Developing a true thinker

I think the key to 21st century skills is seeing that literacy is a skill that is need across many domains. Students need to be literate across all genres. This does not mean that students are reading nonfiction and fiction, but also reading sub-genres within the overarching category. Students also need to know that writing is something that is done across curriculum lines. Writing in the content area will allow our students to see the value behind writing and conveying messages with the highest rate of competency in all academic fields. This will naturally open up the doors for students to be more globally aware as they gain an understanding in many different disciplines through the practice of writing about and reading current events.

While students explore such concepts within all disciplines through a multitude of resources and mediums they will be able to think critically as they synthesis the information they have gathered and begin to theorize information and advance their thought. This is all done with the intention to develop students to problem solve and discover new ways of doing things and looking at things so they can be the most competent members in an increasing competitive global society.

Connectivism

I think connectivism is very similar to the higher level skill of synthesizing. It is one’s opportunity and ability to take knowledge from a verity of different resources and mediums to be used in a way to transform one’s knowledge. It allows the person who has the desire of attaining a true understanding of a concept to sift through these resources/mediums and decipher what is variable to them in terms of their knowledge set and where they would like to take their understanding. Not only does the knowledge gather and transformer need to decipher what is valuable to him/her, but he/she needs to determine what is accurate based on the resources gathered, what is fact or merely another person’s opinion. This allows students to determine what resources are quality based on cross-referencing. I like this concept because students can gather primary information from web resources as well as find information that is presented in graphs, diagrams, pictures, or videos rather than gather information from written resources.

I feel that I am 21 century learner and teacher because I am always using resources that are available at my figure tips. I allow my students the opportunity to use different resources that they see fit for their understanding of concept and I am willing to facilitate their learning of such tools needed to gather information from a multitude of resources. I think that I still have a lot of learning to do in regards to how I can utilize all of technology’s potential at a second grade level that is safe and helpful, but I am willing to take those steps so my students will know where to look and understand the boundless resources that are available.

Best Lesson Using Technology

My best lesson that integrated technology this year was one that utilized the SMARTboard as a way of scaffolding what the students would do independently in the computer lab. To preface the lesson the students have been studying dinosaurs to help them meet their science targets. As a way of assessing their understanding of the target the students are carrying out independent research projects on a dinosaur or an endangered animal. To aid them in their research, I provided the students with a plan sheet that I was able to model finding the research via a copy of an internet page using the camera option, the print capture option (for the importation of the research plan sheet), and the dual screen mode on Notebook 10 (to highlight and make the transfer of paraphrased research onto the plan sheet). After the students saw how they would need to fill out the plan sheet I showed them the steps for using the internet for research so they would have a clear understand of what was expected of them in the computer lab. After I was done modeling, the students had the opportunity to use the computers themselves to conduct their research. To conclude, after the students are done drafting their research they will go to the computer lab to type their final copy.In the future I would like to use the computer lab project to model the lesson because I think some of the students weren’t able to make the transfer from the classroom to the computer lab setting. I just wouldn’t have the SMARTboard component. This year I want to continue to work on getting down to the computer lab so that my students have a good understanding of the conventions of typing as they move on to third grade. I also want to continue to work on making my SMARTboard lessons more interactive so my students have the opportunity to use it on a daily basis.

Best SMARTboard Lesson!

The best SMARTboard lesson I have done this year was when I was observed. I had the opportunity to work with small groups within the classroom. I had the class working in three small groups completing a task that met the target for the different rate of attainment within my classroom. As I called up each group they all worked on finding cause and effect relationships within a sentence by dragging a cloned line under the cause and a cloned box over the effect. After, I had the chance to model their work using the worksheet I imported into SMART notebook. When the students were all done with the lesson I had their pictures all on the bottom of the screen and they had to determine whether or not they were successful in meeting the targets by dragging their name on to a continuum that stated if they met the target or not.