Vision
After completing my coursework in the Instructional Technology Master’s program, I am easily excited when asked to share my vision for technology in schools. The Kennesaw State University Instructional Technology Master’s program has enlightened me to a plethora of information regarding the integration of technology in schools for all children. It is not just about putting technology devices in classrooms but really about how the teachers are implementing those devices with the children. Are teachers providing a 21st Century environment for the global children of today?
A 21st Century environment cannot just happen overnight. It will take time and ongoing professional development to have a successful technology plan in place (ISTE 2008). With time, my vision is to see teachers and classrooms of yesterday become history. I envision the near future will provide a classroom that will not be set up with desks in a row, facing a whiteboard which a teacher uses to teach from. No, instead we will see clusters of desks or tables set up ready for students to collaborate. We will see a technology area where groups of students may be researching information on the Internet while solving a real-world problem. We will see other areas of the room where students are collaborating and communicating their plans or maybe they will be busy creating and designing an authentic item that will serve as their culminating product. The students are not just soaking up knowledge presented by a teacher to be memorized, and then used as answers on an upcoming test. No, these students will be engaged in student-directed and higher-level thinking activities. They will have no fear and see their possibilities for the future as being endless.
As far as technology, we will see the use of Web 2.0 tools being utilized on a regular basis. Web 2.0 tools are collaborative, browser-based and user-driven. They include tools for publishing, connecting, and sharing. Students will become contributors who collaborate and create rather than just use the Internet to learn new information. They will see the world as much smaller place as their opportunities for global experiences will allow students to communicate with students from around the world with the simple click of a button. Students will be as familiar with technology as they are a television remote control.
Teachers will also appear in different roles in the 21st Century classrooms. We will see teachers using more of a constructivist approach. “Constructivism presents the notion that learners build knowledge structures in their minds, rather than have the knowledge implanted by the teacher” (Creighton, 2003). Teachers will be present but in the role of a facilitator or guide, available to answer questions but not presenting information for students to memorize which the emphasis will be on the grade they earn on the test. Their grade will come from methods used to solve a problem or create a product that portrays what they have learned through collaboration. Just as we will want the students to collaborate and share their ideas, we want teachers to start thinking that way as well. It is my hope that teachers will share their proud moments and experiences with other teachers to get more teachers motivated into creating a 21st Century environment.
In order to prepare our students for their future, teachers must work toward a vision of integrating technology in a constructivist manner. Authentic learning experiences will be a normal occurrence using Web 2.0 tools. Students will collaborate, communicate, and create as they learn in a 21st Century environment. This type of a student-directed classroom will lend itself toward creating students who are ready for the 21st Century.
“Today knowledge is ubiquitous, constantly changing, growing exponentially… Today knowledge is free. It’s like air, it’s like water. It’s become a commodity… There’s no competitive advantage today in knowing more than the person next to you. The world doesn’t care what you know. What the world cares about is what you can do with what you know” (Swallow, 2012).
References
Creighton, T. B. (2003). The principal as technology leader. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press.
Hargadon, Steve (: Web 2.0 Is the Future of Education) http://www.stevehargadon.com/2008/03/web-20-is-future-of-education.html
International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). Essential Conditions: Necessary conditions to effectively leverage technology for learning. Retrieved from: http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students.aspx
Swallow, E. (2012, April 25). Creating Innovators: Why America's Education System Is Obsolete. Forbes.
A 21st Century environment cannot just happen overnight. It will take time and ongoing professional development to have a successful technology plan in place (ISTE 2008). With time, my vision is to see teachers and classrooms of yesterday become history. I envision the near future will provide a classroom that will not be set up with desks in a row, facing a whiteboard which a teacher uses to teach from. No, instead we will see clusters of desks or tables set up ready for students to collaborate. We will see a technology area where groups of students may be researching information on the Internet while solving a real-world problem. We will see other areas of the room where students are collaborating and communicating their plans or maybe they will be busy creating and designing an authentic item that will serve as their culminating product. The students are not just soaking up knowledge presented by a teacher to be memorized, and then used as answers on an upcoming test. No, these students will be engaged in student-directed and higher-level thinking activities. They will have no fear and see their possibilities for the future as being endless.
As far as technology, we will see the use of Web 2.0 tools being utilized on a regular basis. Web 2.0 tools are collaborative, browser-based and user-driven. They include tools for publishing, connecting, and sharing. Students will become contributors who collaborate and create rather than just use the Internet to learn new information. They will see the world as much smaller place as their opportunities for global experiences will allow students to communicate with students from around the world with the simple click of a button. Students will be as familiar with technology as they are a television remote control.
Teachers will also appear in different roles in the 21st Century classrooms. We will see teachers using more of a constructivist approach. “Constructivism presents the notion that learners build knowledge structures in their minds, rather than have the knowledge implanted by the teacher” (Creighton, 2003). Teachers will be present but in the role of a facilitator or guide, available to answer questions but not presenting information for students to memorize which the emphasis will be on the grade they earn on the test. Their grade will come from methods used to solve a problem or create a product that portrays what they have learned through collaboration. Just as we will want the students to collaborate and share their ideas, we want teachers to start thinking that way as well. It is my hope that teachers will share their proud moments and experiences with other teachers to get more teachers motivated into creating a 21st Century environment.
In order to prepare our students for their future, teachers must work toward a vision of integrating technology in a constructivist manner. Authentic learning experiences will be a normal occurrence using Web 2.0 tools. Students will collaborate, communicate, and create as they learn in a 21st Century environment. This type of a student-directed classroom will lend itself toward creating students who are ready for the 21st Century.
“Today knowledge is ubiquitous, constantly changing, growing exponentially… Today knowledge is free. It’s like air, it’s like water. It’s become a commodity… There’s no competitive advantage today in knowing more than the person next to you. The world doesn’t care what you know. What the world cares about is what you can do with what you know” (Swallow, 2012).
References
Creighton, T. B. (2003). The principal as technology leader. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press.
Hargadon, Steve (: Web 2.0 Is the Future of Education) http://www.stevehargadon.com/2008/03/web-20-is-future-of-education.html
International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). Essential Conditions: Necessary conditions to effectively leverage technology for learning. Retrieved from: http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students.aspx
Swallow, E. (2012, April 25). Creating Innovators: Why America's Education System Is Obsolete. Forbes.