The classroom of the 21st century is evolving such that the pedagogy has to be more technologically creative. Technological devices are a way of life for today's learners. They are constantly faced with the challenge of technological competitiveness. It is imperative for the teacher to understand the students environment i.e, keeping up with the technology that they are using outside of the classroom. This is not difficult, the only tool needed is dialogue between both you and the learner. It is my opinion that using a democratic approach can foster a more homogeneous learning environment.
Traditional monotone pedagogy is ineffective and will keep today's learners in a state of boredom. It is my belief that being a recent graduate of education has prepared me to align my pedagogy with the NJ Core Curriculum Standards as it relates to content area technology. More appropriately, it is incumbent upon me to align myself with my colleagues and the administration to promote dialogue relative to best practices for using technology in the 21st century classroom.
As a mathematics teacher for both secondary and middle-school, it is my plan to use the core standards as a guide. The strand 8.1c "Communication and Collaboration" in the NJ Core Curriculum content area technology standards is poignantly aligned with my philosophical pedagogical belief. Communication and collaboration are critical elements for effective learning.
The use of digital tools to communicate and collaborate to develop an on-line learning community is essential for the 21st century classroom. This can benefit the parent as well as the student, bringing everyone to a forum in a common place. Imagine a student who is absent from school but is able to go to an on-line community and dialogue with his/her peers about subject content matter and homework assignments. There are a plethora of technological applications that can foster an on-line learning community. One of such would be the development of a Wiki, or Ning such as what I have been exposed to in Curr518. Students can and should be able to model and design documents, create databases, analyze and retrieve research data intelligently. The student should not be limited to using digital tools only used in the classroom.
It is my plan to use various digital tools to engage students in learning mathematics. My goal is to engage students in real world applications as it relates to the content and effectively use themes to build a curriculum.
Not sure which task you are responding to here. You do a good job in expressing your beliefs about technology and its integration into your classroom. For your Portfolio due at the end of the semester, you are required to discuss your philosophy on technology integration. You have a good start here.
ReplyDeleteAs for the assignment, you should reference the video clips and article if you are discussing how you will develop in the area of technology.
If you are choosing a tech standard, you should also list the corresponding strand, grade level, Content Statement and CPI. In addition, you should briefly discuss a specific learning activity you want to develop to address this standard.
You mention something that I totally forgot to include in my discussion of the standards but after reading your blog it seems even more apparent to me. The fact that the standards not only align the teacher's own individual pedagogy with the state standards, but also aligns the school and the district with state guidelines is noteworthy. For example, two biology teachers in the same school or district must use the same set of standards, yet how they approach, interpret, and teach within those standards is left up to the individual teachers themselves. The standards are one of structuring content so that we can better assure that the same content in theory is being taught to all students of a speaking grade and content level. I would argue that in practice this is probably never the case as I believe learning is constructive and is heavily influenced by the specific context in which it is occuring. Good point!
ReplyDelete"Traditional monotone pedagogy is ineffective and will keep today's learners in a state of boredom". I couldnt agree with you more! I absolutely dread going to classes like this. I am not saying i need to be entertained on top of learning, but i do think there needs to be a sense of 'fun' in the classroom.
ReplyDeletePiggybacking off of Tom's comment the first line says it all ... Creativity is key going forward for all of us not matter if it is directly related to technology or not.
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