As I come to the end the first semester of my Instructional Technology Program in my 21st Century Teaching and Learning class I reflect on what I believe 21st Century K-12 Learners want and need including how technology can support student acquisition of content standards and the NETS-S.
First, students need teachers who understand the PSC and ISTE standards. Students need engaged learning opportunities infused with content and technology standards that are multidisciplinary to incorporate multiple content areas when possible; authentic and challenging learning opportunities steeped in higher order thinking skills that are differentiated for students with disabilities and English
Language Learners (ELL); classrooms with collaborative learning activities where
students are explorers and producers of performance-based assessments that
take place in class and via safe web-based outlets; and they need to utilize technology in such a way that it is part of the daily routine, not as a perfunctory extension of an otherwise mundane lesson.
Second, I would hope that students want what they need as previously outlined. Students often want what they can't have or what they don't have. I would love to
see technology coaches in every school increasing teachers and students' technology usage so that students are not "wanting" access to technology, but are "engaged" in technology throughout every learning opportunity and teachers are not afraid to use technology in safe meaningful and engaging ways.
I am not that teacher or that technology coach yet, but in time, as I learn to use the T-PACK framework, the LoTi framework along with the Loti decision chart, and the Indicators of Instruction for Engagement, Empowerment, and Deep Understanding, Retention, and Transfer of Knowledge I become the teacher that students need and want, I become the teacher leader that I am currently training for. I have much
to learn, but I am confident that KSU will prepare me to rise to the challenges, both professionally, and personally. My journey has just begun.
First, students need teachers who understand the PSC and ISTE standards. Students need engaged learning opportunities infused with content and technology standards that are multidisciplinary to incorporate multiple content areas when possible; authentic and challenging learning opportunities steeped in higher order thinking skills that are differentiated for students with disabilities and English
Language Learners (ELL); classrooms with collaborative learning activities where
students are explorers and producers of performance-based assessments that
take place in class and via safe web-based outlets; and they need to utilize technology in such a way that it is part of the daily routine, not as a perfunctory extension of an otherwise mundane lesson.
Second, I would hope that students want what they need as previously outlined. Students often want what they can't have or what they don't have. I would love to
see technology coaches in every school increasing teachers and students' technology usage so that students are not "wanting" access to technology, but are "engaged" in technology throughout every learning opportunity and teachers are not afraid to use technology in safe meaningful and engaging ways.
I am not that teacher or that technology coach yet, but in time, as I learn to use the T-PACK framework, the LoTi framework along with the Loti decision chart, and the Indicators of Instruction for Engagement, Empowerment, and Deep Understanding, Retention, and Transfer of Knowledge I become the teacher that students need and want, I become the teacher leader that I am currently training for. I have much
to learn, but I am confident that KSU will prepare me to rise to the challenges, both professionally, and personally. My journey has just begun.