Reflect upon this week’s content and how it relates to your daily practice: Include the key elements you believe must be included in your classroom/school to prepare your students and colleagues for the future.
Certainly our future in education includes some form of technology. After spending almost a year teaching and learning online because of the pandemic, most students and teachers have ventured deeper into the Technological Sea of Learning than they had ever been before. Even when we are able to be in person again, the tools that we have learned to implement for new ways of instructing and learning will continue to be useful. I don’t think Matt Miller will be writing Ditch That Chromebook anytime soon. So how do we prepare our students for the future? Jen Ellison, NCOE Teacher of the year and technology specialist, was interviewed by Mario Piombo at the start of the pandemic. Mario asked her what our kids would need in order for education to continue. Her answer was so quick and wise, “I think the biggest need right now is access. Everybody needs access to technology no matter where they live. ... The number one we need to make sure that the whole town has wifi and then making sure that that everyone has a device that can connect to that wifi. That would transform our community.” Equal access to technology has to be a priority in our future because it will make it possible for students to learn in a variety of ways. Another key to being ready for the future is that students have to have problem solving skills. The future and the present are always going to be filled with problems that need to be solved. Some problems will be small and easily solved, some will be personal, some will be county, statewide, national or even global problems. We need creative thinking kids that can collaborate with others and solve very complicated problems. Sir Ken Robinson stressed in all of his videos that diverse education where creativity of all kinds is honored and curiosity is encouraged, is crucial to making school relevant and engaging for kids. Technology is one way to make learning engaging. So many of the tools that my students and I are exploring add a fun, creative element to the learning process. My students are crazy about all the gaming platforms I have been using to review key concepts and vocabulary. For modeling and diagramming science lab data we all appreciate the creativity that Kami provides. Mote is super fast and easy for feedback and questions. Simulations in Amplify, Gizmos, and Phet allow us to generate data using technology and to that can be analyzed as we problem solve. Google sheets provides graphs of our data in just a few simple clicks. Now and in the future, connecting with people will still be a priority. Several of the videos I watched on The Teaching Channel about teaching online were hosted by Doug LeMov, author of Teach Like A Champion. He kept stressing the importance of the teacher connecting with her kids through that screen. A lot of it was the simple act of smiling, greeting, saying their name, having a positive vibe, encouraging them, sharing a story or joke so everyone can laugh together. Connecting with people and making them feel like they are a part of the team will always be an important element in all walks of life. The corporate world calls this “soft skills” and they also spend time teaching people the skill of connecting people. I do have to share a couple of examples I found of inspiring teachers in case you want to check them out. Every Student Deserves A Great Teacher Be A Mr. Jensen Jen Ellison- Overcoming DL
3 Comments
Kelly W.
2/9/2021 10:32:43 pm
Hello, Betsy!
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Janine Burt
2/10/2021 09:34:48 am
Hi Betsy, I appreciate what you shared about access to technology. We're watching this technology gap widening even with the loan of devices to families. There are students who struggle daily with wifi issues or just having a quiet space to be able to be on Zoom so that they can hear an d be heard. I was talking to one of my teachers yesterday about her concerns for some of her kids who she rarely gets to interact with even though they have access to technology. It's so hard to feel like we're losing ground academically with some kids and that the seem more disengaged as time goes on. But I agree there's hope if we can find tools that will engage them and bring out their creativity and confidence.
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Jamie Lutz
2/10/2021 01:45:45 pm
I agree with the need for Wi-Fi!!!! So many of my students have poor internet connections. Every day I have students telling me that they can't have their camera on because of their internet. Lack of internet has shined a huge light on the inequities that we are still facing in our society today.
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AuthorHello! Welcome to my blog! This will be a fun place to share thoughts about teaching and learning. I am a middle school science teacher at Redwood. When I'm not teaching, I'm hanging out at home with my family or enjoying nature somewhere in the valley. Archives
March 2021
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