The Power to Change Lives

Teachers have the power to change lives forever (Nieto, 2003). I love this thought. It evokes such a strong sense of responsibility and exhilaration. The idea that we as educators play such an important role in each student’s life is amazing and daunting all at once. Being mindful that I have the power to positively impact the young lives I encounter helps to drive me to learn all I can so that I make the most informed and best choices in my classroom practices.

As another class draws to an end I am given time to reflect on what I have learned about myself as a teacher and what positive changes I can make to enrich the lives around me. At the beginning of this class I reflected on my personal learning theory and how that has shaped my teaching over the last decade. Seven weeks ago I was and still am a strong believer in the social learning theories. I have however gained a new appreciation for the roles that behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructionism/comstructivism play in the classroom.

Throughout this course I have learned that although the various learning paradigms differ in their approach to how people learn they all support the idea that the learner needs to be active in the learning process. In addition, all of the learning theories that we discussed support technology integration into the classroom (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011b).

One important addition that I will be including in my personal theory of learning is the importance of learner-centered lessons. I am working on changing my mindset that student driven activities do not take away my control of the learning environment but rather learner-directed activities give students the power over their learning. By shifting the focus I am sharing the responsibility of learning and the role of teaching with students. By embracing the ideas of the global classroom and the fact that students have brilliant ideas that they are eager to share will enhance learning and we will all benefit (Friedman, 2005).

I have been introduced to a mind-boggling amount of educational technologies throughout this course. So many of which I can envision incorporating into activities. I have come to the realization that incorporating technology for the sake of incorporation diminishes the integrity of the lesson. In order for technology to be used effectively there must be clear intent so that the appropriate technology is integrates properly (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2005).

There are so many technology tools that I am excited to integrate or introduce into the afterschool program this year. The learning tool that I am most excited about is a blog. The tutors who directly facilitate our programs are located throughout rural Alaska and this can sometimes lead to feelings of isolation. I am hopeful that by having the tutors test-drive a communal blog as way of sharing idea, triumphs and concerns the entire afterschool learning community will benefit. By making the blog accessible to not only the tutors but the program coordinators, site administrators, and other members of the program who may not be intimately aware of what goes on during tutoring sessions, it will keep remote members more up to speed and aware of the unique situation. I am looking forward to using our blog as a way to keep the lines of communication open and fluid. By sharing ideas in an open form instead of our traditional newsletter I am optimistic that the tutoring experience will be enriched and learning will be greater. If the blog idea proves to be fruitful I would like to have the students in grades two through five join in on the experience. I envision their personal blogs taking over for our more traditional journals. I believe that the students taking part in a secure blog adventure facilitated by the local tutor and remotely by myself, students will gain a richer writing experience because they will be not only using appealing 21^st century tools but they will be writing to a greater audience than just a teacher (Richardson, 2010).

Another technology based learning tool that I would like to introduce to students would be multimedia VoiceThread or videoconferencing activities. VoiceThread is so easy to use and it gives students options on how to leave comments it will appeal to a wide range of interests and abilities. Incorporating a VoiceThread activity with a concept map on a student chosen topic will allow students the opportunity to engage in both social and academic activities (Pitler, Hubbell, & Kuhn, 2012). Tools such as VoiceThread and Skype will allow me to interact and better meet the needs of the students taking part in our program. In previous school years I have been very removed from the daily learning that is taking place, relying on online reports or tutor email to keep me informed. By coordinating with tutors to incorporate more learner-centered technology activities it will allow me to play a more active and supportive role in the afterschool sessions. It is my hope that I can ease the burden of the tutors and keep motivation high so that everyone enjoys attending our program.  

As for long-term changes that I would like to make to my instructional practices regarding technology integration I would like to begin a collection of technology tools and ideas. So often I come across or am introduced to fascinating ideas that I would like to use one day but then I forget to write it down or bookmark the website. My goal is to take my study time during the next two weeks that I will not be in class to begin my collection based off of my last courses. I would like to create a web-based collection perhaps on a Google Doc and also physical laminated color-coded cards. This will give me options for sharing ideas at my fingertips so that out tutors and colleagues will benefit from the resource that I am gathering. Once I have the initial format established it would be a matter of updating the collection as I learn about new educational technologies.

Another long-term goal is a to continue to build my confidence and increase my comfort level with utilizing technology in the class. For most of my teaching career I have shied away from incorporating anything but the very basic technology with my students. I have a fear of unforeseen troubles and chaos that traditional teacher directed lessons tend to avoid. Recently when a friend asked me about my studies and if I felt like I was becoming a “techie” I laughed and said no, but I am becoming braver. I am beginning to feel less afraid of the unknown and more willing to trouble shoot computer-based problems. It is such a feeling of accomplishment when I am able to figure out a small problem with the use of a seach engine or YouTube video. I can see this new confidence helping me in introducing the use of a blog, VoiceThread, and Skype to the tutors I work with. Some of my colleagues will be hesitant to integrate these tools into the afterschool sessions for the same reason I would be. It replaces their concrete control with the unknown. It is my goal to introduce the ideas slowly and with great care so that teachers who may be tepid see the great potential stepping into 21^st century learning has to offer. I do not see that I will meet the goal of being completely comfortable with technology anytime soon but I do believe that if I plan and practice what will be integrated and anticipate potential problems I will decrease my anxiety and increase my confidence.

Overall throughout this course I have strengthened my resolve to put technology into the hands of the students I work with because when students are using appropriate, engaging and meaningful tools those students will drive their own learning. And isn’t that that purpose of teaching? To use the power to change lives forever in a way that encourages students actively participate in their learning.

I would love to hear how your instructional strategies have been shaped by technology. Thank you for reading. 

References

Friedman, T. (2005, April 3). It's a flat world, after all. The New York Times.Retrieved

from http://www.nytimes.com

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011a). Program one: Understanding the brain [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011b). Program three: Instructional theory

vs. learning theory [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and

technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=la

reate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=

&bhcp=1

Lever-Duffy, J., & McDonald, J. (2008). Theoretical foundations (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Nieto, S. (2003). What keeps teachers going? New York: Teachers College Press.

  Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using technology with classroom instruction that

works (2^nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.