Can we all be 21st century teachers?

During these past few weeks I have been quite taken in by the benefits and capabilities some technologies possess, and seeing them as keys to unlocking some traditional teaching barriers. Not only used as keys, but also as a way to teach and present new information in a radically new and 21st century manner. It is easy to marvel at the advances in technology, but what I am more impressed by is its adaptation and usefulness in the modern day classroom. Today is a far cry from when I was in school, and I am very curious to start my first placement on Thursday to see first-hand how it has changed.

This past week I along with my Cohort classmates were SMART Board certified. We have also been learning about Livescribe, Clickers, Frontrow, Notebook for creating SMART presentations, video cameras, iPod touch's and iPads. I feel this has been an incredible learning experience and value to us. We have all been caught up with these technologies, trying to think of how we are going to incorporate these into our very own classrooms one day.

But alas arises my concerns. I am not concerned about using technology in the classroom, nor am I concerned about trying to be creative in adapting it to make the learning experience more enjoyable and thorough. No, what I am concerned about is getting out into the teaching world, and discovering that very few classrooms are actually modern. That is not to say that I would not be able to teach in that environment, however what if I was thinking of this fantastic lesson plan that involved all these wonderful technologies I have been learning about - but I cannot use them because my school board cannot afford them. Furthermore, what if I am in a school where the students are from a low income bracket where they cannot afford to have a computer at home, or access to the internet? What if that family's choice was not what new app to get, but can we afford to eat a healthy meal 7 days a week?

This raises another question - does technology benefit or isolate kids? What if I am teaching a class where half the kids all have their fancy shiny iPhone's and laptops; and the other half have the old brick Fido circa 2000 and do not have a home computer? Does that student who cannot afford to have a home computer resent me and think I'm a jerk for showing off all these technologies when I know his family cannot afford them? Clearly you design your lesson plans to accommodate this just as you would for any other learning style, but it does create some concerns. I think what is becoming increasingly clear to me is that I need to embrace all these amazing technologies and techniques I am learning about, but it should never be forgotten that the primary resource we have to teach is ourselves. Our passion to teach; our enthusiasm for acquiring knowledge; and our desire to see our students learn and succeed (among other goals) is what we will always rely upon to be great teachers. 

As I continue along my journey towards becoming a 21st century teacher, I look forward to seeing how I will navigate through these concerns. 

What a difference a week can make!

Over the summer I found out I was admitted to the EdTech Cohort here at Brock University's Education Department, and we were given two tasks for the summer: create a Twitter and a Blog account. Throughout the summer I saw this as a bit of an annoyance truthfully because I had never looked at Twitter before, or followed Blog's. I was aware of them, but admittedly did not really understand what all the fuss was about. I have always been keen to follow technology and its advances, however I saw Blogs as an outlet for someone to go on a random tangent, and Twitter as an extension of Facebook status updates of "I drank tea today and walked the dog".

Now rather annoyingly I am eating my own words over these misconceptions. I now have Tweet Deck installed which is a constant fixture on my laptop, and am amazed how excited I am whenever I hear that little sound effect go off indicating a new tweet! But what I am even more amazed at is how much incredible information, literature, resources, and fantastic ideas I am now privy to. There is no way I would have found on my own some of these great sites, articles, blogs, and other fellow educators tweeting and blogging. Now I understand the true value Twitter and Blogs hold, and that is an accessible network of educators sharing and collaborating their amazing depth of knowledge and experience with one another. I think it's fantastic! In only a week I am now following - and being followed by!!; other educators I have never met, in other parts of the country and continent. (Just yesterday another educator referenced a Tweet of mine about the new LeapPad in his blog!) As a teacher in training I find it so inspiring to see such a wonderful network of teachers, all of whom are so readily available and willing to share and collaborate their great ideas. This selflessness is so refreshing after so many years of having it drilled into us on individual performance and merit.

I am reminded of when I use to teach and coach snowboarding. Those first few lessons, and years for that matter - were difficult and nerve wracking! This was attributable to having little experience, knowledge and application, understanding of games, as well as learning styles. However, as the years went on (I taught for 7 seasons) I gained so much experience - which you do not credit yourself with or realize until other instructors start looking to you for tips, tricks, and ideas. Without being fully aware of it, over those years I had been learning from my mistakes, watching other instructors and their techniques carefully so as to apply in my own lessons, spent time on sessions learning from more experienced coaches, and through sheer volume of hours spent teaching and watching so many unique individuals learn, try, fail, and succeed; was I able to compile my own bank of experience and knowledge that I was looked upon to lead sessions to help other instructors and coaches. What this speaks to me is the message and buzzwords I have been hearing for the past week - if teachers are to succeed then we must collaborate - is 100% true!

My point is that if we are able to do and achieve greater things, goals, and ultimately greater success in the classroom for students through collaboration - then whatever tools we can use to make that a reality we must fully embrace and exploit. And in today's world - those tools include Twitter and Blogging! I am now thankful that I did not miss out any longer on being privy to such a valuable network of people and knowledge, and am curious and excited about what the next bit of new and inspiring information I read about will be.

And so it begins!

The first two days of University have come and gone, and what a blast they were! I am very excited about what this program offers, and loving the buzz in the atmosphere in my EdTech Cohort group. I am particularly excited about the technology we will have a chance to use in the classroom, and learning new and creative ways in adapting and unlocking its educational and teaching merits.

From observing how to read a children's book along with the idea of "Think a loud" accompaniment; learning how to adapt the circle chair game to meet new people; to decorating our EdTech Cohort Rocks! "Rocks" - it was all a blast. It was terrific watching how excited everyone was being creative in decorating our rocks, and I loved how it helped unlock the child in us all!

Finishing off the second day we had an assembly with the most animated guest speaker. She was dressed as Mother Goose, and had everyone's sides splitting with laughter. We even all got to sing-along, and I was fortunate enough to have one of the hidden instruments under my seat to play along with! It was fantastic! It really helped reinforce the importance of having fun, and allowing  yourself to drop the seriousness for a moment, and be a kid again. Time and time again it is shown that if you see other people smiling and having fun that it is contagious - and we as future teachers need to lead by example in this regard. I thought it was terrific!

What a fantastic first two days - cannot wait to see what the next week has in store for us all.