Flight path
Technology has always interested and inspired me. I am one of those types of people who likes to figure out things for myself… no manuals or user guides for me! Technology keeps me engaged and captivated. It’s no accident that I have chosen to pursue a master’s degree in technology in the format that we follow in our MET. The independence and self-direction of our program is a perfect fit for what I need as a student.
In my math classroom, I try to find a balance between being a facilitator and an educator. In my seventeen years of experience in teaching secondary mathematics, I have seen many types of students; ones that will only talk to me when they need clarification, ones that will never engage in the class because they are completely overwhelmed and are completely disinterested, and ones whose massive efforts are not reflected in their achievement. Mathematics is a subject area where students either “get it” or they don’t. Student’s levels of competence though, hinges upon the skills they gathered from their previous math class. If a student does not master a particular skill, scaffolding on that is virtually impossible. While current 21st learning is moving towards problem based learning (Premier’s Technology Council, 2010), the reality is that many students in our current classrooms don’t have the basic numeracy skills to be able to apply their knowledge towards making meaning of problems.
Personalized learning will allow our future students to be able to control and adapt their education to meet their needs, strengths and interests. The digital natives (Prensky, 2001) of our schools today need different skills and tools to be contributors to our changing workforce in today’s knowledge based society. Schools and teachers need to not only reconsider the ways in which they are delivering and structuring their lessons for their students, but equip them with knowledge and skills that will allow their students to be competent and innovative as they enter into the workforce.
Through both this course and through obtaining my master’s degree in Educational Technology, I am hoping to develop the skills to be able to transform my current teaching style to better fit this 21st century model, and to become a mentor to my colleagues who aren’t as engaged and welcoming to the many technologies that are becoming more widely available to us. I would specifically like to create a blended learning environment in which my students complete one unit in their math class specifically online. Using some type of Learning Management System (LMS), I would like to set up an opportunity for students to experience at least one unit in a way that is self-directive, self-paced (within reason), and interactive using a computer lab or a class set of laptops. I would like to include activities that allow them to scaffold what they already know with the new concepts being offered, but also to back up and practice skills that they previously should have obtained. To have a platform that would allow students to work together to create knowledge building communities (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 2002) would be ideal. They would be able to work together to make meaning of the concepts, as well as contributing towards resource that could be used by all students. The National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (2008) encourages teachers to “model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments.”
Within the LMS I would like to build a multi-level platform that students could enter at different places, depending on their prior knowledge. I would like to embed interactivities to allow them to enhance and supplement their practice though the prescribed learning outcomes set by the British Columbia Ministry of Education. These interactivities may include videos, online quizzes and exams, applets and access to print material. It may also be possible for students to access various 2.0 web tools to build or display meaning.
Resources:
National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers, (2008), International Society for Technology in Education, retrieved online: http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_for_Teachers_2008.htm
Premier’s Technology Council. (2010, December). A vision for 21st century education. Vancouver, BC: Premier’s Technology Council.
Presky, M. (2001a, October). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon. NCB University Press, 9 (5).
Scardamalia, M., and Bereiter, C. Computer support for knowledge-building communities. The Journal of the Learning Sciences (1994) 3:265-83.