The world we live in today has been transformed by technology and in the same light, technology has also transformed the world (Laureate, 2011) and this scenario has created a situation which makes the use of technology mandatory. Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education course has helped me tremendously to know that there is only one way to tackling the challenges that are associated with the 21st century workplace: the use of technology in my classroom (Laureate, 2011).
Before I started this course I used to think, I was current with technology because I like using it; and for my school we have two functional computer laboratories of twenty computers each, SMARTBoards and electronic tablets; our school was even decorated with the ‘Best ICT School’ award in our State/District. However, I had not seen how tools like wikis, blogs and podcasts can be integrated effectively in the classroom as I have in this course. Now I have a technology work-base for my students that is equipped with all these technology tools. My SMARTBoard is now more active than before, as we make use of new tools that are more engaging and inquiry based. I have been able to register and open a classroom interactive site for my students where they can post in their blogs and work on assignments as well http://mummysplace.edu.glogster.com/ . They have their login details and can actually work on the assignments online and submit. I am able to access every individual’s work and post the assessment back to them; it’s a little like online school. Their parents are actively involved to supervise them at home and make sure of their safety online. This would not have happened had it been I was not enrolled for this course. I was able to download and install the pixie software from Tech4Learning, (a site suggested by my lecturer); explored the usefulness and discovered that my children loved it, so I have ordered for five packages of the full versions of all their products: Frames 4, ImageBlender, Pixie 3, Twist, Share and the full package of Recipe4Success. I am now willing to go all the way in integrating technology in my classroom and indeed school, all because I am where I am today, doing this course.
It is my responsibility as a teacher to see to it that my students are relevant to what goes on in the world around them so that they are not caught unawares; by creating an atmosphere that enables them acquire skills for the 21st century (Partnership for 21st Century Skills). I should step back a little bit so that my students can explore for themselves and find resources that are suitable for their learning. Mine is to guide, prompt and oversee them as they literally teach themselves in and with the use of technology. This will be made possible in my elementary mathematics classrooms as we embark on real life project assignments as we integrate technology into the curriculum (Keengwe, Onchwari, & Wachira, 2008). The children will have the opportunity to investigate, collaborate and make predictions and suggestions that will be of benefit to the society.
One thing that I have discovered about technology is that there is no end to its searching because it is always evolving and as a teacher in one of today’s schools, I must be able to sustain this transformative change (Trilling, 2005). I can also collaborate with my students who can be referred to as “digital natives”, to know the new technology tools they have discovered that they may like to use while I share my own discoveries with them as well (Prensky, 2005).
Now that my pedagogy is changing, I have formulated two long term goals which will also align with my new approach to teaching. In respect to this, my first goal is that in the next two years, I will prepare my students for the 21st century workplace by integrating the use of technology in my classroom as we make use of real life projects that will engender and develop creativity, collaboration, communication and problem solving skills in the students.
My second goal is to that in the next two years, I will educate parents, teachers, and administrative personnel in my school of the new focus of the use of technology so that we can all see the need to equip all our classrooms with adequate technology tools for all the children in my school.
This is the seventh week of this course, and looking back at the first week’s checklist of Practices to Support 21st Century Skills again, I can confidently say that where my choices had been ‘Sometimes’ and ‘Rarely’; I have been able to change them to ‘Often’. This is indicative of how much I have changed in the past few weeks, I can only imagine how this change will be in a few years and how it will continue to transform my class and get my students ready for the 21st century workplace. As we draw close to the end of this course, it is as if a fresh fire for technology has just erupted on the inside of me, and it has been hard to log off the internet myself. These days I wake, walk, work and sleep technology as I prepare for and look forward to my next fun-filled diversified technology oriented class where we do different things (Laureate, 2011). It's simply amazing.
References
Keengwe, J., Onchwari, G., & Wachira, P. (2008). The use of computer tools to support meaningful learning. AACE Journal, 16(1), 77–92
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). 2011: Technology’s influence. Understanding the impact of technology on education, work, and society. Baltimore, MD: Thornburg. D & Davidson. H
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). 2011: The changing work environment: part 1. Understanding the impact of technology on education, work, and society. Baltimore, MD: Thornburg. D
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). 2011: The emergence of educational technology [DVD]. Understanding the impact of technology on education, work, and society. Baltimore, MD: Thornburg. D
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (n.d.). A report and mile guide for 21st century skills. Washington DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/images/stories/otherdocs/p21up_Report.pdf
Prensky, M. (2005). Listen to the natives. Educational Leadership, 63(4), 8–13.
Trilling, B. (2005). Towards learning societies and the global challenges for learning with ICT. TechForum. Retrieved from http://www.mirandanet.ac.uk/ftp/Toward_Learning_Societies.pdf
