I agree with the students that participated in the survey for the “Vision of Today’s Students” that most reading assignments I was given in my bachelor’s program did not seem meaningful or relevant, thus not making me motivated or engaged. Classes in which the material was relevant to my degree or career provided a more significant purpose for reading, reflecting, and completing an activity or project. Because I knew it was important for me to know and understand the material for my future for my own benefit, I was more apt to put my best effort into it.
I don’t think that PLE with CMS are the end all, be all, for fixing the relevance and significance issue. But I think using technology seems to increase motivation and participation in a lot of cases, so it would be a start to hooking the learner and possibly keeping them engaged. Using web 2.0 tools would assist interpersonal learners with collaboration abilities, social interactions, and building on group members’ ideas. They also may work well for linguistic learners who can use their words to express their learning, but kinesthetic and intrapersonal learners’ needs may not be met with these tools. Using a virtual environment would allow for social interactions, building on ideas, and collaboration that may not be present in a real classroom. Teachers could use the discussion approach or even the direct approach with a guided practice on a web 2.0 tool to integrate virtual environments to increase participation and motivation.
Editors for eSchool News state “Skills such as global literacy, computer literacy, problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, and innovation have become critical in today’s increasingly interconnected workforce and society--and technology is the catalyst for bringing these changes into the classroom.” I strongly agree that technology is the catalyst to encourage growth and change, and adding virtual environments, web 2.0 collaborations, and personal learning environments would create a toolbox for students to increase the above-mentioned skills. I think key components for a new school in the 21st century would be flexibility, access, equipment, and support.
1. Flexibility for teachers is important so teachers can take advantage of teachable moments, facilitate questioning, guide research and discovery, and chose their method of data collection and multimedia implementation.
2. Access is important because schools block a lot of sites and online tools that would be very meaningful and beneficial for students in fear of inappropriate sites, postings, and lawsuits. Students and parents given access would need to be held to a higher degree of trust that Internet activity remains appropriate and a plan of action for violations would need to be created and strictly enforces in order for blocks to be removed. For teachers to encourage global literacy, communication, and computer literacy, access is needed for students to communicate, share, and contact with peers and experts around the globe. Restricting access prohibits growth and learning.
3. Equipment is important, as well. Technology changes quickly and the equipment used in schools today that is between 3 and 7 years of age are not always capable of the actions desired or operate the most recent systems available. For us to create innovative, critical thinkers, students need equipment that is new or only a year or two old.
4. Support for teachers is also important and necessary in order for teachers to be supportive for students. Integrating a higher degree of technology use allows for extreme differentiation to take place for students, scaffolding on each individual’s prior knowledge and not stifling personal growth due to a learning curve. But differentiation requires planning time and also staff development. Administrators providing this support for their staff are sure to see the most impact to the students in the long run.
Now that I've been in the trenches and see the needs that teachers have, I think I would make a great administrator :).
