Skills Survey presented under the “What Employers Say” section. This survey provided data from employers across the county on the skills they require of their employees and those they expect to require in coming years. It also showed the lack of these necessary skills that employers are reporting in their current staff and those applying for positions within their companies. This data was motivating to see because the correlation between the 21^st century skills and those being reported as necessary was very apparent. We, as educators, hold the responsibility of preparing our students for the future. Here we can see evidence of what they will need and support for helping prepare them for it. After viewing this data, it becomes clearly imperative to incorporate these skills into my instruction.

              I had a very difficult time finding information or an opinion on the site that I disagreed with. However, I did find one area in which more development is needed. The section in need of improvement deals with 21^st century assessments. The coalition has determined that assessing the 21^st century skills is the “essential foundation” of this type of education (P21, 2011). They explain that the assessments must use modern technologies to be “effective, sustainable, and affordable,” and they must measure the five areas of core subjects, 21^st century content, learning skills, ICT literacy, and life skills (P21, 2011). While the Partnership has outlined that schools should use a “balance of assessments, including high-quality standardized testing, along with effective classroom testing” (P21, 2011), they do not get into the specifics of their recommended assessments. They do not suggest the creation of a universal standardized test, nor do they share ideas for different types of effective classroom assessments. In an earlier course, though my Walden University program, we learned about the effectiveness of planning with the end result in mind. I understand that the partnership has identified the end dispositions and skills that students should possess, but it does not appear that they have clearly identified how they would like students to prove this possession.

              Through reading the course resources and exploring the Partnership for 21st Century Skills website, I have been convinced of the necessity of including these skills in my instruction. The combination of teaching these skills through the framework of the existing content material will help to prepare my students for their futures. Collaboration across the subject areas and the utilization of technology and project-based learning will help to meet all of the standards’ requirements. The length of the school year will not change, but as a teacher, I have now been challenged even more to increase the quality and quantity of learning my students receive.

References

The Partnership for 21^st Century Skills. (2011). The partnership for 21^st century skills [Website]. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org.

The Use of Blogs in My Classroom

The creation and use of blogs in my fifth-grade language arts and science classroom was something that I implemented during the last school year. I actually used three different blogs to meet various classroom needs, two of which were open to the public and accessible through a link from the school website. A personal Weebly website was used to maintain two of my three blogs. I called one blog “Classroom News,” and utilized it to preserve an open line of communication with my class parents. I posted announcements about upcoming events and photographs of field trips and classroom happenings to this blog, and I received many comments back from students and their parents. I updated this blog on an as-needed basis. The second blog on my Weebly website was a weekly homework blog. Updates were made to this blog each weekend for the upcoming week of school, and the blog served to provide my class with an estimated view of the weekly homework assignments. I clearly explained to my students, both in class and on the blog, that the blog entry was just a prediction of the week’s homework assignments. They were forewarned that there would be times and situations where the assignments would be changed in class, and that, when in doubt, they should go by what was written in their daily agenda book for the day. Students and parents expressed thankfulness in having the blog as a way to look ahead at the week’s responsibilities and as something to fall back on if they forgot their agenda book at school.

              The third blog that I utilized last year was generated through the Kidblog website. This website allowed me to create a class set of blogs, one for each student, in which I was the administrator. The blogs were customizable, and I had them set up so that they were only accessible to members of our class. All blog posts and comments required my approval before they appeared on the blogs. I mainly used this blog as a way for my students to become familiar with blogging and to respond to literature based writing prompts. Students generally answered a question about the novel we were working on, and then, as the year progressed, began commenting on one another’s posts.  In my experience last year, these student blogs highlighted the powerful effect blogging can have on the development of writing and the depth of literary connections made by students. The majority of my students showed a greater interest in improving their writing skills when contributing to their blogs. My more introspective students were able to voice their opinions and ideas in a manner in which they felt comfortable. Overall, blogging was an entertaining, engaging, and valuable way to infuse 21^st century skills into the reading and writing curriculum.

              During this upcoming school year, I would like to continue the use of all three of my blogs. Through reading the assigned chapters of Richardson’s Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, I have become aware of the fact that the majority of my personal blog use has come through posting, instead of true blogging. I do still plan to utilize my classroom update and homework blogs in the same manner as this year, but will try to encourage more input from my students. However, in order to integrate more student blogging, it is my intention to develop further the use of my students’ “kidblogs” and to incorporate blogging across a wider variety of curricular areas. One specific idea that I have for implementing this is to have my students use their blogs in science class as we conduct a class-wide experiment. During fifth-grade, science students are introduced to the scientific method through a scaffolded class-wide project. They conduct this experiment together so that they are exposed to the experience and develop knowledge on the process that they can use during individual formal experiments later in middle school. By recording their results online, I hope to see my students put forth more effort and have an increase in conversations that occur regarding the experiment. This blog could also represent a resource that could be used in the future. Should students need a refresher as they work independently, they could go back to the blog to view their own individual model of the process. Science teachers out there, have you ever tried using a blog to document a science experiment? Do you have any ideas or suggestions for doing so?

References

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (3^rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Introduction

Welcome! My name is Liza Narducci, and I currently teach fifth grade language arts and science in New Jersey. I hope to use this blog to discuss the practical applications of new technology in the classroom setting. I would also love to hear from you. Please feel free to share your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions with me as we discuss innovative new approaches to teaching!