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The concept of reflecting on what I have learned is often a frustrating struggle for me
because I habitually contend that I have learned nothing! However inconceivable that is, I
suppose I may not realize that I am actually learning or changing my thoughts and ideas on
matters of any relevance. Classes often require a great deal of reading, writing, and group
projects that can form a bit of mental reluctance but also probe questions of the purpose of the
activities. Regardless, in the end, I know that I have learned because I have experienced new
ideas, thoughts, and insight to new tools and technologies, yet pinpointing and labeling exactly
what I have learned seems trying. Is learning changing one͛s mind? I ascertain Gardner͛s
suggestion that significant changes of mind ? learning. His ideas focus ͞on changes of mind
that occur consciously, typically as a result of forces that can be identified (rather than through
not be so easily identified! This reflection will be an attempt to describe and consider more
I realize that I am only one teacher and one person in the lives of my students. I know
that to love learning or further guide students to apply learning and love that is a big job. The
more I learn as a teacher, and as a student, the more I want to elicit change in others. I can say
as a result of course concepts, readings, and class discussions, that I know I could be a better
teacher if I sought out and repurposed technologies to integrate in my teaching. However, I still
understanding! If I am truly mindful of the tendency of most to interchangeably use the words
understand and know, I should stop to ask, ͞Is understanding simply a more complex form of
knowledge?͟ I can ͞respond on cue͟ that I know technology can better a learning experience
for a student, but could also prove my understanding of that when I use my judgment of when
to use or not use any given technology. Technology is only an irrelevant object and useless
unless it is used to solve a problem. ͞[Technologies] only become a tool, a means to an end,
when they are connected to a problem.͟ (Zhao 2003) The problem lies in the fact that,
͞educators have slid into the 21st century- and into the digital age- still doing a great many
things the old way. It͛s time for education leaders to raise their heads above the daily grand and
͞Times have changed. So, too, have the students, the tools, and the requisite skills and
knowledge.͟ (Prensky 2005) Brophey (1997) says that motivation to learn is a competence
acquired through general experience but stimulated most directly through modeling͙ and
direct instruction or socialization by significant others (especially parents and teachers).͟ I need
not to be concerned with what other teachers are doing, what critics express of the job, we,
teachers are doing, or what the MEAP says about the learners I see every day. I do need to be
like the tiny red ant in the spoke of a moving wheel, not noticing the pressures of the outside
and press on with my job at hand; create lovers of learning, apply learning, and model that love
to others. It͛s the color-outside-the-lines approach to teaching. It͛s the take what 80% of
teachers are doing and throw it out to do what 20% have found to actually work- in essence,
denial of instructional and intellectual conformity. This is especially true if, ͞More and more of
our students lack the true prerequisites for learning- engagement and motivation- at least in
terms of what we offer them in our schools. Our kids do know what engagement is: Outside
school, they are fully engaged by their 21st century digital lives.͟ (Prensky 2005)
Considering that much of the educational practice is behind the times, it is reassuring to
know that it is not going unrecognized. It just seems that the practice is difficult to change or
maybe running into some resistance. However, in peeking at the newest edition of the â
?(August/September 2009), I noticed that there exists a double page spread entirely
devoted to technology! The spread has sections on Google, Schooltube, Wikipedia for Schools,
and Twitter. In addition, the NEA has noted their dedication to technology by inviting educators
to a group site they͛ve created which is created for the sharing of ideas and opinions regarding
education. Also, noted was a website for educators to find additional technology resources
for the classroom! (www.nea.org/freetech) I think that this is one of many signs of the birth of a
revolution.
meeting I͛ve had seems to push the installation of the love of life-long learning into our
students. There is no doubt in my mind that technology developments make this creation more
attainable now than ever. Technology beckons educators and students with opportunities for
learning and can increase student achievement. Learners who have success in the world of
education tend to like learning more. Students already love technology, consider how far one
could go in a public place without seeing or hearing a child speak passionately about some
technology. Educators just have to pair up with what most kids already love and foster it in such
a way that students can see that technology is more than for gaming, communication and social
networking. Recognizing that technology is a knowledge system for students is key to reaching
them more effectively, maintaining engagement in class, and continually motivating them.
Technology has not only become what they think about, but also a mode by which they think.
Why must my job be done the same as it has always been done?! Why not innovate and
integrate? What͛s wrong with blending the old with the new? A meeting of content and
pedagogy seems only appropriate- ͞at the intersection of what we teach and how we teach it.͟
(Mishra & Koehler 2009) If students are changing, why isn͛t our teaching? Ñ should teach the
way learn. They shouldn͛t have to conform to us the way we have always expected them
to!
Thanks to this summer cohort in educational technology, I want even more, to infuse
technology in my current curriculum to better student learning as well as create greater respect
for my subject area, Family and Consumer Sciences. I want to be able to repurpose tools and
integrate them into my teaching which requires that ͞special knowledge͟ referred to as TPACK
(technical pedagogical and content knowledge) by Mishra and Koehler (2009). I realize that
an evolution that requires me to continually better myself in content area, technology and
Within any school subject or learning domain, student͛ instructional needs change as their
expertise develops. Consequently, what constitutes an optimal mixture of instructional
methods and learning activities will evolve as school years, instructional units and even
individual lessons progress. (Teaching: Educational Practices Series-1)
Thus, who can better themselves professionally without continual reflection, learning and
acceptance of change? Is there a Zen or Mecca that professionals arrive at in their careers? Is
Maslow͛s self-actualization a real destination professionally and do most people really seek it
out?! Are the tools with which I want to teach to possible attain this place in teaching even truly
available to me and can I effectively use and/or repurpose them to best suit my students?
These are questions I ask myself as a result of where my learning has taken me this summer.
Maybe questions do not prove what I have learned, however, Sternberg and Williams (1996)
would argue that, ͞It͛s more important for students to learn what questions to ask- and how to
ask them- than to learn the answers.͟ They would further contend that students given the
responsibility for learning, learns how to learn; ͞Active learning helps students develop skills in
seeking information.͟ While my seeking may take time, maybe even years, the questions and
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great journey ahead, I should like any traveler, prepare myself by laying out a roadmap with a
planned route, anticipate the need to nourish myself with new ideas, pack the possibility of
getting lost (due to construction, of course), and leave fear of failure behind. As with any
journey or experience in life, a conscience and a sense of humor are mandatory, both of which I
will use herein! My conscience, which for entertainment purposes of this writing will take on
quotes from the character of a little green man, with superior insight, the ever-wise Jedi
master, Yoda.
͞Always in motion is the future.͟ (1980) The Empire Strikes Back
As I͛ve previously discussed, the shape of education is changing because the world and
its͛ learners are changing. Schulman (1999) explains that, ͞learning was [once] understood as a
process of getting the knowledge that was outside the learnerͶin books, theories, the mind of
the teacherͶto move inside.͟ However, now believes that learning is a dual process which
alternates between the inside-out and outside-in. If teachers want to have students who
construct meaning from their lessons and make a difference, they must know ? understand
that students͛ prior knowledge is a pre-requisite tool for their teaching. ͞The most important
single factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows. Ascertain this and teach
them accordingly.͟ (Schulman 1999) The first direction in my roadmap is to abandon and
both in practical use and fiscally ( ). Finally, even if only successful in my own building or
even my own classroom, I will attempt to foster a culture of technology ( ).
͞You will find only what you bring in.͟ (1980) The Empire Strikes Back
ahead. The backbone of my foundation for such exploration lies in my graduate education and
teaching experience thus far. Its future lies not only in the completion of the MAET program but
also in the search for further professional development and TPACK resources. Resources such
and Teaching and Learning with Technology (http://www.tlt.ab.ca/), or any number of blogs
TPACK.org explanation from Wikipedia! Nevertheless, I think that to name specific sites, blogs
or even scholarly writing now to use over the course of a five year span is limiting and naïve
because as we know, change is constant. I think it would be more realistic to say that this
searching out the best, whether old or new, resources. Such professional development could
occur with a physical professional library to an e-library via deli.ciou.us for available reference.
Classmates and teachers from this program have proven to be spectacular resources for
technology and applications thereof. I have past professors who I communicate with regularly
who often contribute to the technological development of my teaching. The role that these
people all play in my career is that they are all players on the same team; we all, to some
degree, share a commitment and passion for technology, both new and old, with a common
While all of these people are valuable resources in my social repertoire, I feel that the
most meaningful face-to-face resources are my students. Students often know what to do
when I have computer ͞hiccups͟, they often know better sites and programs, they know that
they can always find a way around, over or through that I thought was unattainable. If I use
students as resources in their education, it would provide them with a sense of choice and
ownership. If I included them somehow in teaching teachers, they would feel of extreme value
and importance. Just because we͛re adults doesn͛t mean they we have to know everything!
Especially considering the idea that computers and the internet aren͛t really ͞technologies͟ to
our students they are to us. Respectfully and humbly͙ Just ask the natives!
͞Named must your fear be before banish it you can.͟ (2005) Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
The unknown is a scary place to be or venture to, but can conversely be part of a
remarkable ride in any journey. I think that my natural tendency in life is often to try to be a
leader. The MAET program seems to also instill a desire to be a leader in the realm of
technology in education. This manifesto, if you will, also makes me lay out the goal of
environment that fosters technology. I can do this by partnering with other teachers in my
building who have also earned their Master͛s degree in Educational Technology as well as those
teachers who have a natural technological inclination. We could create a team within our
have to have the support of building administrators and district technology leaders, in addition
to a well thought out and thorough plan to integrate technology, and be committed to
developing our building professionally with technology to match the education our students
desire with their 21st century learning styles. ͞As teachers [in our building] develop their core
technology skills, they [will] need on-going support though a professional development
environment that is consistently interwoven with hands-on use of technology to reinforce their
While I may anticipate 80% of teachers to be on board with the technological revolution
and 20% resistance, or vice versa, I should not let it hold me back from trying to s the skills
and practices that I have learned, or have yet to learn, which could make them, us, better at our
professions!
Just Do It! Was a 1988 Nike campaign that was responsible for increasing Nike͛s share of
domestic sport-shoe business from 18 percent to 43 percent, from $877 million in worldwide
sales to $9.2 billion in the ten years between 1988 and 1998. Eventually the campaign was
credited with embracing not just resolve and purpose, but also the ͞beauty, drama and moral
uplift of sportͶeven, every now and then, fun.͟ (Data used from The Center for Applied
Research͛s mini-case study on Nike) The success of the campaign is that much more remarkable
when one considers that an estimated 80 percent of the sneakers sold in the U.S. are never
used for the activities for which they have been designed. This is evident of a
or a
being repurposed. ? ? would be the original intention, but look at the
success of the company for changing attitudes of consumers with a mere slogan! I suppose that
from this I should take that the prior thoughts and attitudes of teachers regarding technology in
the classroom needs to be known, possibly consciously changed, and further, developed to
͞May the Force be with you.͟ (1980) The Empire Strikes Back
m Hopefully, it will not be sacrilegious or offensive to do so, but this is the only thing I can
think of to support such a mission. My parochial school background and religious up-bringing
make me think of the way we were always dismissed from church on Sundays, as if the sermon
was a guide to live the upcoming days in our lives. Our pastor would quote Matthew 28:19-20,
in which Jesus is talking to his disciples after his resurrection and says,͞19Therefore go and
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am
with you always, to the very end of the age." If this verse were transformed for the technology
enthusiast in any of us, let it be, ͞Therefore go and make techies of all contents, teaching them
in the name of the Macs, PCs and of the Holy Internet, and guiding them to ask Google anything
you do not know. And surely the force is with you always, until some new technology comes
about.͟
References
Development. http://www.techlearning.com/article/1110
Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2009, May). Too Cool for School? No Way! Learning & Leading with
Prensky, Marc. (2005, December/January). Listen to the Natives. Educational Laeadership. 10-
13.
Shulman, L. (1999). What is learning and what does it look like when it doesn͛t go well. þ?
(4), 10-17.
Zhao, Yong. (2003). What Should Teachers Know about Technology?: Perspectives and
Practices, 1-14.