Students of the 21st Century have been exposed to visual stimulus from a very early age for example, from visual enhanced children's books,TV's, computers, cell phones, video games, etc. Using visual literacy in the classroom has become a necessity in helping students remember, learn new material and relate new information to old information. For many students, making visual connections has become second nature to them. Visual literacy is an important part of education because it also helps students become prepared for the workforce. This trend can also be seen as more businesses and employers become dependent of the visual technologies.
The internet has a tremendous impact on student learning today. The internet provides access to teaching and networking tools. Some examples of teaching tools are WebQuests, virtual field trips, research, and publication. Networking tools include wikis, blogs, email, and discussion boards to name a few. All these tools facilitate learners of the 21st century by requiring higher level thinking, communication, and collaborative skills.
Both of these two trends are very evident in my New Tech classroom. All of my students have their own laptop and flash drives, oppose to textbooks and notebooks. Most of my students carry around a cell phone and i-touch oppose to a calculator and pen. These advances have directly caused me to change my approach in teaching. In stead of handouts I give out entry documents. These entry documents can take a variety of formats such as video, podcast, email, etc. My "units" are now projects that have a direct "real world" application or connection. My grade book does not use the following subheadings for assignments:"tests, quizzes, homework, essays", but instead the headings are: "Content (English 9 & technology), work ethic, collaboration, and communication". All of these advances allows me to help prepare my students for the 21st Century and beyond.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Week 2- Blog 1 Reflection
Week 2 Blog Reflection
It is crucial for teachers to wake up and change what they have done for years. Students today are different and they have very unique needs. Today’s classrooms are also victims to reform. For example, all students are mainstreamed into the general education classrooms. It is important for teachers to be knowledgeable about student needs and accommodations due to learning disabilities. Many schools have to cut back on staffing; my school is no exception. We have 83 students with IEPs, yet only have 1 and ½ special education teachers. General Ed. Teachers are having to fill-in the gaps. Differential instruction is necessary. Teachers have to utilize many different strategies and modes of instruction. U.S. students are falling behind their counterparts in other regions of the world. U.S. students cannot complete academically or technologically with students from other countries. Due to these alarming trends, teachers are incorporating 21st Century skills to their curriculum. Representative of the ICT literacy skills are the following six arenas critical to students' success in the workplace (Kay and Honey, 2005):
• Communicate Effectively: Students must have a range of skills to express themselves not only through paper and pencil, but also audio, video, animation, design software as well as a host of new environments (e-mail, Web sites, message boards, blogs, streaming media, etc.).
• Analyze and Interpret Data: Students must have the ability to crunch, compare, and choose among the glut of data now available Web-based and other electronic formats.
• Understand Computational Modeling: Students must posses an understanding of the power, limitations, and underlying assumptions of various data representation systems, such as computational models and simulations, which are increasingly driving a wide-range of disciplines.
• Manage and Prioritize Tasks: Students must be able to mange the multi-tasking, selection, and prioritizing across technology applications that allow them to move fluidly among teams, assignments and communities of practice.
• Engage in Problem Solving: Students must have an understanding of how to apply what they know and can do to new situations.
• Ensure Security and Safety: Students must know and use strategies to acknowledge, identify, and negotiate 21st century risks.
These demands put a lot of pressure on the classroom teacher of today. However, the rewards and challenges make teaching unlike any other profession: every day is new.
It is crucial for teachers to wake up and change what they have done for years. Students today are different and they have very unique needs. Today’s classrooms are also victims to reform. For example, all students are mainstreamed into the general education classrooms. It is important for teachers to be knowledgeable about student needs and accommodations due to learning disabilities. Many schools have to cut back on staffing; my school is no exception. We have 83 students with IEPs, yet only have 1 and ½ special education teachers. General Ed. Teachers are having to fill-in the gaps. Differential instruction is necessary. Teachers have to utilize many different strategies and modes of instruction. U.S. students are falling behind their counterparts in other regions of the world. U.S. students cannot complete academically or technologically with students from other countries. Due to these alarming trends, teachers are incorporating 21st Century skills to their curriculum. Representative of the ICT literacy skills are the following six arenas critical to students' success in the workplace (Kay and Honey, 2005):
• Communicate Effectively: Students must have a range of skills to express themselves not only through paper and pencil, but also audio, video, animation, design software as well as a host of new environments (e-mail, Web sites, message boards, blogs, streaming media, etc.).
• Analyze and Interpret Data: Students must have the ability to crunch, compare, and choose among the glut of data now available Web-based and other electronic formats.
• Understand Computational Modeling: Students must posses an understanding of the power, limitations, and underlying assumptions of various data representation systems, such as computational models and simulations, which are increasingly driving a wide-range of disciplines.
• Manage and Prioritize Tasks: Students must be able to mange the multi-tasking, selection, and prioritizing across technology applications that allow them to move fluidly among teams, assignments and communities of practice.
• Engage in Problem Solving: Students must have an understanding of how to apply what they know and can do to new situations.
• Ensure Security and Safety: Students must know and use strategies to acknowledge, identify, and negotiate 21st century risks.
These demands put a lot of pressure on the classroom teacher of today. However, the rewards and challenges make teaching unlike any other profession: every day is new.
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