Teaching in the 21st Century - Reflection Post

“Learning isn’t easy! Students today must take in and process substantial amounts of information while keeping up with the demands and distractions of their fast paced world. But teaching isn’t easy either! Teachers have the challenge of engaging their students to the point where they can focus on the material at hand, imbibing information and exploring new ideas and concepts.” As I wrote these thoughts in my first blog at the beginning of my practicum experience, I had no idea that they would be the very challenges I would face in Mrs. Lewia’s third grade classroom at Bloomfield Elementary. I have realized that being a teacher in the 21st century depends on one’s ability to energetically and uniquely present the subject material so that students can develop their desire to learn while staying in line with the standardized state goals and learning results.

Teachers cannot possibly do their jobs effectively if they do not employ technology in some way, shape, or form in their classrooms and curriculums. Today’s students need to be constantly stimulated, and many of these students require differentiated instruction to help them grasp new concepts. Employing technology in the classroom is an effective method for developing more independent and creative thinkers. Having computers in the classroom allows students to think and explore beyond what is on the page of a textbook and gives them the opportunity to expand their horizons.

This semester, I have found so many different ways to incorporate technology into the classroom. The way I see it, I-pods, You-Tube, and blogs not just for entertainment anymore. Students who have trouble reading can download the audio book on iTunes and hear the words as they follow along in the actual text. You-Tube, and its teacher friendly counterpart, Teacher-Tube, is a great ways to get students excited about homework assignments. Who wouldn’t want to have to watch a video on Bill Nye the Science Guy to learn about density and mass? Blogs have more academic value than I ever thought possible. Having a class Wiki page to post work to and review the work of fellow classmates gives students the chance to be proud of what they’ve accomplished, while also learning from their classmates.

The tools above do not even begin to encompass what technology has to offer a classroom full of students. Schools with a more substantial budget can afford SMART Boards and carts of laptops to reserve for lessons that will get students actively participating. These tools do not require any specialized training to be adept at using them, and their capacity to take a lesson from a lecture and worksheet to an Internet exploration and assessment is well worth the battle to procure such incredible technology.

There are so many little ways where teachers are already dealing with technology; it is a wonder that so many teachers today are afraid of it being too difficult to use or of it taking away from students’ learning. It is truly impossible not to deal with technology in the 21st century, and the ability to incorporate it into lessons gives teachers the opportunity to sit back while students take control of their own learning experiences. Teaching in the 21st century does not mean spending every second of every day in the computer lab. It means responsibly using the resources technology has made available to enable students to become deeper thinkers, more creative problem-solvers, and more engaged learners.