When watching the video, “Who Owns the Learning,” shared by Alan November, I was able to connect personally to many of the different things he was sharing. He is expressing that teachers need to know that students need us now more than ever. Even though they have this confidence level with their work, it could be dangerous to them. He also expressed that students need to be able to own their own learning, as well as design their own learning.
When making my own connections, I was able to think about why the teachers at our school do not want to give homework anymore. They know that when students get home, they either Google the answers, or their parents are doing the work for them. Throughout the years homework has really changed, because my parents would have never completed my homework for me, or let me Google anything. However, times have changed, and so has education. Therefore, I agree with Mr. November when he expresses that we, as teachers, are going to need to change the way that we create and present assignments to our students. We need to find better ways to hold the students more accountable for their own learning.
I am excited to learn about digital divide and virtual environments, since these are things that I do not normally have the opportunity to work with. I love it when I am forced to get out of my comfort zone to learn something new, because normally, when that happens, I am teaching other staff members how to use it in their classrooms. With this being my first year teaching PE, it is hard to integrate a lot of the technology into my classroom because I am still just getting the basics down. However, I do plan to “branch out” and implement some new things next year, if not this year.
Digital tools today can engage learners more than we ever could as teachers. The students love being able to do anything electronically. I believe that with the tools that we are taught this semester, we can add more applications and knowledge to our “toolbox of learning” at North LaFayette. Looking back now at how education was presented years ago, I can’t believe the changes that have occurred. We went from traditional textbooks, to one-to-one chromebooks for students. It is amazing to see the things that they can create! I also believe that 2.0 tools can be used to differentiate for the different learning styles as well. There are so many options as to which tools can be used, that the teacher can choose the best option for each child.
I would like to say that although I initially thought that technology was the best thing ever created, I have learned that it has made a lot of children lazy. They are able to take the “easier” way of doing things by using tools, such as Google or YouTube. As a teacher and a mother, I can see both positive and negative when looking at these tools. As education continues to change though, I better get used to seeing things for the way that they are in this new era. Times are changing, and education is changing with it.
I also enjoyed researching the readings throughout this module. I will be the first one to admit that I find often find myself questioning the different between blended and personalized learning. When reading the resources, the quote that stuck out most to me was that, "Blended is not what is being taught, or even the pedagogical decisions of how teaching and learning occurs, but how students access content. On the other hand, personalizing refers to moving away from those learning targets and freeing students to construct their own learning as they go, in an effort to "reach beyond the intellectual and academic outcomes" in order to cultivate the student agency," (Fisher, 2017).
The UDL readings made me realize that we do have a broad range of approaches that can be used with our students. As a county, I would love to see a more uniform way of using these approaches. I feel like each school does things differently in our county. Then, we all wonder why we are performing differently on assessments because we are all teaching the same curriculum. It truly matters how you present the information that you are trying to teach a child.
I also enjoyed looking at all of the models of blended learning. I really wish that we were able to integrate more of these models into our school. However, we tend to stick to the "station model." Some classes may do things differently, but I know that in the co-teaching environment we do use this type of set up. I can see other models being implemented, but some teachers may have some classroom management issues if they aren't prepared for the change. I'm always interested in learning and changing things to better benefit the students. To me, that's what good educators have to do if they want to be successful. Learning and changing as they go will make them successful educators.
- Anthology, The Brainwaves Video. “Alan November - Who Owns the Learning? Preparing Students for Success in the Digital Age.” YouTube, YouTube, 5 May 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOAIxIBeT90.
- Fisher, Julia Freeland. “What's the Difference between Blended and Personalized Learning?” Christensen Institute, Clayton Christensen Institute, 12 Sept. 2017, www.christenseninstitute.org/blog/whats-difference-blended-personalized-learning/.
- “The UDL Guidelines.” UDL: The UDL Guidelines, 31 Aug. 2018, udlguidelines.cast.org/?utm_medium=web HYPERLINK.
- “What Blended Learning Is – and Isn't.” Blended Learning Universe, www.blendedlearning.org/what-blended-learning-is-and-isnt/.
1 Comment
Ray Davis( [email protected] )
1/11/2019 07:12:12 pm
Hello Brandy,
Glad to have you in this class. I was afraid I would be the only one from our cohort in this class because I waited to register a little late. Anyhow, I really enjoyed your post and insights. I loved your comments concerning homework. My own views have changed quite a bit about homework over the years, but I had not considered the Google effect as a reason. I used to give a ton of homework and projects, and yes, I did think that parents must have been involved with some of them based on what was produced. I have heard many comments from teachers over the years about how they battle the same issue. As an administrator, I have been coaching my teachers to consider having the students complete their projects in class to ensure that the students are the ones doing the work. Like you, I do not think that my parents ever completed any of my assignments. Also like you, I agreed with most of Mr. November’s message. The more I listened to him, the more impressed I was with his knowledge and expertise.
I can imagine it is challenging to find ways to include technology in PE classes, but I am quite confident that if anyone can do it, you can. Getting to know you a little bit through our cohort assignments, you clearly have a love of teaching and what you are doing, and you are always one of the first to complete assignments and with quality. It speaks well of your professionalism, work ethic, and character. So, I have no doubt you will find a way to do what you set your mind to doing even if it may have to be in a year or so because of trying to finish this program.
I am excited about learning new digital tools also. You are so correct about all the changes taking place. It is more important than ever to stay current with trends. I am glad we are learning how to do that in this program. You bring up a good point about some of the challenges with technology and how things are changing. A couple of questions come to mind as I ponder some of your points: How should implementing technology in the classroom of tomorrow be viewed? Is technology just a tool, or is it the “end all be all”?
Great post, Brandy. This may have been one of my favorite ones to reply to because it was so well written and the topics so rich. Have a great semester and best wishes with the program.
Ray Davis