Walden Course Reflection

I am enrolled in an online Master’s Program at Walden University. As I finish an eight week course: “Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society”, I am overwhelmed by how much I have learned about the new Web2.0 educational opportunities. I feel like a completely new teacher!

Before I enrolled in this class, I prided myself on being a tech savvy teacher. But this course introduced me to the following technologies and how to use them in an educational setting: blogs, RSS, podcasts, wikis and how to find locate educational resources.

Based on ISTE standards, the New Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy and 21st Century Skills, I have reflected on how I use technology. I have discovered I have been using technology to automate processes, to not innovatively engage a digital native (see post below). I need to teach for the communication age, not the industrial age. Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat should be required reading for all educators to understand the three gaps American education has to confront: the ambition gap, the numbers gap and the education gap. The knowledge I have gained in this class will move me to the next part of the Learning-with-ICT Curve and be an early adopter of online collaborative projects!

Given the resources at our student’s fingertips, the teacher is no longer the source of information. As technology has changed, teaching needs to move from a teacher-centered learning environment to a student-centered one. We will be their guide and help them assess the information they find and construct new knowledge using multimedia and technology. With more student centered collaborative learning, the students will share more responsibility for their learning. By being able to publish to a global audience, they will take more pride in their work.

I need to continue to expand my knowledge by reading educational blogs and continue to research web quests and mind tools. I need time to digest all this knowledge and reflect on how I can incorporate it into my math lessons. I have started a wiki for my students and plan on embracing these new technologies. I have enrolled in a summer course on Windows Movie Maker where I will receive a free flip camera for my classroom!

One goal to transform my classroom is to acquire the tools I need for students to use Web2.0 tools. I would like microphones, headphones and flip cameras. I will continue to look for opportunities like the above course, lobby for department funds and apply for online grants like DonorsChoose.

A second goal is to continue to research the “Route 21” ICT Literacy Maps for Mathematics, to design classroom activities and to develop rubrics. When I completed the ISTE Performance Indicator checklist before I started this course, I had checked “Sometimes” for collaborative projects where students take responsibility for their own learning. This course has helped me gain a better understanding of what global collaboration really means, and I will use this new knowledge to guide me forward!