Letter+From+the+Kitchen...

//A Letter From the Kitchen... //

Dear Dr. C,

 Several websites, widgets, wikis and Web2.0 tools later, I can honestly say I have never been exposed to so much information in such a short period of time, and survived! I literally feel as if I ran an internet sprint, only to realize there is a massive marathon of technology still awaiting me on the other side. It’s been exciting, exhausting and extremely inspiring to see the infinite opportunities available to bring my classrooms to the 21st century. Creation, advancement, adaptation and expression – all of these words are associated with “technology.” Now more than ever, I have developed a strong desire to really embrace the innovation and creativity technology brings to the classroom, and to try my very best to represent these concepts in my class. People commonly say “why reinvent the wheel” and I plan to ask my students “Why not?” I hope to encourage their appetite for exploration and allow my students to discover new ways to share their ideas, test their abilities and entertain their minds! I really want my classroom to be a place where students are challenged to think differently and find alternate ways to express their thoughts and learn from each other. In some ways this course has been a similar place for me, where I have had to learn new ways to solve problems and present information. I am very proud and excited about the work I accomplished in this class and through my wiki; however, now more than ever I realize there is so much more out there to learn.

 Working on this wiki and course assignments was at times overwhelming, but always rewarding. I have always known I am an artistic and creative person; however, this course really stretched my skills to new limits. Having to come up with relevant, effective and creative ways to incorporate technology into each lesson was very challenging. However, I learned that I am not willing to compromise the integrity of the material or the technology in order to simply meet the guidelines or requirements of an assignment. In other words, I was not going just throw together a Glogster with random information on it and have it in no way elevate the lesson plan. Frankly, I find it takes way more effort to do work you don’t believe in and you are left with something unsatisfying and bland. Going forward, while I may have to find a new path and perspective to make my classroom material and instruction relevant and personal, I learned it is probably the most important part of teaching to me. Our students’ time is valuable and we have to strive to make them excited and connected to each lesson. Today our students are just one click away from something more interesting, thus the pressure to perform effectively and efficiently is even higher for modern teachers. I really tried to keep this in mind when creating my lessons and I think overall I was successful in putting together assignments that engaged the students and allowed them to make the material their own.

 The biggest challenge in creating these lessons, incorporating technology and probably being a teacher in general is one word – TIME. I know it is not an original thought, but I really am not sure there is enough time in a day or a school year to accomplish everything you want! There is so much to learn and so many exciting resources to learn from, and I am nervous that I may have packed too much into a small window of time for some of the lessons. While I believe you should always push your students to the next level, it will be interesting to see how quickly or easily the students actually move through lessons and whether the information is truly learned. The time crunch is only compounded when access to certain types of technology is limited. For example, you simply cannot create an individual computer based assignment for the whole class when you only have access to one computer. In this scenario you would need to restructure assignments so that the requirements are simplified or can be split up into groups, thus reducing the time to complete the project. Recognizing these challenges has made me realize the importance of collaborative work and multi-level/activity environments. Having students work together and move through “stations” of activities allows them more time to access and engage with the material presented. They also can benefit greatly from working together and sharing perspectives and ideas with their peers. This strategy is in a way a lot like professional work environments, whereby there is a value in teamwork paired with the individual contribution. I will really strive to design my classroom so that students look to each other for answers and are interested in the varying insights of their peers.

 Since technology is constantly changing I look forward what my students can teach me! They will be at the frontline of the “newest, hottest, biggest and badest” software and technology, and I want to encourage them to share that information. How can I incorporate these new tools into an exciting learning ? How can I find a way to connect my curriculum to their personal experiences and interests? How can I elicit feedback from my students, whereby they are always looking to participate in any situation? The questions are daunting, but I think we can start by giving students responsibility in the classroom. Teaching self-awareness and accountability makes students critical and active thinkers. As a teacher, I think it’s important to design your curriculum so that the student is valued, informed and in charge of his or her learning. Children need to know that they are important individuals who can do important things, especially in school. I am excited to introduce my students to as much information as possible, through multiple forms and styles to help them develop their own voice. Letting students contribute to class blogs or forums, choose the most effective and exciting presentation software for an assignment or create their own radio show – these are all ways to give students the opportunity to take their learning into their own hands. It becomes personal, they feel important and I believe in the end they will learn the most.  For me school was a place I enjoyed. Learning was exciting and gave me confidence. For many students this is not a shared feeling. I think students feel insecure or uninterested in school when they are being taught at or around. When they feel like they can’t find the right answer, ask a question or share a different opinion – that is when we lose students. I hope to put the students in the driver’s seat, in the jurors’ box and in front of the microphone. I want them to realize taking an interest, getting involved and truly learning about academics, life and people will be the most satisfying thing they can do. Technology is one component of this process, but it is definitely an important one. It can find new routes for students to access information, communicate with each other and develop new ideas. Education is a journey and we need to give students the tools to start truly exploring everything there is to offer.

Sincerely,

Ashley Albrecht