Reflection EDUC 6712

New literacy skills need to be included in the curriculum to prepare 21st century learners for diverse forms of communication. New literacy is changing rapidly and educators need to be able to address the ever changing landscape of literacy in our classroom. Students are now required to question and evaluate information for accuracy. They need to be able to conduct searches for information that will be used to answer questions that have been generated. Once students have researched various pieces of information, they must then synthesize information to make sense of all sources and combine them into an understandable idea (Hartman, 2009). The final component in the new literacy is to communicate the new synthesized information (Hartman, 2009).

The knowledge and experienced gained from this course that will influence my teaching practice is implementation of inquiry based projects that will provide students with rich learning experiences. The students will learn to develop questions to guide their inquiry. They will begin to search for information using different multiple search engines and strategies that will produces relevant information for their topic. Next they will incorporate strategies that will enable them to make judgments based on the ABC’s of evaluating a website which will be modeled by the teacher (Phillips, 2009).

One professional development goal that I will pursue which will build upon my learning in this course is to develop my technology skills. I will address the need to elevate technology skills that will address the needs of 21st century learners. The steps that I will take to accomplish this goal are working with administration and staff to plan the technology the district needs to implement 21st century strategies. The next step will be to introduce and model one digital tool each month in the classroom. Then the students will begin to use these technological tools to complete their projects. The field of technology is rapidly changing and as educators we need to adapt and change the way we educate our students (Warlick, 2009). Therefore, I will participate in workshops, seminars and blog feeds that discuss integrating technology across the curriculum.

References
Hartman, D. (2009). New literacies. (Laureate Educational, Inc., DVD, 2009 release).
Phillips, B. (2009). A teacher's perspective: Evaluating information online. (Laureate Educational, Inc., DVD, 2009 release).
Warlick, D. (2009). Skills for the future. (Laureate Educational, Inc., DVD, 2009 release).

Reflective Final Blog Post EDUC 6713

Photo National Geographic

As the course draws to a close, I have reflected on the strategies for guiding students to be self-directed learners. Reflecting on the Game plan that was developed in this class will allow me to set goals that will address the needs of the diverse learners. When lesson plans are created, technology will be integrated into the content area to meet the needs of all students. The Game plan provided me with a direction for the integration of technology into the classroom which provides flexibility in learning content area material (Ross, 2009).

In the fall, I will implement the Game plan lesson template when creating content area lessons and integrating technology. Through the use of the Game plan, I have learned the importance of engaging students in content area concepts that implementing digital tools such as social networking, digital storytelling and problem-based learning. As John Ross (2009) summed up in the course DVD, technology reaches students who may need additional support to ensure academic success.

When implementing my Game plan in the classroom instruction and assessment needs to be customized to meet the needs of the students. The impact my new learning will have on my instructional practice is to have my students include digital storytelling, problem-based learning and online collaboration as they engage in discovering answers to questions they create in response to content material problems. Students will be encouraged to learn and follow the Game plan to promote self-directed learning as I model the Game plan format in the classroom.

The immediate adjustment that I will make as a result of this course is to engage my students in a collaborative project. I will begin having my students use wikis to collaborate with other students about course content. Students will be involved in collaborating with other students through E-pals. The contents of this course have inspired me to connect with other colleagues who incorporate technology into the classroom and continue to learn from them. The strategies from the course will promote self-directed learning and critical thinking. Integrating technology will enhance my diverse learners to enrich their content-based learning experiences.