Reflection: making it Meaningful

Introduction

It seemed millennia ago, but it was only a recent year from the last millennium, 1991. It was that year that I stood in my classroom surveying the landscape of desks and felt proud. On each desk sat a computer and I thought that I had arrived at near perfection. I believed that now my students were going to be ahead of the game, scores on achievement tests would improve, students’ interest and involvement in class follow the same pattern and our use of technology would cause a stir of excitement amongst parents, other teachers in the school and school board members. This was going to change the classroom forever. We were a small private school and funding did not allow for a lot of extras. The government at that time allowed nonprofit organizations to go to government surplus sights and take away equipment that the government had discarded due to upgrades or overstock. Through this program my room became “enriched” with technological hardware. The reality of it was that it was limited in performance, being surplus it broke down a lot, and though students enjoyed having their own computer at their desk, utilizing them as an instructional tool devolved into a love hate relationship where we loved them when they worked and hated them when they did not. Sometimes they became not much more than a paperweight with a very large footprint. The dream that technology would lead us to greater levels of performance faded as these tools were relegated more and more to word processing and drill and practice. In actuality the experience may have been a detriment to students rather than a help. It was not as useful or meaningful as intended. For this reason, when access to the web became a reality, it was with a bit of reluctance that this teacher began using the newer tools provided by the web. I was not sure that the web experience was going to be anything more than another ordinary tool from the pencil box.
Revelations and Realizations
It was not until the year four or five years ago that our school became networked and the classrooms had full access to the web. What impressed me most then was that the students seemed already so adept at accessing the information on the net. I was, as a matter of fact, more a co-learner than teacher in the endeavor. However I did notice one thing, my students had a tendency to go to a place, find information and copy it down for use. Although I had emphasized using more than one source in writing and research previous to using the web as a resource my students had exhibited satisfaction with the belief that because it was on the web it was legitimate information, an authority as good as any encyclopedia. It was then that I began to realize that although I was interested in using technology, and in many respects I was behind the curve in being comfortable with the using the web. As I worked with my students I found I still had a role to play that would be valuable as a co-learner. Two realizations impressed as I began reflecting on this role. One was that I need to model and utilize both the use of the web and the computer more. “Clearly, a teacher’s level of computer expertise is an influential factor in students’ success with technology.” (Eagleton and Dobler, 2007, page 25). The other realization was that though my students seem very comfortable with using technology tools, they do not always use them well. They do rely on the computer to provided factual information and as previously observed, are quite satisfied that any information found that seems to answer the question is good enough. As their teacher I can take students beyond that first attempt. I can show them that there is more out there to be discovered about they are looking for. There is better information, more sources, more points of view and new ways to discover what it is they are looking for and more ways to share it. My role then is, “to provide support to students as they attempt to make sense of information in an environment that does not foster the construction of understanding but merely provides information.” (Hoffman, Wu, Krajcik, & Soloway, 2003, p.343). This revelation was to me the job description of the teacher of today, supporter and guide, in finding knowledge, and in how to effectively use it for the benefit of self and contribution for the good of community.

Influences on the Future

It is now summer, school is out but as I look forward to the new school year I see the opportunity and the need for my classroom practices to change. The knowledge gained from the resources I have read during the time in spent take this course have fostered a perceived need for a reevaluation of practices and strategies I have used in my classroom. I have come to understand the trend away from the teacher as the fountain from which all knowledge is acquired. I actually look forward to a less teacher centered textbook referenced approach. The textbook will be present in my room because it is required. I find I have exhibited ease an with the feeling that the textbook is a guide at best and will be happy to have it on the shelf as a resource. I can now agree with Dr. Warlik, that in a time where change is rapid a textbook written five years ago may not be reliable and that it may be better to rely on a network that is dynamic and growing. ( Laureate Education Inc. 2009 ). I have used collaborative groups and teacher conferencing for a number of years. I have found, in this course support for the continuance of this practice but will update it so that students are sharing their work through wikis, blogs, podcasts, screen casts and other such offerings the web provides. “At the very minimum, students should present the results of the inquiries to each other, but you will find that students’ levels of effort and the quality of the inquiry will rise dramatically if they are asked to present to another class or set of classes, to their grade-level-peers, to the whole school, to parents, to teachers, to the community, or even to a global audience, via the Web” (Eagleton & Dobler, 2007, page 91). I have found the above to be true even when we were not presenting material produced using media or technology tools available today. Students in my room have always looked forward to hearing and sharing their work. In my room there is a microphone at the front of the room which identifies, “Center Stage”. When that prop is set up students know they are going to be sharing their work up front in two days. I usually read or show something I have written, practiced for performance, or have produced as a model for the students. Students sign up or sometimes are chosen by random draw to share with the class either from assigned projects they are working on or, something from their files they have produced in the past. Knowing the results such performances produce, I am looking forward to distancing classes from the textbook and teacher and featuring more quest and inquiry projects. It will take some adjusting on the part of teacher, but I anticipate more energy and involvement from the students. After watching the video featuring the classes of Vicki Davis, (Bidleman,C. 2009) I have determined to reach further outside the classroom to collaborate with other students elsewhere to make what we do in the classroom more relevant to the students. I do not think that they will mind too much if, “the school is turned upside down, and students become empowered to share more with one another. (Bidleman, C. 2009)

Professional Development and Goals:

I have contemplated and am anticipating a new approach to teaching this fall. If I have one goal that I would like to continue it would be to become more proficient at using the tools of the wiki, screen cast, voice thread and the blog. I understand that is not one goal, it is a list and yet it is part of one desire. I have enjoyed reading and learning from the videos, texts, reference materials of this class. However, I have found the stream of information sometimes to be like drinking out of a fire hose. This admission simply means, I need more experience and practice. With this realization now part of public record I purpose to practice using more of those skills till a level of confident competence is achieved. Put in terms of use in my own classroom, I purpose to practice the use of them so that I can work with my students, knowing the vocabulary of the tool at hand and having the knowledge to cooperatively find the answer we both seek. I am currently laying out the unit plans for the new year. I have determined to use the quest model this year in researching information for our unit topics. In the first quarter I will be instructing the class using a different web / technology tool per section of the chapter to. As the class and teacher become accustomed to the use of these tools the plan will be to let the collaborative groups choose by themselves which tool best serves the communication style they have chosen. This teacher in the meantime, will be practicing, and researching and blogging on his own.

Conclusion

I have used technology in the past as a machine to accomplish the tasks of teacher directed and led class. Technology was used as nothing more than an electronic pencil. I have used the strategy of collaborative groups and found students to be more responsive and involved in that method. I have come to the place where I realize the role of the teacher, my role is changing. My students are already out there using technology twittering, using the cell phone, face book, and Skype at home. As a matter of fact, my class will be using Skype to keep in touch with one of our classmates as he regularly reports in to us. It is skill such as these that we should be making connections to what we teach in class. Dr. Warlike suggests we put those skills to work, “If we bring that into the classroom then we can help them learn to work the information not just play the information. They need us to teach them how to use the information in context that is meaningful to the curriculum and to their future.” ( Laureate Education Inc. 2009 ) To accomplish that in improved and updated practices is my goal.





References

Bidleman, C. (Producer). 2009 Harness Your Students Digital Smarts [DVD]

Eagleton, M. B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the Web: Strategies for Internet inquiry. New York: The Guilford Press.

Hoffman, J.L.. Wu, H., Krajcik, J.S., & Soloway, E. (2003). The nature of middle school learners’ science content understandings with the use of online resources. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 40(3).

Laureate Education Inc (Producer). 2009 It’s Not About the Technology [DVD]