On day one I connected strongly with Jenny’s vision of movements to engage teachers with technology to become leaders. As a digital immigrant I feel that my key defining quality is my willingness to participate in the process and be willing to forge ahead with an open mind. In the past two years of teaching grade five I have found ways to engage students with ICT through the daily use of my LCD projector by means of interaction via a whiteboard as well as exploring various internet sites and to teach new skills, for example, PowerPoint and Word 10 documents. I chose to initiate at least weekly group emails to parents regarding homework projects, sharing classroom activities and collections of photographs documenting special events and inviting parent participation in student learning, presentations or fieldtrips. The class had time to explore I-pads in pairs with the school set of fifteen. Each week the class were taken to the school computer lab to research various projects, produce their findings in either PowerPoint or Word format and explore the creation of cartoons under Pixton.ca.. I had a student in my class that was on the spectrum and with the Speech Therapist the student began to expore TouchChat on an I-pad as a means for communication. I made time daily for other students in the class to work with that student and the E.A. outside of the class on communication skills through question and answer, sharing of experiences and game playing.

I feel extremely open to the ideas and thoughts presented by Will Richardson in his book, “Why School?” and am looking forward to more discovery on my ICT journey. Within a global framework it is paramount for teachers to recognise the importance of connecting with other educators through collaboration, discussion and sharing as a fundamental way forward for ICT.

Through the fast paced exploration of digital resources, discussion and collaboration in this first week I have continued to deepen my connected self within ICT and education. As I began to explore Mind Meister I decided to illustrate the ever changing interconnectedness of the cognitive, cultural and technological dimensions in relationship to the connected self.

https://www.mindmeister.com/maps/show/308052916#info

As teachers are being asked to consider government definitions of technology and information literacy with reference to 21st century learning I became excited by the BCTLA’s Points of Inquiry that resonnated with my connected self and aligns itself with Richardson’s work.

http://bctf.ca/bctla/pub/documents/Points%20of%20Inquiry/PointsofInquiry.pdf

Despite the challenges of resources, mindsets, internet codes and Pro-D in reference to ICT, I am excited to continue to collaborate with colleagues, explore digital resources, challenge my connected self and consider what can be intergrated into my practice as an educator.

The BC Ministry of Education under Digital Literacy Standards define:

 Digital Literacy is “the interest, attitude and ability of individuals to appropriately use digital technology and communication tools to access, manage, integrate, analyze and evaluate information, construct new knowledge, create and communicate with others in order to participate effectively in society”.

Even UNESCO stresses the importance placed on educators within the process of digital literacy,

In order to develop adequate 21st century skills among students, educators should be authentic ICT users and integrate digital literacy with other core competences in their professional and private lives. Young teachers born in the digital age may be good models of diverse, enjoyable, and empowering ICT use, but are not necessarily literate in the educational utilisation of ICTs. Teachers’ digital literacy must involve knowledge and skills about educational policy and ethical use of ICTs, and they must keep abreast of innovation in digital pedagogy. Teachers’ digital literacy must incorporate the ability to use ICTs effectively in teaching, learning, professional development, and school organisation – different sets of skills are required in each of those areas.

These quotes work as an initial starting point to define digital literacy, but the complexity of this subject  requires us to go further and consider practice. Everybody needs to develop different skill sets to move forward with Information Literacy but the framework needs to be more than a list of PLO’s. When I read the BCTLA’s Points of Inquiry, A framework for Information Literacy and the 21st Cenrtury Learner I became excited. Here was a document that provided a framework that resonnated with my connected self and aligned itself with Will Richardson’s work. The points of inquiry explains,

 In the past three days I have never spent this amount of time so intensely in front of a computer screen and been exposed to so many new ways of sharing information with colleagues through blogs, forums, twitter and pearltrees etc. At times it has felt overwhelming as well as exhilarating, but I feel that it will take more time than the three weeks of this course to process what modalities will be most productive and inform my practice in my life. I do believe that the way forward for educators is collaboration and the exchange of knowledge and ideas.

After reading Will Richardson’s book it is clear that fundamental shifts need to happen within the current education system. My first teaching position at an Inner City School in London, England I will never forget being given one pencil per child with the expectation that this was to last until Christmas. Thankfully changes have happened but we need to do more to embrace ICT and ensure that students have the skills necessary to create and navigate in this digital world.

Richardson discusses this world vision being “co- created” by educators who understand the important roles that technology and the Web have in this. He sums this up with one word- “discovery” . I feel that there are Educators in my district and in my school that are embracing this new vision and are working with students on this path of “discovery”. I do agree that there are also teachers who are not willing to review their practice. For some, the issues of outdated technology and limited access directs their decision. This issue was raised in Clifford, P., Friesen, S. & Lock, J. (2004). Coming to teaching in the 21st century: A research study conducted by the Galileo Educational Network, p. 24 with reference to Plante & Beattie (2004) findings that,

Aging of computers, obtaining copies/licenses of software, purchase and maintenance of computer technology, and training for teachers were identified as ICT challenges confronting Canadian school principals in 2003 -2004.

Here we are a decade on and these are still current issues. In my blog comment yesterday I learned from a colleague that out of 1500 computers in my district an update to Windows 7 will cause two thirds of them to become obsolete. How will teachers in my district be able to incorporate 21st Century Learning with these challenges? Not all students have acess to digital technology. This past year a theft of a digital device from the classroom that worked through the “discovered” return of the device in a restorative justice resolution highlighted this disparity that has impacted the school’s code of conduct to not allow the use of personal devices at school. Should this be the solution?

For me this dovetails into the connected self in education, as described today, whereby the cognitive dimension allows one to process experiences by making sense of them to form beliefs and attitudes that will inform classroom practice. These issues of ICT in my district have given rise to the attitudes of not embracing the “discovery” vision that Richardson describes. There needs to be more discussion between government, school boards, principals and teachers that include changing curriculum and ICT. Through discussion and more in depth professional development teachers will be in a better position to expand the connected self in education.