A New Mindset

I am a digital immigrant. In order to successfully teach my students 21st century skills, I need to start speaking their language. I need to understand their need for instant knowledge, accept their ability to successfully multi-task, and address their need for graphics and networking. (Prensky, 2001)I need to change the way I think about and use technology.

This course made me aware of “Web 2.0”. Before this course, I was not consciously aware that the web had changed. Now, I have a greater understanding of what it means to be a part of the “Read/Write Web”. I used to have minimal knowledge of blogs, RSS feeds, wikis and podcasts. I knew what they were, but did not have a deep understanding of their purpose and potential in both my personal and professional world. Without this course, I would not have considered starting my own blog, pondered ideas for a class wiki page, or recorded my own podcast.

As a digital immigrant, I need to continue to learn about the potential of technology. One way in which I can expand my knowledge is to continue to use technology in all its forms- both professionally and personally. Also, I can continue to read and contribute to the blogs in which I subscribe. In addition, I will familiarize myself with the National Education Technology Standards (NETS) for both students and teachers. This will make me aware of the skills I need to teach my students in order to be successful.

In order to increase student success, I need to make technology a regular part of my classroom- not just something we do on special occasions or for big projects. My first goal for integrating technology in my classroom is to begin a blog for my students. The goal or structure of this blog may change over time, but initially the goal of the blog will be to discuss the books we are reading on a weekly basis. I will post the initial blogs, with questions designed to spark discussion, analysis, and reflection. Students can respond to my post and each other. This activity covers Student Performance Indicator #2 in the NETS standards: Communication and Collaboration, as well as #5: Digital Citizenship.
(International Society for Technology in Education,2007)

My second goal is to require my students to use the internet to research the people and topics covered in our class text, the rbook. Each “workshop” covers a different topic, such as Killer Plagues, Survival, and Criminal Justice. The students’ task may be as simple as finding out if information is available about a person we read about; or the task maybe more involved, such as a written assignment (complete with references) that explains more about a specific topic. This activity covers Student Performance Indicator #3 in the NETS standards: Research and Information Fluency. (International Society for Technology in Education,2007)

This course has opened my eyes to the world of technology and what it means to be a teacher and learner in the 21st century.

References
International Society for Technology in Education (2007). National Education Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for Students. Eugene, OR: Author: Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007_Standards.pdf

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5).
Database: Proquest Central Database.


Richardson, W. (2006). Blogs, wiks, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.