I believe that: our time right now has moved to a digital and connected age; simply because our knowledge of the world has expanded immensely and that learning and teaching is no longer at a local level, but at a global level. The responsibility to share information is everyone and not just “teachers.”
I believe this because: it is evident in everyday life and even in our schools. The upgrade in teaching tools, including the equipment and devices that run them, all teach us new things about what is out there in the world. Progress is occurring quickly, when we are now expected to input marks and progress online to make it easily accessible to our students and their parents. We’ve been each given a laptop to do so. We have wifi linking the whole district to the internet. We have lessons and workshops that focus around technology. Today, I’m taking my Masters in Leadership with a Focus on Technology.
Lots of issues/aspects: come from lack of Technology Literacy. With so much information out there, many need to be guided in the direction of how to filter and criticize the work that is posted so readily available. How to be smart with what we have and who we talk to doesn’t come easily for everyone. For example: appropriate privacy settings, who to trust, articles from approved sources, programs to advance online skills, tools to support and improve learning, and collaboration with peers across the globe need to be taught to lead independent learning.
I’d like to talk about: the importance of why the education system should not ignore or refuse the use of applying technology in the classroom. My example: Instead of teaching about technology, because students can learn plenty on their own with internet giving them all the “answers,” schools should be introducing new ways to incorporate programs and utilizing the user friendly means to build learning communities. With applied skills as my forte, I was less familiar with the academic programs; however, while TOCing, I’ve had a chance to experience how Mini School (an advance learning program) incorporated laptops per student and building curriculum around them. They used Moodle to access lessons and readings, they used Google Docs to plan events and group projects, they watched educational videos on YouTube with opportunities to re-watch them if they pleased, they created 3D maps using Minecraft, and they used the internet for research including a means to expand their vocabulary. Using what is familiar to the students not only relates the skill and task to “everyday” life but improves their skills and efficiency in this demanded field.
I believe this because: it is evident in everyday life and even in our schools. The upgrade in teaching tools, including the equipment and devices that run them, all teach us new things about what is out there in the world. Progress is occurring quickly, when we are now expected to input marks and progress online to make it easily accessible to our students and their parents. We’ve been each given a laptop to do so. We have wifi linking the whole district to the internet. We have lessons and workshops that focus around technology. Today, I’m taking my Masters in Leadership with a Focus on Technology.
Lots of issues/aspects: come from lack of Technology Literacy. With so much information out there, many need to be guided in the direction of how to filter and criticize the work that is posted so readily available. How to be smart with what we have and who we talk to doesn’t come easily for everyone. For example: appropriate privacy settings, who to trust, articles from approved sources, programs to advance online skills, tools to support and improve learning, and collaboration with peers across the globe need to be taught to lead independent learning.
I’d like to talk about: the importance of why the education system should not ignore or refuse the use of applying technology in the classroom. My example: Instead of teaching about technology, because students can learn plenty on their own with internet giving them all the “answers,” schools should be introducing new ways to incorporate programs and utilizing the user friendly means to build learning communities. With applied skills as my forte, I was less familiar with the academic programs; however, while TOCing, I’ve had a chance to experience how Mini School (an advance learning program) incorporated laptops per student and building curriculum around them. They used Moodle to access lessons and readings, they used Google Docs to plan events and group projects, they watched educational videos on YouTube with opportunities to re-watch them if they pleased, they created 3D maps using Minecraft, and they used the internet for research including a means to expand their vocabulary. Using what is familiar to the students not only relates the skill and task to “everyday” life but improves their skills and efficiency in this demanded field.