torn...

So as I was catching up on publishing my posts I realized something, I'm very torn with how I feel about this class. I LOVE this class because it's fun and I actually learn things that are useful in my life unlike a few other classes I am taking right now. Despite how much I love what we are learning to use and do I am having a hard time with showing how much I am learning. I love technology and think its amazing what we can do now with it. I mean for my birthday last Monday I got an ipad and am very happy about it. I can't wait to get my new iPhone and in general love technology a lot. My husband looks at me like I'm crazy because I can tell him more about the video games and T.V.'s he looks at than the sales people. I  do like technology and I use it. I just realized I use it to supplement my life, not make it my life. I think that's why I am having such a hard time showing what I am learning. I have learned so much from this class and I actually use a lot of it, not everything because as I stated in my twitter post, some of it I just don't like. It doesn't mean I don't get the tool and the purpose. I think I just tend to go towards what works for me. I have a hard time with posting blogs all the time and posting articles and sharing tweets. This partly because these are things that I have to make part of my day and frankly I just don't want to. I don't use tools to post articles in files because I either bookmark the page to read later or I just read it on my phone. And truthfully I'd rather read the paper and magazines, which make it a challenge to post it to diigo. I could but that would mean finding the article online which just takes forever while I can just rip it out and pin it on my actual bulletin board. I love reading actual magazines still because I'm tactile and like to feel the pages, plus it hurts my eyes if I read too much on my computer. I'm still pretty old school with the magazines and newspapers. I just get more inspired by having the real thing. I also have an issue with blogging and twitter because again, it's forcing myself to do it. I'd rather talk to actual people about these things then send it off into the Internet universe. I understand the use of posting and sharing your thoughts to the world but I tend to get more from actual conversations. I like being able to sit there and discuss something in real time and show people what I'm talking about. I think part of this is I express myself with using my hands and using things around me. I think my biggest obstacle is that I'm extremely right-brained. I think in different terms than most people and I express myself through different means that just writing. I love to write but it's just one of the ways that I can express myself. Which is why I have a hard time expressing my learning. I think that the Internet and these technology tools are still very left-brained. They are very logical and very simple, there are some that are more right-brained but for most things its very left. It's still very structured and follows our current learning model. I believe that is why I'm having such a hard time. I think that I am also having a hard time because we have been given so much to do and are expected to use it right away. It takes a while for change, especially to change to having a complete virtual presence. I stated earlier that I love technology, but I use it how I want to. I don't want technology to be my life. It is something that is supplemental to my life. I like being able to not have to be online everyday. I'd much rather be outside or painting or doing something more productive and enjoyable for me. I think technology is a very important part of life and plays a big part in learning now, but it's not the only way to learn. I learn through many different means, and technology isn't the main one. Technology is my way to supplement what I want to learn and discover more about things I love. I think learning is when you explore something and you discover new things and apply it to your life. I've been doing that. I use the tools that I find purposeful in my life, but I also remember these other tools we've been taught. I take this knowledge and I share it with people I know. I share what we've learned and explain how you use them and why you would, so they can use these tools. I don't do much of it online though. I physically show them what to do and how to do it. I think that this has helped me learn too. Just because I'm not using it doesn't mean I didn't learn it. I was able to learn it and teach it to someone else. So I'm having a hard time with this class. I love what we learn and think it's great to have a bag full of tools to use, I just think that I shouldn't have to use every tool to prove that I am learning and growing. I am, and I know I am, I just have to find a way to show to everyone else.

Disrupting our Model

It’s amazing how far our society has come in changing the ways things are done. So many simple everyday tasks have changed because of the advancement of technology. We no longer have to drive over to see a friend or even call them to see how they are doing; we can simple send a text or email. We don’t have to pay for anything with cash anymore because we can charge it onto our credit cards. We don’t even have to go to the grocery store because we can now order our grocery’s online and have it delivered to our doorstep. With all these changes happening why is it that our public school system as been so persistent on keeping a model that is not working? Our school system now is so reliant on testing and making sure every student knows the same exact facts. It’s time that this system is disrupted and changed for the better. It is clear that we as a society are moving away from the logical left-brained system. With that we need to make sure that our students are being fostered and developed into right-brained citizens. With our current commercial system of teaching this is basically impossible. To develop a school system based more on the right-brained logic I have a few suggestions.

The first main suggestion is to create learning that is valuable to the students. To do this we need to know the students, we need to understand what they like, what interests them and create learning that is adaptable to them. Get to know the students as human beings not just a body in a chair.

The second suggestion is to allow inquiry-based learning. This is part of getting to know the students. They are allowed to explore their environment and discover amazing things while sharing with their peers. This type of learning is more authentic than sitting at a desk and reading a textbook. Students will be more engaged and able to remember the material better.

I would also suggest creating curriculum that is supplemental to the learning, not the learning itself. Create curriculum that students can explore if they want to, if they want to understand more. Don’t make it a task; make it something that is enjoyable for them to do. I think one way to make curriculum more enjoyable is to make it technology based. Students now are digital natives and technology is the norm for them. They expect technology and thrive with it, so make it part of the class. It needs to be a staple within the classroom.

Due to the fact that students are digital natives, we as teachers should treat them as such. Have them help with using the technology in the classroom. Let them show us how to use it and how they think it would fit well into class. They know much more than most of us so let them have a say in what should happen.

I think another important aspect of creating a student centric school model is to make teacher collaboration mandatory. If teachers work together they can come up with amazing ideas. We all have different students in our classes and have to adjust teaching to fit those students; we wont have all the answers all the time. By working together and developing our skill together we will be better teachers for the students we have.

And last but not least, get rid of testing. The standardize test don’t measure the students learning, it measures their ability to memorize and bubble in answers. If you create better teaching models the students will learn and you will be able to measure that by the product of work that they put out. You will also be able to measure their learning by watching them learn and participate. There is no need for these tests. They waste the time we have to teach and they make learning a chore, not something fun.

I think that to create a student center model of teaching would take a lot of time to develop and implement. It would take a lot of cooperation with schools and districts to effectively change our whole model. This would be a huge task, but one that is greatly needed. Society has changed and continues to change, which means we need to prepare our students for it starting now.

Expanding my PLN

The whole focus of this blog is to journal my way through creating and expanding my personal learning network. Last week I was able to follow my passion and do the things that I love to do and sadly don't have the time to. While I was following my passion I was able to explore some of the tools that we have learned during our Learning and Technology class. One tool that I wrote about was Pinterest, which I love! After last week, I had a hard time trying to get back into the habit of daily participating in the other tools we've learned. It takes ALOT of time and effort and to be honest I just don't have it. With the class we are expected to be participating and using the tools daily. I've been thinking about this and what I can do to try and accommodate these into my daily life and I realized that I kind of have. It's just that I've found the tools that I like to use and what I find the most useful for me. I think every teacher can tell you that each student is different in what they like and how they learn. This can be applied to my PLN. We have been given a plethora of tools to use to help expand our PLN. We've been told to explore and use these tools daily, and truth be told I don’t have the time. But, I also don't have the drive. I don't like some of the tools and that is why I don't push myself to use them. I know that the all the tools are important and useful and can all help me expand myself as a teacher. Right now though, they aren't all useful to me. They don't all fit what I need at this moment, doesn't mean they won't in the future. For example, I personally hate twitter. I've never liked it; it's one of those things that I just don't get. To me it's something I dread having to use. It is a waste of my time and I just don't care. I know that not everyone feels this way and I can understand why others like it and use it. It does have it's benefits but for me. It’s not something that I enjoy. I think that not all tools are for everyone. I would much rather use Pinterest. To me this website has been one of the most wonderful things that I have learned this year. I find time to use this site because I love it. It has been so useful for my teaching. I have found wonderful ideas to use and have been able to find great blogs to follow through this site. This is a tool that fits my needs and me so I use it daily. Not only do I use this site and the ideas from it but I tell the other teachers at my school about it. I've given them ideas that I have found on Pinterest to incorporate into their class. Not only have I told my colleagues about Pinterest but also I've told them about the other tools that they can learn. So in a sense I've been expanding my PLN through them. Many of them use the information I gave them and then come back and we discuss what they found and where other places are that they found as well (We've actually have had some very interesting discussions during our lunch break about different ideas we've found). So when I think about it I have been expanding my PLN even if it's not the way that is expected for the Learning and Tech class. I still find new ideas and blogs to follow just in a different way. I found a way to do this that fits my style and how I learn best. I'm going to keep trying the other tools as well and try to find a way that fits how I learn but it's difficult when I work one way and it's the best way for me. But like I tell my students we should always try different things even if we don't want to because sometimes it may be something we enjoy.