Reflection, #6710App8

The Evolving Role of the Teacher

6710J: Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society

Module7 – Assignment 7

Angela Williams

Walden University

Kathryn Arnold

EDUC 6710J

Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society

October 25, 2019

The Evolving Role of the Teacher

The resources and activities along with the media presented to us in this course have helped me to broaden my outlook on what technology can be in the classroom. From my experience, many teachers do not embrace technology beyond what they are presented in the curriculum. This could be because they are afraid of technology, their schools do not allow or encourage using new and additional technology or for reasons unknown. 

I am a personal blogger and I never thought of using it to reach my students until this course. The same goes for Twitter and Instagram. It was a venue I did not think about. Using any social media or mass communication will be difficult to work into my classroom use due to requirements and expectations set by my district. The district does broadcast news via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, but teachers and staff are prohibited from reaching students in any of those ways. With approval though, I am looking forward to creating connections via technology with my students. 

One of the first applications I would like to expand on is using course/classroom blogs and Wikis with my students. Chapter 3 in Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts (Richardson, 2010) and the activity of creating our educational blog and the Wiki lesson was very nerve-racking at first but very enjoyable by the development of it. I was more nervous presenting it to my students that I was creating it (the wiki) for my students. 

Because of what is at stake, my student’s education, I experience what many students may experience. ‘Despite the enjoyment of the project, some students from all three groups expressed feeling a high level of stress.’ (Pletka, 2007) I have been that student. I have found in the last 8 weeks bout technology is to go forward learning. I will be taking the knowledge from this and future courses to my classroom and students. Something I love about high school is that when you are honest with your students about what you know and that you are learning or will learn with them. They appreciate the honesty, most students do, and in my short experience, I have even had students help me find the answer. 

For example, in our Wiki Lesson students were happy to look at something new and not the online textbook. A challenging behavior student was completely engaged in the lesson. She moved from the Wiki to the online text and the provided websites checking my facts and find new information. By the end of the class she told me she wished more lessons were a puzzle like this, it kept her intrigued. This was a big compliment to me from her, in ten weeks of school she has maybe spoken to me twice before. 

During this course, I have investigated my own school district's website. I have attempted to match what I am learning to what the District is advertising that they are into promoting. I was very happy to see that the promotion and statement involving ISTE (Riverview Gardens School District, 2019). There is not a date as to when this statement was added to the District page, but it is encouraging about the direction we are headed and that they understand that technology is our children’s future, regardless of career and the educational path they take beyond high school. 

The hurdles that may arise about living up to the ISTE standards for teachers and students hopefully will not be many. I know one will be to convert the district approved web texts to Wiki Lessons and without having the access to Google Classroom as a tool. What I can do to overcome these, and other constraints will be to do extensions of lessons in Google Pages as a Wiki and with District approval, a classroom Blog. Anything that is done on the web needs to have District approval. I will continue to get that approval.

An ISTE Standard (ISTE, 2019) that I will be impressing on both myself and my students is as a Digital Citizen. Students not yet understand how much responsibility there is to be a good digital citizen, neither do some adults. It is so easy to think and act like whatever is done on the web in this Web 2.0 society is not harmful. I observe daily students not being good digital citizens. This is possibly the most important standard for me. 

Over the next 2 years, I have two SMART goals to master and put in place to transform my teaching and my classroom. SMART goal S for Specific and R for Relevant (Education, 2015a), (Walden University, 2019). Being specific with your teaching is crucial to giving correct information. ‘The more specificity you bring to your goal, the clearer it is.’ (Walden University, 2019) 

The SMART goal relevant is my second personal goal. ‘This criterion ensures that the goal is important to you right now, at this point in your life.’ (Walden University, 2019) I chose this goal because of the relevance to my education and my student's education is extremely important to me right now. What I am learning, and teaching is important right now. I believe we need to stay relevant to all our goals. 

I plan to accomplish these goals by being reflective in my teaching and learning daily. I will work at keeping my introduction and teaching specific and not get off the mark and following my lesson plans without deviation. I have 90 minutes at most to get the meat of a lesson to my students and out of those 90 minutes, I should not be lecturing for more than 20 minutes. Being specific and relevant is crucial. 

So far in my courses, experience, and future interests, I have been exposed to concepts that can assist me in aligning my teaching career and my MSED specialization. Those concepts are, but not limited to current experience, my courses at Walden University, specifically this course in Technology. I chose this course study because of my observations in education in just 4 years. Where I worked previously there was a lot of talk about technology in the classroom. I found it to be talking, what was being promoted was not being practiced. 

Technology will only grow, and our students need to know the basics and the specifics of navigating the technology they will be exposed to. 

References

Education, L. (Director). (2015a). Are Your Goals S.M.A.R.T.? [Motion Picture]. Baltimore, MD.

Education, L. (Director). (2010). Teacher as professional: The teaching profession [Motion Picture].

ISTE. (2019). ISTE: Standards for Students. Retrieved from ISTE: https://www.iste.org/standards/for-students

Laureate Education, Inc. (2015). RWRCOEL Technology Proficiencies. RWRCOEL Technology Proficiencies. Walden University. Retrieved from https://class.content.laureate.net/2565b7a77954cee53d16c82a78cc0726.pdf

Laureate Education, Inc. (2016). RWRCOEL Professional Disposition. RWRCOEL Professional Disposition. Walden University. Retrieved from RWRCOEL Professional Disposition.

Pletka, B. (2007). Educating the Net Gerneration. Santa Monica, California: Santa Monica Press.

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks: Corwin, A Sage Company.

Riverview Gardens School District. (2019). Digital Age Teaching. Retrieved from Riverview Gardens School District: http://www.rgsd.k12.mo.us/?PN=Pages&SubP=Level1Page&L=2&DivisionID=7747&DepartmentID=7649&PageID=23135

Walden University. (2019). ASC Success Strategies: SMART Goals. Retrieved from Walden University: https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/ASCsuccess/smartgoals