Reflections from a Student of Technology
The course Understanding
the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society has had a profound
effect on the way I view the use and application of technology in the classroom. In particular the use of social networking and
podcasts to promote lessons in the classroom and spark excitement among the
students has sparked my own interest. I
am confident in my skills regarding technology but before this course I was
unsure of ideas on how to implement social media as an aspect of my classes. I have learned of the benefits for my students
that I am hoping to see come to fruition with the addition of social and web-based
technology in my classes.
The use of Wikis is an aspect of the course that hope
will be a springboard for my students to work on developing their technology and
communication skills. In my current
classes we are currently using quite a bit of networking technology and
modeling software but there was disconnect in that my assignments were given in
a pdf document on the OneDrive or class folder.
Using a wiki through google sites will help my classes move into the 21st
century for their assignments and projects. One of the aspects of using a wiki
for my students that I am most excited for is that they will be able to work at
their own pace. I teach a project based
engineering course in which the students work on their own or with a group on
several projects throughout the year. A
wiki for the projects and assignments would be a fantastic addition to the
course. They will help me in
differentiating for my students who are need more of a challenge and those who
need a bit more assistance.
An additional tool that we used in this course that I
would like to incorporate into my classes is podcasts. I really enjoyed
creating my own podcast for my wiki and I would like my students to have the
opportunity to create short podcasts for their projects. I think they are a fantastic way to show
mastery of skills and learning but also share knowledge with classmates and
help teach along with the instructor. One of the aspects that I have learned about
podcasts is that the students will be creating for each other as an audience
instead of me as the instructor.
(Laureate Education, 2015n) We
work throughout the whole course on presentation skills and speaking to an
audience. Podcasts are a unique and challenging
opportunity for students to create and develop innovative media and present
their ideas to the class. A final
benefit of podcasts in my current teaching situation is that they will be easy
to use and will not require administration permission to move past the filter.
Teaching
in the 21st century requires teachers to engage students in meaningful
and authentic ways. A very valuable lesson
I took from this course is that in blogging all students have a voice and can
be heard without having to be seen in class. (Lampinen, 2013) I use digital journals in one of my current
classes and have seen that students that I never hear from during class discussions
will share volumes through their digital journal. By integrating blogging technology into a 21st
century classroom students can share thoughts and lead discussions in ways that
that are meaningful to them rather than a lead discussion by the instructor. Although we many not always have access to
blogs due to the district filter we can use OneDrive or GoogleDocs in a similar
fashion.
I
intend to use social bookmarking site specifically in the Engineering Design
course. The focus of the course is to
master the engineering design process, a formal problem solving process, and 3D
CAD modeling software. Students are presented with challenges throughout the
program that each work on a different aspect of the software and skills needed
for a design engineer. The students work
in two versions of CAD software and are always looking for tips and tricks on
how to manipulate the software. While I
am well versed in the software I think that a student developed social bookmarking
site for each of the programs would be invaluable for the students and help
them on their track to becoming a Global Collaborator. (ISTE, 2016) They could organize and tag in ways that are meaningful
to them and their own progress. As the instructor
the students will see that it is not just about mastering the CAD software but
also being able to communicate and model “work processes representative of an
innovative professional in a global and digital society.” (ISTE, 2008)
The following are two
SMART goals I have set for transforming my classroom in the next two years. My hope is that these goals and the steps that
must be taken to achieve them will help students.
1. Identify
and integrate a social media platform to provide enhanced learning opportunities
for the Manufacturing Technology and Engineering programs within the district
and allow for transparency and collaboration with the community by June, 2020.
2. By
June, 2020, I will engage my students in higher-level thinking skills through
the integration of a blogging aspect in at least 30% of my lessons, as
evidenced by lesson plans, student work samples and journals, and observations.
There are two challenges that I will need to overcome in
order to implement my SMART goals. The first
is the district policy on access to social media sites and the school policy on
cell phone use for students. I am
confident that I will receive the support necessary to remove the filters on a
limited basis. The second challenge is
to collaborate with the other teachers in the district to develop our working
site and create a shared space that will showcase student work and allow
community collaboration.
One of the challenges that I’ve
found is that while we are working on ways to harness and capitalize on the student’s
preference for technology based classes there is a question of their need to
stay connected to their peers and social circle throughout the day. I would like to explore the impact that a Technology
Timeout would have on student learning and focus in the classroom. Will allowing students time to use their
devices and check to see what his happening in their social world be
detrimental to student learning or allow students a release and then get back
to their classroom work. I think we all
know the feeling when the phone buzzes.
We want to know immediately what it is we are missing and it can be
difficult for anyone to focus on another task until that question is answered. (Kwon,
Kim, Cho, Yan, 2013) My question is how to
we manage Smartphone Addiction while at the same time encouraging students to
remain plugged in and connected by integrating technology into the classroom?
References
November, A., & Mull, B. (2012, October 12). How
twitter can be used as a powerful educational tool. Retrieved from http://novemberlearning.com/educational-resources-for-educators/teaching-and-learning-articles/how-twitter-can-be-used-as-a-powerful-educational-tool/
Laureate Education (Producer). (2015n). Transforming
the classroom with technology: Part 2 [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Lampinen, M. (2013, April 8). Blogging in the
21st-Century classroom. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/blogging-in-21st-Century-classroom-michelle-lampinen
International Society for Technology in Education
(ISTE). (2016). Standards for students. Retrieved from
http://www.iste.org/standards/standards/for-students-2016
International Society for Technology in Education
(ISTE). (2008). Standards for teachers. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/standards/standards-for-teachers
Blair, N. (2012). Today's students need educators to
re-envision the role of technology in the classroom. Retrieved from http://www.naesp.org/principal-januaryfebruary-2012-technology/technology-integration-new-21st-Century-learner
Kwon, M., Kim, D. J., Cho, H., & Yang, S. (2013).
The smartphone addiction scale: development and validation of a short version
for adolescents. PloS one, 8(12), e83558.
Comments
Post a Comment