Reflection For Course 6710, “Understanding The Impact Of Technology
On Education, Work And Society”

I’ve been a teacher for over twenty years and have acquired understanding of the psyche of teenagers, skill at handling the unexpected, flexibility, patience and knowledge of my content areas. However, I have not kept current with the field of technology and all the available tools it offers for the classroom. This course has been an eye-opener and a motivator for beginning to remedy this oversight on my part. I have created a blog and made postings there, collaborated on designing a wiki, worked with some of my students to record a podcast and then upload it for public access and read and participated in discussions about the new learning styles of today’s students. For most of these assignments, there have been moments of frustration and confusion, but I successfully completed them and experienced satisfaction in doing so.
In order to accomplish the technology applications I’ve had to correspond with my classmates and several colleagues at my school. This has resulted in my becoming more comfortable with the vocabulary of technology, getting to know others interested in technology in the classroom and in the expansion of my knowledge and abilities.
The concept that most of today’s students act as digital natives (Prensky, 2005), fluent in the terms and tools of technology, is the basis for the idea that educators must also embrace technological skills in order to effectively teach these students. That the brain functioning of digital natives actually differs fundamentally from that of the so- called digital immigrants (Prensky, 2005), is a novel idea to me. If true, then the traditional methods used for linear learning will no longer be as effective. Additionally, with so much information available to both students and teachers, the role of the teacher is changing from that of the expert to a facilitator who guides the students as they research, compile and analyze real life problems using their school content to do so. This will require a change in direction for me as I work to empower the students to take more control of their own learning. I do think that the best approach for me will be to use a variety of teaching methods, still lecturing on some days, while interspersing this with group work, games and collaborative projects. Having become more at ease with technology, I will be able to supplement each of these lessons with computer use.
Now that I have a broader basis of computer knowledge to build on, I will more readily seek out sites and applications which enhance my current lesson plans and that will help students master the core content while acquiring the needed 21st literacy skills. One long-term goal for helping to achieve this transformation in my teaching style will be to commit to one technology based project per class per grading period. These can vary from a student-produced presentation to a review of a web-based tutorial. A second long-term goal is to gain permission and guidance in setting up blogs and or wikis for my classes. This would require arming my students and parents with the information about these technological tools, how to set them up while ensuring the safety of the students and getting parental permission and involvement.
I’ve gained both knowledge and experience in the options and advantages of using technology in the classroom, at work and in society. When I looked back at my “Practices to Support 21st Century Skills” checklist, I find that in most areas I have moved forward in my use and teaching with technology. My hope is that I’m on my way to developing new habits and practices of teaching that meld my traditional practices with the new practices offered by innovative technology. As summed up by Trilling (2005): “
The challenges that our newly arrived Knowledge Age brings to learning and education are great, but the promise of a renaissance of learning in 21st Century Learning Societies is even greater. There is important work to be done in helping turn this vision of a global network of Learning Societies into a Knowledge Age reality.”


Prensky. Mark (2005). “Listen to the natives.” Association For Supervision And
Curriculum Development.

Trilling, Bernie. (2005). Toward Learning Societies And The Global Challenges
For Learning-With-ICT. Oracle Education Foundation.

FINALLY!!!! I got my "podcast" uploaded, but had to do so through yahoo video due to technical difficulties. Here's the link http://video.yahoo.com/watch/4493236/12042878 enjoy.

My Geometry Class Podcast

Here's the link for my geometry class podcast, although I can't get it to play since I uploaded it last night. Let me know if anybody can play it.


http://www.gcast.com/u/cathhgy/main

Review of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills website

As I navigated this site, I realized that the push for technology is not limited to just one sector of society, but is being endorsed by educators, business leaders and others. I liked the fact that the website is supported by various businesses and by NEA, of which I'm a member. The collaboration between the business world and educators will be helpful in guiding teachers in their attempts to prepare students for their futures. One of President Obama's goals for education is to increase the reach of technology into all schools, so the timing is right for educators to embrace these forward steps. A daunting problem for our country is dealing with the large disparity between schools in terms of available resources and technological tools.

I was surprised and concerned to read that Bill Gates characterized American education as being outdated. We tend to think we're the best in every aspect, so his observation was sobering. I teach math and was interested in the different way that Japanese students study math. They concentrate on 4 or 5 concepts a year, studying them in depth. Based on my state guidelines, I teach 2 or 3 small, specific concepts a week. I try to tie them all together into a comprehensive application, but the time table, data chats and mandated testing require that I concentrate on emphasizing the basics. Somehow this is not working. I have many students who don't know their multiplication tables, how to deal with fractions or how to take percent even though they have been taught these items since elementary school.

I have not read much about Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, but I disagree with expanding the word intelligence to include skills and abilities such as sports, craftsmanship and performing arts. I certainly value those abilities and the people possessing those skills and I think society is enriched by such variety. However, I don't think all people are equally intelligent. I don't think that has anything to do with their value or worth. I also realize that, often, a student's grades do not reflect his/her intelligence or abilities. The problem is in assessing an individual's intelligence and we do need to be careful that we don't make assumptions there. However, I still maintain that some people are just more intelligent than others. Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, and Isaac Newton were more intelligent than the average person.

The rapidly changing field of technology has to play a part in education. Because the tools of technology are constantly being upgraded, we have to find ways to teach students how to think and problem solve creatively with the technology available in our school. At the same time we have to prepare them for dealing with the future options. The good news is that most students are comfortable with and open to the amazing possibilities. I am the one who has to catch up and use my knowledge and experience to guide them in the ethical, productive and rewarding use of these technologies.

Use of a blog in my class

I teach high school algebra and geometry. The use of a blog for my classes would be to present extras such as additional examples, extra credit opportunities, greater depth coverage of topics we only have time to mention in class and puzzles. I could also post open-ended questions which students could respond and contribute to. I generally over plan for my classes and then have to leave out the extras. The blog would be a way to offer the beyond the curriculum information to interested students. An example of this occurred this week. I had the students generate Pascal's triangle and used it to produce the Fibonacci Series. It took longer than I wanted, so we had to leave out the golden ratio in nature discussion. This could be on the blog and the students could discuss on their own.

My First Blog Post

After much surfing and fiddling I finally got my blog up and running! yay.