As I reflect back over this course and my six other Walden courses, I realized Walden has been integrating current technologies with solid educational practices. Given the speed with which technology changes, this makes sense. The technologies that are available today may not be what schools are using in five years. What we need to impart on our students are the skills to be successful in the 21st century work environment; which is inconceivable today.
I had always intended to get my master’s degree soon after my undergraduate degree. But time has flown by and now I have been teaching for over 20 years. I am thankful I have the opportunity through Walden to analyze how technology and pedagogy complement each other, especially in a time of such rapid technological change. As David Thornburg stated:
“Given current technology, how should classroom practice change?”
“Given current classroom practice, how should technology change?”
In this course, we took a researchable topic from our content area and built a lesson plan that linked the concept to informational literacy using the Quest Model. (Eagleton and Dobler) As the author’s suggested, I created a reenactment using an online comic creator: Pikikids at http://www.pikikids.com/
http://pikikids.psh.piki-fun.com/comic_strip/s/image/34/381/113/comic-p.jpg
The most striking realization I had in this process, was that my math topic was irrelevant; this lesson plan is transferrable to any new topic or even content area. I can adjust this lesson or share it with peers by changing only the “Content” page. I also realized that this plan is not tied to any one technology, so as technology changes, this plan will only need minor revisions. This is because the QUEST model is based on information literacy skills, not an individual technology. With so much information on the web, this unit teaches students how to find useful and truthful information.
I think the biggest mistake I have made as a teacher in using technology based projects is moving right to the product. As I created this lesson plan, I had fifteen assignments before the product phase (T = Transform) began.
The biggest knowledge I gained was a plan to scaffold the assignments. I always knew my responsibility for student learning extended beyond the mathematical content area. My rubric always accounted for the ability to function in a group setting, but this framework accesses a students’ ability to manage the information on the internet and make a meaningful product based on the synthesis of the information from multiple sites/sources.
My first goal will be to try out this unit next school year. Then I will continue to look for other units where the QUEST model will apply. I also hope to engage my department in contributing to the National Math Trail. I presented it at our last department meeting and people were interested!
Eagleton, M. B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the web: Strategies for internet inquiry. New York: The Guilford Press. Resources available at http://readingtheweb.net/
Thornburg, David. (2004). Technology and Education: Expectations, not Options. Retrieved June 23, 2010 from http://www.tcpdpodcast.org/briefings/expectations.pdf
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