I have been in education for 23 years, and so much has changed over that time, but the largest changes have happened in the past few years. Technology is changing rapidly, and becoming the norm for all ages, the norm for all income levels, becoming the norm in all our lives in and out of school. There is no option, we HAVE to work with students in a blended learning environment, teaching them how to utilize today’s technology in order to prepare them for tomorrow’s technology, empowering today's students for tomorrow's opportunities.
When I think of simply how the cell phone has changed, and how the general public has responded to the ability to use a phone as a computer, along with the progression of how cell phone and smart phone use has slowly become not just a norm, but now considered a necessity, we have to envision how that progression will continue, teaching our children how to problem solve, adapt, and use logical reasoning skills to prepare them for life. We can no longer just teach them isolated programs, but how to recognize similarities across programs and platforms for them to learn how to work within a variety of programs whether they have been in them before or not. Learning how to think through processes and problem solve to figure out results is extremely important. Knowing how to find the answers, knowing how to think through a problem to find answers, knowing how to collaborate with others in other cities, states or countries, that’s a skill our students need to learn. My personal thought, is that in the future, more people will work from their homes; this shift of not driving to an office, but instead collaborating through a digital online platform with others, will change the workplace, so teaching our students now how to collaborate, solve problems and work together in a digital medium is a “must do” skill set that we educators need to commit to addressing.
My vision this year at Stewarts Creek Elementary is to get at more teachers at every grade level on a path to interweaving blended learning into their lessons. I will promote blended and digital learning regularly at PLC Meetings with teams, talking about rigor and starting with the end goal, the standard in mind when choosing how to integrate technology. We have to place the focus on the standard/end goal and blend in technology, and no longer think about programs by themselves. I will read their lesson plans and offer them ideas how they can inject blended learning into the lessons they are already doing. In order to be accountable, I will set goals just as our students do to increase the use of blended learning by teachers in each grade level.
I already plan lessons for our Computer Lab Technology Rotation so that each grade level learns different skills, and that those skills build on each other as the students increase in grade. My goal is to make the plans align with classroom plans so the learning is meaningful in the lab as well as in the classroom. I would also like to visit classrooms more in order to see what teachers are doing to help them increase the digital aspects of their students in activities and higher-order thinking skills.
I would hope my teachers describe me as the person who supports them, helps them, and makes them feel at ease and comfortable with technology use; the person who makes technology implementation seem easy to accomplish. I want them to view me as a resource for helping all of their students, for finding them ways to help students grow whether they are below level, on level or above level. I also hope my teachers view me as a positive influence on them and their students, a cheerleader of the good that happens in their classrooms.
I would like my administration to view what I do as important to the needs of SCE students and SCE teachers. That I am a valuable part of the school team, someone to look to for ideas, resources and assistance. I want them to see that the use of blended learning with students increasing, and that the use of technology by all teachers increases. I want them to see me with an instructional light and as someone who has a positive impact on our school.
A few hopes I have?
I hope teachers complain that there aren’t enough devices because that means the ones we have are being used.
I hope to see and interact with students in a digital collaborative environment.
I hope to see students create their own code and create with it – a webpage, an app, a Minecraft world….
I hope to see teachers becoming facilitators rather than class lecturers.
I hope to see students create, type and send the “Classroom Tweet”.
I hope to see teachers using technology for “grading” purposes and spending their time looking at data and looking at how to reach the specific needs of their learners.
I hope to see teachers and students having fun with technology and learning, but not even thinking about that they are learning or focusing on the learning….just having fun.
I hope to see more and more teachers moving toward blended learning lessons because of how engaged students are.
I hope to do all that I can to help my teachers increase in their knowledge and abilities with blended learning techniques in order for them to help prepare our students for the technology that is not created yet.
I hope to make kids curious enough for them to imagine un-thought of possibilities with technology uses for future generations that they may not ever see…
When I think of simply how the cell phone has changed, and how the general public has responded to the ability to use a phone as a computer, along with the progression of how cell phone and smart phone use has slowly become not just a norm, but now considered a necessity, we have to envision how that progression will continue, teaching our children how to problem solve, adapt, and use logical reasoning skills to prepare them for life. We can no longer just teach them isolated programs, but how to recognize similarities across programs and platforms for them to learn how to work within a variety of programs whether they have been in them before or not. Learning how to think through processes and problem solve to figure out results is extremely important. Knowing how to find the answers, knowing how to think through a problem to find answers, knowing how to collaborate with others in other cities, states or countries, that’s a skill our students need to learn. My personal thought, is that in the future, more people will work from their homes; this shift of not driving to an office, but instead collaborating through a digital online platform with others, will change the workplace, so teaching our students now how to collaborate, solve problems and work together in a digital medium is a “must do” skill set that we educators need to commit to addressing.
My vision this year at Stewarts Creek Elementary is to get at more teachers at every grade level on a path to interweaving blended learning into their lessons. I will promote blended and digital learning regularly at PLC Meetings with teams, talking about rigor and starting with the end goal, the standard in mind when choosing how to integrate technology. We have to place the focus on the standard/end goal and blend in technology, and no longer think about programs by themselves. I will read their lesson plans and offer them ideas how they can inject blended learning into the lessons they are already doing. In order to be accountable, I will set goals just as our students do to increase the use of blended learning by teachers in each grade level.
I already plan lessons for our Computer Lab Technology Rotation so that each grade level learns different skills, and that those skills build on each other as the students increase in grade. My goal is to make the plans align with classroom plans so the learning is meaningful in the lab as well as in the classroom. I would also like to visit classrooms more in order to see what teachers are doing to help them increase the digital aspects of their students in activities and higher-order thinking skills.
I would hope my teachers describe me as the person who supports them, helps them, and makes them feel at ease and comfortable with technology use; the person who makes technology implementation seem easy to accomplish. I want them to view me as a resource for helping all of their students, for finding them ways to help students grow whether they are below level, on level or above level. I also hope my teachers view me as a positive influence on them and their students, a cheerleader of the good that happens in their classrooms.
I would like my administration to view what I do as important to the needs of SCE students and SCE teachers. That I am a valuable part of the school team, someone to look to for ideas, resources and assistance. I want them to see that the use of blended learning with students increasing, and that the use of technology by all teachers increases. I want them to see me with an instructional light and as someone who has a positive impact on our school.
A few hopes I have?
I hope teachers complain that there aren’t enough devices because that means the ones we have are being used.
I hope to see and interact with students in a digital collaborative environment.
I hope to see students create their own code and create with it – a webpage, an app, a Minecraft world….
I hope to see teachers becoming facilitators rather than class lecturers.
I hope to see students create, type and send the “Classroom Tweet”.
I hope to see teachers using technology for “grading” purposes and spending their time looking at data and looking at how to reach the specific needs of their learners.
I hope to see teachers and students having fun with technology and learning, but not even thinking about that they are learning or focusing on the learning….just having fun.
I hope to see more and more teachers moving toward blended learning lessons because of how engaged students are.
I hope to do all that I can to help my teachers increase in their knowledge and abilities with blended learning techniques in order for them to help prepare our students for the technology that is not created yet.
I hope to make kids curious enough for them to imagine un-thought of possibilities with technology uses for future generations that they may not ever see…