Describe the most striking revelation you had about the teaching of new literacy skills to your students as a result of this course.
After completing this course I found it very overwhelming, yet refreshing at the same time due to the amount of information that we obtained. I found new ways to introduce students to technology although I was taken back at how much I did not comprehend that using technology involved. As a teacher I am constantly wanted to enhance my knowledge base to bring new, innovative ideas into my classroom but from what I have learned the last eight weeks I found that I was only briefly introducing students to what technology had to offer and not giving them a deeper look which is a skill they will need well beyond my 4th grade classroom. I always understood that everyone learns in different ways, I just never looked at technology as an efficient literacy tool. Maya B. Eagleton and Elizabeth Dobler (2007) state that “since we believe that there is no single method of teaching that will reach all learners at all times in all places, it is imperative that we help children learn how to learn so they can adapt and extend their knowledge and strategies when they encounter new tasks in new contexts” (pg. 8). The most striking revelation I took from this course was that I need to teach students literacy beyond core curriculum and apply literacy skills to all aspects of school learning.
Describe how the knowledge and experience gained in this course will influence your teaching practices going forward.
The knowledge and experiences that I gained in this course will influence my teaching practices because I want to provide a more literacy approach to technology and incorporate technology in every core subject I teach (spelling, reading, writing, social studies, etc.) so students are literate in all aspects as 21st century learners. There was a great amount of detail involved in literacy education that it is frustrating knowing where to begin. I gained new experiences by looking at websites under a new light. I found that I just don’t look at a website anymore; I tour the website to find valid key points, detailed information, and links for proper search techniques. I found new ways to model to my students how to use the internet much more effectively. I hope to give my classes numerous opportunities to explore the web properly for good, detailed information. I want to model for them and give them many opportunities. I want my students to become good investigators of the web. I want to also begin to asses students on different scales with formative and summative assessments through observation, questioning, and good self evaluation skills.
Identify at least one professional development goal you would like to pursue that builds upon your learning in this course and develops your own information literacy or technology skills. Describe the steps you will take to accomplish this goal.
One goal I set for myself before I began this class was to develop a technology plan for my class next year. I wanted to be able to develop and teach new skills incorporating everything students will need to know to be efficient 21st century learners. After I completed this course, I took the first semester plan (that was already created) and re-wrote the entire curriculum. I want to incorporate new, improved literacy skills that will not only be self driven but also something that my students are motivated to do. I am now serving on a new technology committee in my school system and I want to bring in all of the technology applications that have been introduced so students have a broad range of new acquired technology backgrounds when they leave our school system to better equip them for college. I also want to be able to introduce new technology to fellow staff members.
References
Eagleton, M. B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the Web: Strategies for Internet inquiry. New York: The Guilford Press
Jukes, I. (2007). 21st century fluency skills: Attributes of a 21st century learner. Retrieved from http://www.committedsardine.com/handouts/twca.pdf
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program Four. Teaching Online Literacy Skills [Motion Picture]. Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the classroom. Baltimore: Author
