This blogfolio includes posted entries of academic and professional reflections regarding teaching and learning with technology as explored in the ITD 645 course. Reply comments from Team Members' posts are also included, along with a link to our Group 4 Team Project website: https://group4itd645.weebly.com/. What have you learned in this class? I have learned not only new technological tools and utilities offered for 21st century classrooms, teachers and learners alike, but also a new perspective in shifting the mindset from a traditional classroom where the teacher is “Sage on the Stage” to “Guide on the Side.” My undergrad degree in Secondary Education was over 32 years ago, and though my public teaching experience was brief, web technologies and other digital resources were simply not available. The Common Core, ISTE, P21, CAEP, and AECT provide the framework teachers need to subscribe to be successful in today’s classroom. Though currently a remote Project Manager/Senior Talent Manager implementing construction management software (of which a large portion of my job is training), the lack of standards in designing courses and student assessments are truly a handicap. Oftentimes in the corporate world for software, the goal is implementation and getting your customer to production. Training services are often not part of the contract the agency wishes to include, which is troublesome and puts the project at high risk. The ending result is that I hold workshops for collaboration in setting the system up, and through some testing conventions, find a way to educate and train the users without structured guidelines. What happens as they prepare to go live to production, they realize the need formal training after all, and it is the rushed after-thought that can compromise quality instruction. This course helped emphasize that accountability for learning must be an integral part of the shared learning experience and such tools exist for making those very crucial elements work. When I received my teaching certification, the only rigors of technology in the classroom was for PL 94-142, or “Least Restrictive Environment” for ensuring classrooms accommodated students will all types of disabilities and made reasonable accommodations so they could fully integrate with other non-disabled students. The level of sophistication of assistive technologies that exist today for special needs children is profound, much of it within settings of a regular computer. My Group 4 Team members, all public schoolteachers, were great examples of 21st century teachers as they have lived and worked in a world with more technology than myself. I am appreciative of the opportunity to share and work with them, reading their Blog posts, and pulling together for our assignments. It was amazing and insightful to hear their perspectives as real-life teachers using technology today, a view I do not get to observe often. I have carefully surveyed the concept in Chapter 10 where the author paints the scene of walking through the society and classroom conventions from many decades ago. The outdated schema of a school year, dividing children by age and grade level, and students being objects to ‘assemble’ together with one-way directional learning from the teacher to achieve a level of ‘completeness’ is truly a mark of the one-size-fits-all does not fit anymore. Furthermore, the observation that “It is less important to have the right answer and increasingly important to frame the right question…” given the amount of knowledge available from technology turns the role of teacher to facilitator. Admittedly, I was the old “Sage on the Stage” but have quickly maneuvered to the supporting change agent on the side in my corporate and public service jobs. What especially strikes me as profound from this course is not only the amount of resources and technologies available for teaching and learning, it is the ongoing role of “champion” teachers must advocate for their schools and students, and there are groups and forums dedicated not only to the partnership but also to shared resources and support. What an exciting road ahead! Discuss all learning tools used in this class individually on 1) how do you like the tool, 2) how helpful is it, and 3) will you use it in your own teaching? Will you integrate these technologies into your classroom? Why or why not?
Illustrate your strong and weak points
What are your future learning goals?
My future learning goals are the competencies expressly covered in this course, as after I complete my Ph.D, I would like to return to the classroom after 32 years or tutor full time. I need to learn how to navigate the standards and expectations for a 21st century classroom and further develop the intellectual capacity to find and apply appropriate technology for my students. Public education is where I started, and the place where I want to end my career journey. Therefore, acquiring the necessary skills and approach to do so are my goals over the next several years during my program.
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