Inspire and encourage educators and students to use technology for civic engagement and to address challenges to improve their communities.
Representative Educational Technology Challenge
LLT 505
I am using an artifact from LLT 505, Perspectives on Instructional Technology and Learning, for this standard. I chose this artifact not because it is directly related to standard 7A but because it represents thinking through a process of change to an educational system. Making intelligent changes in education needs to be considered. Change is difficult, but a positive change could open up opportunities for students to engage in Problem based learning opportunities with their communities.
I have been a teacher for a long time. I can say that not much has changed in standard teaching practice since I entered the field twenty-seven years ago. I even took eight years away from teaching while my children were young. The only significant change I saw in education when I returned to the field was Charlotte Danielson's education framework. Teachers were still doing the same things in the classroom. They were just categorizing their activities differently. I don't mean to diminish the process of evaluating your teaching practice; of course, this is important. But we won't ever see change if all we ever do is assess the same practices over and over.
The problem-based learning activity I had to do for LLT 505 was to develop a diffusion of Innovation plan for a new educational system within an already successful School District. This fictitious educational system provided a way to keep track of each student's personality and learning style. It was a plan to create a unique learning experience for each individual. My job was to plan how a program like this might be introduced to a school district. What would you do to provide evidence that would work to get administrators and parents to buy into the idea? I had to design an action plan for change.
I mentioned above I chose this artifact because it's representative thinking about how to initiate change to make a real difference. If we want to inspire educators and students to use technology for civic engagement to address challenges and improve their communities, those types of activities fall under Problem based learning. There is plenty of research to support the idea that problem-based learning can help students make meaningful connections. Yet, these types of learning experiences are still rare in the classroom. These learning experiences take time, and because education remains so focused on benchmarks and scores, there is little time left to engage in meaningful experiential learning.
While I would certainly never say that I am thankful for a pandemic, Covid-19 has forced education to take a much deeper look at how we educate students. Teachers have been forced out of their comfort zones and need to find new ways to make connections and create learning activities. I hope that positive changes will come out of this experience. Perhaps more schools will be willing to rethink how students learn and create better learning opportunities for students to connect.
LLT 505
I am using an artifact from LLT 505, Perspectives on Instructional Technology and Learning, for this standard. I chose this artifact not because it is directly related to standard 7A but because it represents thinking through a process of change to an educational system. Making intelligent changes in education needs to be considered. Change is difficult, but a positive change could open up opportunities for students to engage in Problem based learning opportunities with their communities.
I have been a teacher for a long time. I can say that not much has changed in standard teaching practice since I entered the field twenty-seven years ago. I even took eight years away from teaching while my children were young. The only significant change I saw in education when I returned to the field was Charlotte Danielson's education framework. Teachers were still doing the same things in the classroom. They were just categorizing their activities differently. I don't mean to diminish the process of evaluating your teaching practice; of course, this is important. But we won't ever see change if all we ever do is assess the same practices over and over.
The problem-based learning activity I had to do for LLT 505 was to develop a diffusion of Innovation plan for a new educational system within an already successful School District. This fictitious educational system provided a way to keep track of each student's personality and learning style. It was a plan to create a unique learning experience for each individual. My job was to plan how a program like this might be introduced to a school district. What would you do to provide evidence that would work to get administrators and parents to buy into the idea? I had to design an action plan for change.
I mentioned above I chose this artifact because it's representative thinking about how to initiate change to make a real difference. If we want to inspire educators and students to use technology for civic engagement to address challenges and improve their communities, those types of activities fall under Problem based learning. There is plenty of research to support the idea that problem-based learning can help students make meaningful connections. Yet, these types of learning experiences are still rare in the classroom. These learning experiences take time, and because education remains so focused on benchmarks and scores, there is little time left to engage in meaningful experiential learning.
While I would certainly never say that I am thankful for a pandemic, Covid-19 has forced education to take a much deeper look at how we educate students. Teachers have been forced out of their comfort zones and need to find new ways to make connections and create learning activities. I hope that positive changes will come out of this experience. Perhaps more schools will be willing to rethink how students learn and create better learning opportunities for students to connect.