Funny we should be required to do a blog for my Master's program. I was just thinking about a week ago that I had been pretty good about posting to my technology blog over the summer after my ISTE conference; when ideas were fresh and new in my head, and well, when I had the time to blog. However, since about the third week of September I haven't posted anything...I wonder why that is??? So rather than pick up after a four to five month hiatus I decided I'd start all over. And since I need to blog for my Master's class which will go almost to the end of the school year, hopefully I'll be able to keep things going full steam this time around...
So, a little about me, my job, and what this blog is all about. I am in my seventh year teaching and am an Instructional Technology Resource Teacher. Which means, per my job description, it is my job to help teachers integrate more technology into their classrooms and lessons. Prior to beginning the ITs program at George Mason University I was disheartened by education and where it has been going. And I would love to say as a result of the program I am no longer disheartened...though if anything I am even more disheartened than I was before. Partly because of what i see going on in the classrooms, partly because of this big vendetta the public seems to have against teachers the past few years (though that's another story). At least now I know the reasons why and what I can start doing to help bring about a change.
This year I transferred out of the classroom to take that first step towards change. My job as an ITRT is to train teachers on new technologies that will enhance their lessons and help them integrate those technologies into their classroom. Currently I get to do some of that, but not as much as I was led to believe, but I'm hoping that too will change. For more on the roles of an ITRT, this document by the VDOE describes the position in more depth, though I find page 11 the best summary.
So basically my job, together with my vision, is to help transform this:
Into something a little more like this:
Now, I know that a one-to-one classroom where every student has access to a device on a daily basis is a dream for many school districts at the moment. Though some have achieved this dream, so I am not about to give up on it. Yes, it is frustrating when your school does not have the resources, and perhaps does not have the will, to move beyond the industrialized schooling system of the 1960s into a more appropriate learning environment for twenty-first century learners. But like Bill Murray in the movie What About Bob, take baby steps. Throughout this blog I will be discussing some of those baby steps educators can start taking to transform their teaching practice into one more appropriate for today's learners. As stated by Toffler in Revolutionary Wealth, we have moved beyond the Industrial Revolution and are in the Knowledge Revolution. Our schooling system needs to transform in order to catch up with our exponentially changing society.
Rows of students staring at a chalkboard during whole group and working on worksheets during independent time is just not appropriate for today's world. Students today need a more constructivist classroom where they are collaborating, connecting, globally aware, solving authentic problems...The list goes on. The Flat Classroom Project (which I learned about at VSTE) has the right idea.
What is your vision of a Twenty-First Century Classroom?
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