Reflection

This course has opened my eyes to the numerous ways that I can utilize technology in my classroom to enhance student learning. I have learned how important it is to use technology to its full potential. Many classrooms have technology in them, but not all teachers are allowing their students to use it on a daily basis and in a way that supports their core academics.
When reading about 21st century skills it reminded me that at the end of the day, what matters is that I am preparing my students with skills that they can use to be successful in the real world. Looking at what technology is used in businesses and other professions, reminds us as educators how crucial it is for our students to be getting experience with these tools.
After discussions throughout the course and reading course materials, I feel that I have become more learner-centered and less teacher-centered. As a teacher, it is not easy to make changes and learn new things but it is necessary. If I do not continue my education in the field of technology I am doing my students a disservice. After interviewing my class I found that not all of them even have access to technology. If I do not offer them technical experiences, they may not have any at all. Knowledge of video games and iPods don’t take the place of the importance of technical skills such as using podcasts, Wikis, blogs, etc.
My long term goal is to make technology an integrated part of my daily routing. We always go to computer lab but I don’t want my students’ technology use to be limited to a half hour a day working on computer programs. There is so much that they can do. If technology is embedded within all subjects, they will benefit greatly. In my lesson plan that I created for this course I developed the idea of digital book buddies. I hope that I can use blogs and podcasting to complete this lesson successfully and then continue using it for years to come.
Overall, I have a much better understanding of the importance of integrating technology in my first grade knowledge. My focus is on my students’ success and I feel that I have been given tools to make sure they are successful.

Podcast

Follow this link to hear an interview that I conducted with students in my first grade class about their technology use.

http://podcastmachine.com/podcasts/2455/episodes/10981

The Partnership for the 21st Century

http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/ This website is an intriguing resource for all teachers of the 21st century. "The organization brings together the business community, education leaders, and policymakers to define a powerful vision for 21st century education and to ensure that students emerge from our schools with the skills needed to be effective citizens, workers, and leaders in the 21st century." (P21 Website) The site offers information, and guides to be sure that educators have the resources they need to prepare their students for the current workforce and to make changes to their classroom instruction when needed.

I do feel that I would use parts of this website as a tool in my first grade classroom. I thought that the online tools portion of the site was the most valuable. "Route 21" is one of the programs offered that’s goal is to "provide an online interactive tool that demonstrates how 21st century skills can be supported through standards, professional development, assessments and curriculum and instruction." This is a resource that I will be sharing with my district because I think it would benefit al lK-12 grade teachers and aid staff.

To be honest the site as a whole feels quite overwhelming to me. There is so much information that is presented and it is quite difficult to take it all in. I do feel that the information is valid and has importance with what we are doing in our schools each day. I strongly believe that we need to do more to prepare our students for the workforce of the 21st century. My district is making an effort to do this and has already presented many different informational resources, most is online, that they would like us to view. In order for me to use and apply information like this, I feel time needs to be set aside to read through everything and have discussions with colleagues. I am trying to focus on quality versus quantity in an attempt to start taking full advantage of some really amazing resources that are available to me. The partnership for the 21st century website would be a great website for our staff to review during a staff meeting or professional development time so we could properly discuss how we plan to use the research to make changes in our day to day routines.

How I plan to use this bog...

I have struggled thinking about how I will use this blog in my classroom. I teach first grade and we spend the first part of the year learning how to turn on the computer and use the mouse. Fortunatly, the students do learn fast! By the end of the year they are typing journal entries on Microsoft Word. So, I do feel that the first graders could each write on the blog sometime during the last semester. Until then would love to use this blog to display student work and communicate with parents. I could give weekly blog updates with what we've been doing in class and what the parents should be working on at home with their children. I could include websites that have child friendly programs that support our curriculum at school. It would be fun to include pictures so by the end of the year we'd have our own digital yearbook. Now that I have considered using the blog for more than just student posts, I am constantly having new ideas of how it could be a vital tool for my classroom community!

Setting behavior expections- what works and what doesn't!

As I sit and reflect on the first week of school, I feel that everything was somewhat of a whirlwind. As I connect faces to names and start to learn more about the students, it starts to feel real. Another year has started and the students from last year who I knew so well are gone. Now with the class filled with new young first graders, I know that there is nothing more important than setting my expectations for the year. The first day is somewhat easy as they all stare at me with big eyes, some nervous, some excited, and all realizing that summer vacation really has come to an end. With the start of the second day there is a least one student who tries to see what she can get away with, wondering how far she can push her teacher. I know that if I don't set an example from that moment, I will be sending the wrong message to my students, although I hate to spend any time focusing on negative behaviors. I work hard to point out students' positive behavior, setting an example for the rest of the class. I love watching a child smile when I proudly announce to their peers something positive about their behavior. Unfortunately, that is not always enough. By Friday of the first week, there were behaviors that had to be dealt with- Talking out of turn, not respecting property, running through the halls, etc. I have different classroom management plans put into which have the students working for goals individually and working together to meet a classroom goal as well. One of my most successful part of my plan is called "Lunch Bunch". The students work to earn Lunch-Bunch tickets and on Friday I do a drawing for three of the students to stay in at lunch and have a "Party" with me. The kids love it and are always working hard to earn these tickets. Last year at a conference a speaker spoke about bribing student for good behavior. She pointed out the fact that although it's an easy way for success, the students must be intrinsically motivated to do well. I immediately asked myself if my tickets were a form of bribery. Of course this is not what I intended, but I still struggle with this issue. So many behavior plans involve students working for something in one form or another. I guess what is most important is that the students understand why they are working for certain things and how positive behavior can benefit their success school. With the start of a new year I always question my methods for classroom management. I strongly believe that teachers who can successfully mange behaviors will have much greater academic success. I suppose this will be an ongoing learning process that will go on throughout the rest of my teaching career. Any teachers who feel strongly about their management plan? I know that some of my best learning has been from other teachers experiences in the classroom!