So far Johnson has talked about how we can improve our classrooms and our productivity with technology in the past couple of chapters. Chapter 5 informs us how and why we should teach students 21st century skills. As technology is making its way into the classrooms, more than ever should students be prepared during this Information Age with the added skill of information literacy that is just as basic as the s R’s: Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic. Johnson’s (2012) definition of information literacy is “the ability to use information and information technologies to solve problems and answer questions” or just plain old research (p.114). Something that I wish would have existed in my past years of school. You can almost say I was “click, copy, and paste” happy when it came to finding resources for projects, I was never taught how to diligently look for legit sources and how to apply them to the task at hand. He then goes on to explain that as teachers, we must go above and beyond just giving students mediocre assignments using technology skills that have no meaning and will be soon forgotten. To enhance projects with technology we must be able to follow the four A’s that Johnson provides us with. The first A is for assignments, by giving students assignments that matter they are better motivated in learning. Students will be able to see the value of the assignment, engage creativity to come up with a solution, and is somehow relevant to their lives. The second A is for activities, by giving students full range of resources such as allowing secondary sources, experimenting, technology, presenting information in more than one way, and working collaboratively, they are discovering through a hands on approach and thinking on a higher level. The third A is assessment, providing students with a rubric to show them what is expected of them, that way as they progress through their final project they are able to guide their own learning through each step of the way. And the final A is attitude, which I believe to be a huge factor on whether or not a student learns. If we don’t feel comfortable teaching a certain thing or believe that students can complete an assignment that radiates into the classroom. We must be confident in what we’re doing and tackle anything that pops up and take it in as just another learning experience for the students’ sake as well as ours. Johnson ends the chapter by citing the differences between engage and entertain, which I happen to hear a lot in the break room. It basically boils down to children needing more active learning, which is what engagement is all about. When we engage students, they are learning hands on and thinking critically, entertainment is like watching television, we just sit there and watch. Overall this chapter states the obvious that many want to avoid for their own benefit, students are not the only ones who have to be engaged or creative in learning, teachers as well. When you love what you do and go above and beyond, that filters into every student in your classroom and is what teaching is all about, teaching our students to love to learn.
Reference: Johnson, D. (2012). The classroom teacher’s technology survival guide. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
We as teachers can introduce assignments that require the use of technology. This helps students to use the skills they already have and develop more useful skills. Technology allows students to be creative, learn how to research, learn how to organize thoughts and information, and how to communicate. Several jobs will require technology skills. Assignments for science, social studies, and language arts can easily be made to require technology. This also may allow time to work in groups which develops social skills for the students.
As our society continues to grow and advance as educators so should we. Just knowing how to turn on a computer just does not make it any longer. Becoming really knowledgeable in a 21st century classroom, the teachers need to be open, and willing to learning new skills. Having a working knowledge of all the new and inventive technology skills for classrooms is important. What is equally important is also having a working knowledge of how to use these skills to help the students in our classrooms.
Hello Jennifer, Mediocre assignments with technology are not pushing the child to learn at all. We want children to gain a positive impact when learning through technology. One of the most modern ways I have seen technology used is through one of my observations and was called breakthrough to literacy. Breakthrough to literacy is where the student has a teacher selected weekly book. It will be followed by verbally hearing the book, answering questions, and playing interactive games that will help the child understand the book. This is one way technology can be used to enhance learning.
I thought it was a good chapter and as the author stated there is a difference between engaging and entertaining students. When teachers look at it from this perspective they will have a greater understanding on why it is important to help children develop skills in technology. Do you think most teachers will ever grasp this concept?
Thank you everyone for the responses, I think we can all agree that as teachers we must be willing to continue learning for the sake of our students. What kind of teacher would I be if I only taught them how to type on Word? The kind that would not be setting up her students for success. To answer your question Caprice, I think the majority understands the concept but perhaps it is the students who make it harder? I remember being in 6th grade math class and a boy just flat out saying, this is boring. The teacher came up to him and basically told him that she was not a clown and that she was not here for his entertainment. She was there to do her job and now it was time do his. Well his parents requested a conference that week and had the nerve to ask, what the teacher was doing. The teacher didn't back down and told them the same thing. Back to your question, yes teachers grasp the concept, perhaps it is others who do not.
Hello, Jennifer I agree with what you say about when we were students, that copying information instead of going to reliable and authentic sites was what most of us used to do back in the day. However, I think that far from being our fault, teachers should have put more effort in designing assignments that would call for our engagement and personal interest. Johnson expreses, “ teachers, celebrate ambiguity”. (Johnson, 2012)With this statement I believe that Johnson is trying to let us know that we should be challenging our students, so that they become capable of looking for information using the necessary skills. Resources Johnson, Dough (2012) The Classroom Teacher’s Technology Survival guide (1st. ed.) Jossey-Bass Teacher, A Wiley Imprint.
You hit the nail right on the head, copy and paste was my best friend back in the day, I was unaware of the proper way to cite sources and give credit where it was due. I believe the preparation given to me was subpar and not a tool i really learned to utilize until I reached high school and by that time things had changed 10 times over. It is important for educators to keep up with the time to fully give students the education they deserve in this fast changing world.
While reading chapter five of Doug Johnson’s, The Classroom Teacher’s Technology Survival Guide, I found that the “21st century skills” were a reoccurring theme. The whole chapter centered around the idea that the next generation will need to have communication, technology, information literacy, creative, problem solving, teamwork, and critical thinking skills (Johnson, 2012). I agree that these skills are very important for the younger generation to have, and these are skills we now focus on even in preschool. In order to teach students, they need to understand why they need to learn something. If they don’t understand why something is important, or will be important, they will likely go through the motions (Johnson, 2012). As a teacher, and a student, I completely agree with this idea. As a student, I hate higher-level math because I have never needed to use it in my every day life. As a preschool teacher, I have been guilty of not explaining why we need to learn certain things. For example, many children jump while brushing their teeth. After I explain that jumping could cause them to fall, them think about it and usually stop jumping. Students tend to learn better when they are interested in a topic (Johnson, 2012). I love that this was included, because I believe it is the truth. Apparently other educators do as well, because my program is now focusing on doing child lead studies instead of themes. This means the teacher isn’t the one who chooses what units are taught in the classroom. For example, if I have a class of children that are really interested in cars, we would do a study on cars. During this time, the children would lead the learning process, and I would provide the materials and direct the academics of the study. My job is also to ask tons of open-ended questions that will help the children think outside of the box and build on what they already know. This allows the children to be interested in what is being taught, which should leave to children being more engaged. Another part, of the chapter, that really stood out to me was, “Why Robots Make the Best Students.” This section explained that robots don’t question the teacher’s authority, they keep their eyes straight forward, and they learn at the same pace (Johnson, 2012). I loved this, because it was all so true. This is exactly what most teachers believe is the best student. However, it isn’t a reality, and it isn’t the best way to learn. Other countries have already figured out that having these expectations is only hurting learners. We are still stuck in our old ways, because this is what was expected of us when we were in school. Educators need to get away from this way of thinking. We need to start finding new ways to teach students without treating them like robots.
References Johnson, D. (2012). The Classroom Teacher’s Technology Survival Guide. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Hello Kaylie, I did enjoy when you talked about why robots make the best students. This also caught my attention because I questioned why. Robots do not question the teachers authority, they just listen and are very focused on what you are teaching them. For students they question everything and are curious which is not a bad thing but makes it hard for the teacher because they never know when a child is understanding or believing in what they are saying. Robots are the best students, but having the students question what they are being taught makes them more deep learners and curious about the world around them.
I think child lead studies can be a good way to teach children; but how much should be child? I think there needs to be a balance, children still need some type of guided theme.
I also agree with the topic that students learn better when they are interested in a topic. I have learned this through many observations and fieldwork experiences. One of the classes I am taking I have to do a week long project and as I decided to choose what the theme would be my teacher explained the importance of observing what interests the students to keep them engaged and focused through the activities and instruction.
Hello, Kaylie Even though I work with young children, my program is also now introducing case studies instead of themes. I liked your example of studying cars, because that is exactly what happened in my two year old classroom; I noticed that children were very interested on this topic, so I conducted a lesson plan based on transportation. Your example of “why robots make the best students” (Johnson, 2012) also called my attention from the textbook, and I agree with you, expecting that children stop their curiosity is only going to hurt their learning. Resources Johnson, Dough (2012) The Classroom Teacher’s Technology Survival guide (1st. ed.) Jossey-Bass Teacher, A Wiley Imprint.
According to Doug Johnson, “in the age of educational accountability, too many classrooms seemed to be gearing all their instructional efforts toward helping students master left-brain skills because these are what standardized tests measure” (page 137). As an educator it is important to focus slightly on what is on standardized tests, but it is very important to balance by teaching right and left-brain skills. Through this book The Classroom Teacher’s Technology Survival Guide we are reading chapter five, Teaching 21-st Century Skills. As I stated earlier it is important to use the left and right brain while teaching the students to master six skills. According to Doug Johnson, “although these sets of standards have different organizational structures and emphases, they all recommend that schools should be helping all students master: informational literacy skills, technology skills, communication skills, creativity, problem-solving skills, and personal traits and ahbits” (page 113-114). Mastering all of these skills will help the student succeed throughout school and in the future. Learning about informational literacy helps the student know how to research about topics for personal reasons or papers. This ties in with problem solving because it gives the child ways to work through problems and use information to work through it. A child learning this particular skill will help the student confront obstacles and provide solutions. This book is mostly about technology, so the teacher needs to provide multiple opportunities for the students to practice with it. With technological skills there are four A’s that we can follow when designing technology. The four A’s are assignments, activities, assessments, and attitudes. An educator needs to provide instructional, easy to follow technological skills including all four A characteristics. As the student is growing older and joining speaking programs communication will have to be mastered. There are many types of communication. First is teaching the child to be able to share anything with other students, teachers, and parents. A big key factor is to always have that communication skill under your belt. These last two skills work hand in hand bringing up the first topic we went over. The two skills are creativity and personal trait/ habit. When talking about using the right brain this is when the student will be able to use their ability to create a masterpiece of their own. When thinking of personal traits the children can use either left and right brain showing their strengths and weaknesses. Teachers have a responsibility to their students by giving them knowledge of the six standards this chapter taught me how important it is to teach 21st century skills to students. Johnson, D. (2012). The Classroom Teacher’s Technology Survival Guide. Jossey-Bass: CA.
As educators, we have to stay flexible in their learning of 21st-century skills, but they also have to open in how they are going to teach this skills in their classrooms. As technology is growing at rapid rates educators have to stay growing and learning rapidly too.
Educator’s classrooms are where new learning processes take place and as we (educators) stay current we are opening new doors for our students. Chapter 5 of our text book informs and gives us tips and tools to implement 21-st century skills into the classroom. The thing most parents do worry about is, will their children be able to keep up with what the 21st-century is offering. Our text states, “As painful as it sounds to add one or more skill set to an overburdened curriculum, the case can easily be made that information literacy is as necessary a skill in the Information Age as the basic R’s of Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic have been in the past”, (P.114). With all the technology brings to educators and their classrooms, finding new and innovative ways to teach it to in the classroom make a few educators uneasy. Our text talks about the “fourth R” that the educators have to use in their curriculum. “A simple definition of information literacy is “the ability to use the information to solve problems and answer questions.” In one sense, information literacy is a much-expanded term for the fourth R- plain old Research”, (P.114). Today’s students have access to learning capabilities that some of us could not dream so it is vital that today’s educators keep up with those capabilities. Today’s students need to stay updates on their critical thinking skills, learning how to think through and solve problems, work in teams and build on their creativity. These are skills that are hard taught, but these skills are a must in learning technology in the 21st-century.
It is an educator’s job to find a way to relate to their students when implementing new learning skills. Finding ways to make new materials relevant. “As teachers, we are comfortable with our familiar old secondary sources of references books, magazine indexes, and trade books”, (P.119). Educators have to learn to tap into their high learning skills and teach within their disciplines. Just as educators are teaching important learning disciplines they have to engage the students in 21st-century learning skills too.
The important lesson in this chapter is that learning and growing as educators are where students learn and grow too. 21st-century skills are our future and we have to stay in the know and up to date. “Our society and educational system sadly see many of the opportunities just as listed “extras”- frills that are often the first to be cut in times of tights budgets. We are doing a disservice to our students as future works and citizens by doing so”, (P.134). As educators learn and grow in implementing 21st-century skills in the classroom, they are modeling, providing support and the resource their students need to in their learning.
Reference: Johnson, D. (2012). The classroom teacher’s technology survival guide. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
According to Doug Johnson a few thoughts about Creativity in the 21st century there are quite a few skills listed pertaining to creativity as one of those abilities tomorrow’s most productive workers will need to possess. We in education are supposed to be producing creative graduates. It’s something we are as educators give a good deal of lip service to like and think we encourage student’s, but only to a degree. Too much creativity makes us a little nervous, and the student who is less creative is also less challenging. “Reading the side bar about Why Robots Make the Best Students.” The most important in teaching technology in the 21st century is to make sure that the children know how to use technology because we are in an age where technology is needed in every area of life. We are coming to an age where robots will be taking over our jobs and people will be eliminated from positions. The more you are able to use technology the better your chances are at keeping a job. We must also know how to stay safe when using technology. The must be taught the do’s and don’ts of social media to protect themselves from physical danger and long term financial danger. It is important that the children have fun while learning. We all know children learn through play and it’s the process not the product that is the true measure of learning. Teaching the children is like building their future, it helps you guide them to use what’s in their environment. Technology in 21st century helps children because some are well versed using technology and to be able to teach children makes me happy because I can see how excited the children when using technology. There is an increase in dependence on technology because it requires less energy than normal bodily function, technology itself is becoming an extension of the body. We rely on autocorrect for basic spelling, we rely on technology for food, we rely on technology for almost everything. With more exposure to technology, especially phones, everybody is lost behind a screen involuntarily losing all originality due to the fact that technology only fulfills the need for attention because there is a connection to more people.
Hi Tanesha, I liked how Johnson provided us a list to see if in the future a machine could take over our jobs. Isn't that sad? The more technology that is invented, the more people are losing their jobs. The bank by my house replaced over 75% of their tellers with automated machines. I walked in the other day and a handful of staff were left and all these machines were there where a friendly face greeted you. It's sad that those who are looking into what they want to do for their rest of their lives have to think, will my job be securing in the next couple of years? Good post.
Hi Tanesha, That's crazy how machines can take over certain jobs. I mean I thought it was crazy that McDonald's wanted to replace their tellers with machines. It's nice to have a friendly face to interact with. Do you think there is a downfall to machines taking over jobs, minus people losing their jobs?
Many jobs are turning to robotics and technology to replace human employment. This is a very good reason to teach our students about technology while we have them in class. I like how you mentioned creativity. Technology allows students to be very creative in a variety of ways, just like how we use voice thread this week. Learning skills for the 21st century teach students how to research, how to organize thoughts and information, and how to communicate. All these skills will be needed once students enter the workforce.
HI Tanesha! I agree that it is so important to encourage students to be creative! In today's society, it pays to be creative and think in a way that is different from other people. Therefore, it is extremely important to give students the encouragement and opportunity to work on these skills in the classroom. I also liked that you emphasized the importance of teaching students to use technology. It is unreasonable to think any student isn't going to have to use technology daily. I agree it is important to teach students how to use social media. It is a dangerous world, so students need to be taught when social media can put them in danger. They should also be aware that what they post on social media and have consequences. Our job as educators is to help create productive members of society, and that can't happen if our students are ruining their chances at getting a job through social media.
I think technology taking over more jobs is happening more and more, and you are right in order to have a job in the future you have to know how to use technology, and master technology. I agree that technology is becoming an extension, it is amazing how many young children have tablets, phones, or laptops that they are able to use better than I can.
You made some great points here in your post! To your point about robots taking over our jobs is spot on…so many places I’ve been lately have started to replace humans with machines. As a classmate mentioned, my local bank has about 7 new atms and only 2 people at the window. I’ve seen dessert dispensers at a cupcake shop, lots more self checkout lines, and even a machine operated best buy at the airport. Although this world is changing in the blink of an eye it is important that we continue to teach students how to remain “human” through it all.
In chapter five of The Classrooms Teacher’s Technology Survival Guide, Johnson discusses the need for technology skills in the 21st century. One of the skills he talks about is information literacy. Information literacy is an expansion on researching. It teaches students how to come up with good questions about a topic. They also learn how to locate relevant data and identify reliable information. Students develop skills to organize information and suggest solutions to a problem as well as use media to communicate their findings. These skills prepare them for the workforce world. Johnson says that students need to be practicing information problem solving every day in class. He suggests some easy ways to accomplish this. One way is to have students check the local weather forecast and suggest a dress code for the following days. Students can also search for and do a report on interesting facts about an author of a book the class has already read or use a upcoming book. Collaborate with other teachers and allow students to email students in other classes asking questions about specific topics. Students can also pretend to be movie critics and give a verbal review of a T.V. show or movie. By developing these 21st century skills students are allowed to show their own creativity. Creativity can be shown through visual displays of artwork, music skills, athletics, dancing, storytelling, humor, teambuilding, problem solving, and creating leaders. This can help students gain confidence and learn things about themselves that they had not discovered before. Teachers need to be current on their books and information to properly inform their students. We should give students choices and stress higher level thinking skills and creativity. We should give students a variety of information finding tasks and allow students to do hands on learning. I teach a cooking class to third through fifth graders. This chapter gave me some ideas to use for this class. I have always said the students have to take one “thankful” bite. One reason is because students do not know if they like something until they try it. Another reason is for students to understand all the steps it took to prepare food and how much work it is to get food to the consumers. If we were making mash potatoes, I could have students research how potatoes are planted, picked, cleaned, transported to stores, displayed in stores, and cooked at home. I think this would be a good opportunity for students to apply the 21st century skills
Hi Jennifer, like I mentioned in my post, I wish I was taught information literacy skills (research) back when I was in high school. My best friend was copy and paste with a few changes, but that didn't mean I learned or even read what I was doing. My grades suffered and I learned the hard way. As I got older my skills were perfected in this new jungle of information as Johnson likes to call it. Now there is too much to navigate and I can say that I better and better each year. I for one love that it is considered a skill that should be taught because it'll better prepare our students as we send them off year after year onto their future careers. Good post!
Hey Jennifer, I think it's great that students are being taught how to navigate the web. In high school I was taught simple computer skills, like how to use word and excel, but never how to navigate the web and how to use certain apps and tools properly. I had no idea what google advanced was until last week. It's so much easier now to look for information. seeing how advanced technology is now and how much it changes. Children should be taught the skills to use it properly to have the upperhand in the future. Now how can a teacher who isn't familiar with technology teach it in the classroom? do you think schools will look for people who are more equipped to teach it?
Hi Jennifer! I really liked that you included the importance of teaching information literacy. This is a skill that students really need to have when entering the workforce, because many jobs require people to find the answers on their own. Students need to be able to be creative and inventive while solving problems. I agree that students need to be provided with resources that are up to date in order to find accurate information. It can be very frustrating if a student is using the skills to find the correct answer, but is he/she is unable to find a reliable answer due to out of date resources. The teacher should be conscious of what materials he/she is providing for students to find information.
I really like how you include navigating the web and different ways to include technology into everyday lessons. I like how you also mentioned cooking and how you have to try something to know if you like it, but you have to be willing to give it a try.
Chapter five of the textbook explains the way in which teachers nowadays are committed and expected to teach students “21st- Century skills”. However, how can we be sure we are teaching them the needed skills? How can we make sure they are processing the right information? According to Johnson, “Today’s schools are not teaching the skills our students will need in tomorrow’s technology-infused, global economy and society” (Johnson, 2012, page 113). In my personal experience, sometimes I find myself regarding “21st- century” skills as fancy skills that I don’t know anything about yet, such as handling sophisticated softwares or learning difficult computer tasks. That was my thinking before I read this chapter. Now, what then, should educators teach children in order to help them acquire these and other skills? According to Johnson “personal traits and habits that enhance lifelong learning abilities, like curiosity, tenacity, self assessment, teamwork, and critical thinking” (Johnson, 2012, page 114). I believe that this is pretty accurate, since we should be “planting seeds” today so that children can have these bases, in order to keep up with the challenges of this century. Something that truly called my attention is what the author explains about creativity. According to Johnson, “Quite number of “21st- century skill” list include creativity as on of those abilities tomorrow’s most productive workers will need to possess”(Johnson, 2012, page 129). I have been thinking about creativity as the base of many ways of learning and teaching; I was suspecting that it has been underestimated and now I have confirmed it. As educators, we should start regarding creativity as a major skill that should be developed in order to think out of the box and foment problem-solving skills. According to Johnson, “If we wish for students to master 21st- century skills, we need to model them” ”(Johnson, 2012, page 135). Sometimes, as educators, we tend to forget about some critical steps and strategies in teaching, such as the one that I just mentioned, which is creativity. I also believe that we tend to forget about putting children in the position of practicing what they have learned and experimenting with new know ledge and skills. Johnson explains that “Practicing information problem solving needs to be a daily activity for every student in our schools, not just a biennial “event” “”(Johnson, 2012, page 126). I know that for some educators (as myself) it becomes a real challenge to get children engaged in activities and maintain an ongoing learning environment. Sometimes we may even find ourselves trying to entertain children, instead of engaging them. Johnson explains that “In learning environments, entertainment and engagement look quite different, and its easy to tell them apart” “”(Johnson, 2012, page 127). Whenever we identify our classroom being a place for entertainment instead of engagement, we must look for strategies that provide the opportunity to change the situation and give space for involvement. If I had to choose only one phrase to teach by from the whole textbook, I would go for the following one: “When today’s children disappear for hours on end, it is often not to watch television (a passive form of entertainment) but to play videogames, chat, and interact with Internet sites (active forms of engagement) ” (Johnson, 2012, page 128)”.
Resources Johnson, Dough (2012) The Classroom Teacher’s Technology Survival guide (1st. ed.) Jossey-Bass Teacher, A Wiley Imprint.
In this new age of technology things have move along faster and further, then some expected. Educators have to stay abreast of what is new and exciting, so they can teach their students these new skills too. When students are learning new skills it prepares them what is new and exciting in the world. As students get more comfortable with technology it will allow them to have a better understanding how technology skills are a part of their day to day learning.
In today’s society technology is always changing. What might have been a technology update a month ago might be something totally different today. As technology is changing teachers in the classroom have to keep up with how fast technology is advancing every day. In our text chapter five talks about “teaching 21st-century skills “to our students. This mean that they should be learning skills that they will need in the future. According to the text “ But we’ve all heard the rumblings that today’s schools are not teaching the skills our students will need in tomorrow’s technology-infused, global economy and society” (pg. 113). A lot of times the reason why teachers are not teaching 21st technology is because the classroom don’t even have up-to-date computers. Another reason is because teachers are not well trained themselves in order to teach 21st technology. You can’t teach anything you have not mastered yourself but children still need to have these skills because technology is taking over and you will have to be able to keep up with all its advancements. The text explains that teachers should be helping all children master information literacy skills, technology skills, communication skills, creativity, problem solving skills and personal traits and habits that enhance lifelong learning abilities. These skills should be taught so that children are able to have 21st –century skills. Skills that will help them get the job they want. Skills that will help them in college to create presentations and do research papers. This is where creativity comes in at. When we think of creativity we always think about art. According to the text “Quite a number of “21st – century skill” list include creativity as one of those abilities tomorrow’s most productive workers will need to possess” (pg. 129). Students having creativity will be able to problem solve and know how to deal effectively with a problem whether it be mechanical or human. The text explains that creativity must be accompanied by craft and discipline (pg. 130). I never thought about creativity on this level until reading the text. I was that one person who that thought creativity was all about art. But now I see it means so much more. As I stated before teachers have to understand and be willing to learn new skills. If the teacher don’t know how can the children that they teach be able to learn 12st- century technology skills. Teachers can do so much more in the class with these skills. According to the text teachers will be able will be able to create projects that processes not just facts. Teachers can encourage students to research areas of personal interest on-line. Teachers will also encourage students in nontraditional ways, and support students learning environments. Technology is here to help all students not only have school success but success beyond school when teachers are teaching 21st-century skills. Reference: Johnson, D. (2012). The classroom teacher’s technology survival guide. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
Natasha, Technology is a major part of today’s society and if an individual lack the skills to perform tasks that require the use of certain equipment or devices they will basically not be able to function in the classroom or workplace. The 21st century skills will help prepare students for future careers or higher educational adventures. Yes, there are teachers who may not have mastered technology use as of yet but they should seek ways to assure that they receive the proper trainings needed to teach in the classroom. Some jobs offer their employees trainings so that they can be up-to-date on their knowledge and capabilities of technology.
In our society today we are able to request a car with a click of a button and even spending money without leaving the house. Technology is everywhere and we all need to be equipped on how to be successful using in. And that learning starts in the classroom. Chapter 5 ‘Teaching 12-st Century Skills’ gives us tips, tools and idea on how to implement 21-st century skills into the classroom. Most parents worry about if their child is slacking in school or if they can keep up, but with technology being a big part of our society parents are now worrying about if their children will be able to keep up with what the 21st-century is offering. “As painful as it sounds to add one or more skill set to an overburdened curriculum, the case can easily be made that information literacy is as necessary a skill in the Information Age as the basic R’s of Reading, writing, and arithmetic have been in the past”, (Johnson,2012, pg.114). As a future parent that to me is worrisome. Not only does my child have to learn reading, writing and arithmetic, but now they have to learn technology skills. That is a lot and easily understandable, but our society is changing and becoming more technology advanced we have to make sure our children are equipped to succeed. With all the new apps, and different technology that is being introduced tend to make teachers and educators wary and nervous about coming up with innovative ways to incorporate it into the classroom. As I’m reading this chapter I too get nervous. First, I’m not that tech savvy as I said before and also, I don’t use technology into my classroom. So, in the future how am I going to be able to incorporate technology into my classroom. The text mentions the fourth R” and how educators have to use it in their teaching and curriculum. “A simple definition of information literacy is “the ability to use the information to solve problems and answer questions.” In one sense, information literacy is a much-expanded term for the fourth R- plain old Research”, (Johnson 2012,pg.114). Technology is always changing and it’s our jobs as educators to make sure our students are up-to-date on the newest and latest technology. We must make sure they have all the resources they need to succeed in this world. “As teachers, we are comfortable with our familiar old secondary sources of references books, magazine indexes, and trade books”, (Johnson, 2012,pg.119). I am so used to going to the library and looking things up and doing my research, so having to use the internet as a main source takes some time to get used to. Last week when we learned about google advanced search it was great because it actually made doing research easier and faster. Instead of me just typing into google what I wanted to find and having to look through website after website just to find what I needed it was great to learn about an easier way.
Reference: Johnson, D. (2012). The classroom teacher’s technology survival guide. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
I had never heard of Web Quest or Internet Projects until this lesson. I did not really like the Internet Project just because I think it would take too much time researching and navigating through the site. I enjoyed the Web Quest better because it was more of an assignment and it is easily broken down into steps for the students to follow. I also had never heard of Voice Thread. I thought it was very neat to use. I thought it would be good to use in class for an “All About Me” lesson. Students could make slides according to characteristics they hold and they could also upload pictures of themselves and their families. I could also use it after we read a book as a class. Students could discuss favorite characters, plots, climax, ending, or their favorite part of the story. All of the sites we used this week allowed students to be very creative. It also shows them how to work as team and develop social and communication skills. I liked in Voice Thread how the user could change the colors, make it interactive, and how it had options on how you could comment. I think 3rd-5th grade would really enjoy using this for assignments.
Johnson mentions a couple things in this weeks reading although there were a couple things that stuck out to me. One thing he mentioned were the four A’s for assignments. I have often thought about the assignment, the assessment and the activity that goes along with it however I haven’t really ever thought about the attitude as part of planning. There is always the hope that the lesson will work and everybody will like the lesson and will be able to achieve the goals of the lesson, but that’s it. Usually when I try a lesson that flops horribly I look at the lesson and see what I could have done differently, however I rarely go back to it, and the last thing that Johnson states it that teachers need to keep trying to do the lesson again in the future, don’t just give up on the lesson. Another thing that I took a lot of interest in was a few thoughts of creativity. It stats that creativity isn’t always art but also includes discipline and creativity in other areas. Resources Johnson, D. (2012). The classroom teacher’s technology survival guide. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
Teaching 21st-Century Skills was a very enlightening chapter. The author states, “But we’ve all heard the rumblings that today’s schools are not teaching the skills our students will need in tomorrow’s technology-infused, global economy and society (Doug Johnson 2007). I think this statement has some validity. Teachers are not teaching students the skills needed to become successful for the future. Many of these skills need to be developed in major divisions such as information -literacy, technology skills, communication and problem-solving (p. 113). Many schools are beginning to implement new ways of teaching students how to conduct and learn different methods of technology usage. These methods will increase students learning abilities as they create guided curriculums in the classroom. The Four A’s are extremely relevant to helping students develop 21st-Century Skills. Assignments, activities, assessments and the student’s attitudes are major components needed to improve and enrich students learning abilities. Students skills can be properly developed when they have a precise understanding of their assignments; it is also encouraging to students when they are given choices concerning their assignments. This can make the projects more interesting when assignments are given to students that are pertinent to their life, they can gain a greater understanding of the assignment. As students choose topics they learn to answer real questions, they learn to do research and they are able to interact through hands on learning. Project-based learning is designed to guide students as they learn to build information skills to use in technology. I was not very familiar with this topic but after reading it I think it is a very clever way to get students engaged as they interact with technology. There is so much they can learn through technology. Reference Johnson, D. (2012). The Classroom Teacher’s Technology Survival Guide. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
After this weeks required readings Johnson (2012) discusses the three attempts that have been made to predict the skills our students will need in the 21-century that all recommend schools help their students master. These skills are, information literacy skills, technology skills, communication skills, creativity, problem-solving skills, and personal traits and habits. Furthermore, he talks a little more about these skills and explains Information literacy being able to take information technology and use it to solve problems and answer questions. (pg. 115) Johnson, (2012) explains how teachers can teach these 21st-century skills by incorporate technology into the lesson and activities in the classroom. One way to this is by enhancing different projects with the four A’s and extending lessons in groups or involving all students. Johnson goes over projects that teachers and learners can enjoy with the use of technology. These fun activities and assignments are all shared by characteristic being grouped into four categories. The first A assignments include projects having clarity of purpose and expectations, giving students choices, relevant to the student’s life, higher-level thinking skills, and that answer real questions. I think this is important, because it engages the students in projects they can participate in. There are several lessons I have worked on with my students as young as preschool and I have incorporated technology in them. For example, one study we did was on insects and we introduced several different insects to our students when it came to discussing aunts we went outside, and made graphs, but we also watched educational video clips on aunts. The students could visually see the aunts and how they live through their own eyes. I saw how engaged they were and able to answer questions. Next, he explains the second A of activities that matter that involve a variety of information-finding tasks, that are hands-on, use technology, ask students to communicate more than just verbally, complex, and collaborative. The third A being assessments that matter are results that are shared, using authentic assessment tools, providing examples and samples, and allowing learners to reflect on their projects. Lastly, the fourth A Attitude, Johnson (2012) describes teachers who enjoy authentic, project-based learning. (pg.126) I think this chapter is a great one because it helps teachers to understand and appreciate when preparing and conducting project based lessons into the classroom. Before educators can introduce these projects, they should be well thought out. Sometimes we tend to jump into a lesson or try to teach our students something that just doesn’t go well, but it can if just listen to them. Reference Johnson, D. (2012). The Classroom Teachers Technology Survival Guide. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Jessica, It is amazing how technology has taken a toil on today's society. If a person is not literate enough in how to incorporate technology in his or her lifestyle they will find themselves struggling. Teachers, therefore have to be on their "A" game to provide students with sufficient amount of education that includes technology for the 21st century skills in preparation to be equipped for using the four R's.
Reading Chapter 5 of Doug Johnsons book has been very insightful. This particular chapter reviews and disccuses the benefits of sharing 21st century technological skills with out students. Our world is changing so quickly so that means that so are our classrooms. Many people think that technology is "slowing us down" or "making us lazy" when in fact, it is helping us work smarter not harder! It is critical that as we are teaching our students we are also learning, Methods of instruction change just like everything else. Johnson (2012) says, “If we wish for students to master 21st- century skills, we need to model them” (p.135).Being a proactive and encouraging educator it is important that we step out of our comfort zone of just books, magazines and newspapers but that we utilize all of the information out there for our benefit. Technology gives us the opportunity to really and truly say "the sky is the limit" what do you want to know, we can find it! The best “Survival Tip” I’ve read thus far is Douglas’ (2012) “Making sure students understand why something they need to learn is or will be important to them is probably the most important but most neglected part of a teachers role. Unless you can convince sudents of the WIIFM (What’s In It For Me) of the information or skill you are teaching, they will at best go through the motions” (p.117). I’m sure many of us as children hear the phrase “because I said so”, “Don’t ask why, just do it”, and“because I’m the adult and you’re the child”. Treating students with respect that we would give to anyone else will encourage them to listen to you and truly soak in you reasoning for trying to help them. It is important that we explain the benefits of the tools we are introducing to students, we must show them how it can help them at the moment and in their future. On a more personal note, before I knew about Google Docs, I was hesitant to use anything other than Microsoft Word, boy oh boy did I miss out for a long time. It wasn’t until a couple lost assignments later that decided to check it out. A technology professor shared with my class that Google Docs saves as you type and you could take it anywhere we went, it was heaven sent. For about 4 of our classes he moved us around campus without our laptops to show us we could be anywhere to access our documents. Because my professor shared the benefits with me and explained how it could change my life I was more open to it and willing to try and listen. Best switch I’ve ever made!
Johnson, D. (2012). The classroom teacher’s technology survival guide. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Great Post this week. I like how you mentioned that statement from Douglas (2012) and I definitely agree that this "survival tip" is something teachers need to keep in mind. I have had many instances throughout my education when Ive thought to myself "why do I need to learn this?" But when a teachers is able to explain the importance and significance of learning the content I am more interested and engaged in the learning.
Refelection: As educators we are always still learning and growing right along with our students. Most of our students come into our classrooms with skills and knowledge that we (educators) have to take timeout to learn. Today’s classroom are 21st century ready, so helping our students embrace these skills and how to use them properly in the classrooms is the goal. Understand that just knowing how to use technology does not mean we know how to teach it to our students. That why it is important that we (educators) take classes or professional developments courses.
Teaching 21st Century Skills The 21st Century Skills are a set of standards that recommends that schools help their students to develop and master informational literacy skills, technology skills, communication skills, creativity, and problem-solving skills (Johnson, 2012). These skills are essential to students’ success as it provides them with the necessary information needed for learning, literacy, and life skills. The Information Age required that students be taught the three R’s: Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic. Information literacy need to expand as the fourth R is added, Research. For enhancement of projects, Mr. Johnson discusses the four A’s: assignments, activities, assessment, and attitude. The assignments will give students a purpose for learning, choices, relevant to their lives, cause for higher thinking skills, and answer real questions. The activities provide hands-on, technology use, collaboration, and information finding tasks. Assessment results, such as test scores, can be shared with family members and professionals. The students can review, revise, and reflect on final projects to make improvements. The attitude on the part of the teacher and student is extremely important for teaching and learning as the Mr. Johnson survival tip states, “Students inherently that a job not worth doing is not worth doing well (Johnson, 2012, p. 124).” Technology in the classroom as we have discovered through reading the previous chapters have its advantages for teachers and students by incorporating it into the curriculum and keeping it upgraded for better productivity. Mr. Johnson is informing us that as educators of the importance of us being aware of incorporating technology in our teaching to assist students with learning through different styles and forms. Teachers use technology devices and programs for instructional support to meet developmental needs as it allows access to information which promotes the use of their critical thinking and improves interpersonal communication skills while making connections to the complex world. Reference: Johnson, D. (2012). The Classroom Teacher's Technology Survival Guide. Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass.
When it comes to teaching 21st century skills in the classroom, and integrating technology there is no right or wrong way. The important thing is that we are teaching the students the necessary skills they need to succeed in our economy and society. What does 21st century teach and learning look like? In Chapter 5, Johnson explains that the standards in which we teach ask us to teach students information literacy skills, technology skills, communication skills, creativity, and problem-solving skills (Johnson, 2012, p. 113). Johnson speaks about the Four A’s of designing technology enhanced projects to help in teaching these 21st century skills in the classroom which are Assignments; when it comes to assignments, it is important to relay the purpose and importance of why you are teaching them this topic/subject, choose specific subjects that are in their interests and relevant to their lives to keep them engaged and focused, allow for creativity and higher-level thinking, and answer real questions. Activities; create activities that involve a variety of information and resources to complete tasks to encourage creativity and prevent plagiarism, create hands on experiences, use technology, use different ways of communication, are manageable and collaborative. Assessments; provide assessments that can be viewed by other classmates teachers and parents to encourage them to do their very best work, use authentic assessment tools such as rubrics and checklists, provide samples and examples of what quality work looks like and what you expect from them, and allow learners to reflect, revise, revisit and improve their final projects, and Attitude; roll with the punches and be ok with “loss of control over time”, accept active rather than passive students, realize that you are still learning as well and are a co-learner in the classroom, be enthusiastic about your teaching, and understand that things won’t always go the way you planned the very time every time. At the very end of the chapter one of Johnsons survival tips states that “If we wish for students to master 21st century skills, we need to model them.” An age of 21st century teaching in which teachers use technology, information problem solving, and lifelong learning instead of lecturing about them, foster student relationships and create a sense of community, being able to teach all learners (differentiate), encourage students to ensure that they will be able to navigate their way through this constant changing technological world, embracing change and adapting to it. Teachers who are able to model these skills will help their students to become lifelong learners and the 21st century students’ society expects.
Johnson, D. (2012). The classroom teacher’s technology survival guide. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
I really enjoyed this weeks assignment because I had no experience or knowledge on WebQuest, Internet Project or Voice Thread. Now I have all that knowledge so that I can use it in my own classroom. It was so interesting making the word collages because WebQuest and Internet Project have kind of the same purpose but have a different way of showing it. WebQuest to me was better for both the teacher and the student because it shows them both how to create the activity and the steps behind it. For Internet Project it was more focused on a huge project and teaching a variety of people how to join in. The hardest part for me was learning about Voice Thread. In this application you are able to post a media picture and them place comments or have others comment back to you. For me it took me a while to figure out how to post the picture and if I should write a text or use a voice record. In the end I learned how to do both and will be using Voice Thread for sure in the future because it will help teachers interact with one another on specific subjects or to have student have a discussion with one another on experiments or digital profiles, you name it. This was a very interactive and well instructed assignment.
Final Reflection: This assignment was challenging but very different. I enjoyed the outcome of the assignment but not the process. It took some time to figure out, some of the links to create collages were not working, so I had to try various links that were given. This assignment allows for creativity and children can learn proper skills for writing, reading and critical thinking. This is a project I would have parents observe because they can see the work of their children as they engage and interact with others as they develop new skills. Did any one have a problem with Wordle.net?
FINAL REFLECTION I learned about new resources to keep in mind once I have a classroom of my own and one resource I had seen students in my middle school and finally had a chance to do it. The word collage was something we had as an icebreaker our 6th graders did on the first day of school. They were asked to use words to describe themselves and the teacher printed it out. They loved it as much as I did. I loved seeing what I typed out for the assignment some to life almost. It gave it a different way of viewing it. The new resources were the Voice Thread, Internet Projects, and Webquests. The voice thread is almost like a PowerPoint but allows for commenting from others, which I think, is a great idea. To be able to get input on the spot is something that could be used in the classroom whether it’s coming from other students or the teacher. One drawback I had with making the Voice Thread was that I was not able to copy and paste so I had to type everything out, for some reason it blocked me from performing that command, other than that it was good. The Webquests and Internet Project are great resources because they encourage everything that children will need to know how to do to join the workforce. I wish there were more collaborative learning experiences because almost every single job involved teamwork and there are some that need a Teamwork 101 workshop. These tools take the textbook lessons, and make them go above and beyond anything we could have imagined back then.
This assignment wasn’t long to finish, but it was a bit complicated to understand at first. I actually liked playing with the tools that we used and learning about WebQuests and Internet Projects. Creating this assignment, using Tagul.com reminded me of when I used to write on pictures, back in 2008-09. I had fun with that tool and printed out some works for my classroom too. From the internet projects, the one that I liked the most was “Challenging the three little pigs”. I liked it because for me, it was as realistic as possible. Showing images to children about what the damages that the wind may do to the buildings is a good way to show them what exactly we are talking about. I think that sometimes our assignments may turn out to be a little unrealistic and by including technology we could actually help students have a different perspective of what it is asked to do. Another thing that I learned was to use Voice Thread. Even though I am aware of some other apps to share information for lectures, I liked that on this one, students can comment in many ways and that they can even write on the image that is being presented. Now I have some tools that will do some tasks easier and some other possible.
After this week I found out that I love WebQuest. I have never heard of them before, so it was nice to learn about them. I love how fun and engaging teachers can make them. Instead of the traditional lesson plan, where students are reading out of books, listening to a teacher talk and taking notes, students are working with others to use the internet to research a topic. Students are also putting their ideas together. And I love that. The Three Little Pigs WebQuest I love and would love to try this out one day. I honestly didn't like the internet projects. I mean they we're all cool especially the Grocery bag one, but they just seem like alot of time and planning and I feel like it would take away from other subjects and learning from the children. But internet projects do teach students about using different technology which is great. Now Voicethreads are cool. It's a fun engaging way to let students connect and discuss certain topics. I would most definitely use Voicethread in my classroom whether it's for getting to know students, talk about a fun topic and connect with patents. Great week.
I found it very difficult to do this week's assignment, because I wasn't able to get into Blackboard on Saturday. Therefore, I was confused about what I needed to put in the Voice Thread. However, I really liked using Voice Thread. I had never heard of it before doing this assignment, and I liked that it was interactive. It made it easy to include many different elements, and I think it would be a great teaching tool. I hope to use it in the classroom once I am teacher elementary school aged children. Right now, I'm not sure how much I would be able to use Voice Thread with my preschool aged students. However, I am open to suggestion if anyone has any ideas! I really enjoyed using it, and I will use it again in the future.
Reflection: This was one of my favorite assignment so far. I really enjoyed playing around with Voice Thread and creating the different slides/ I appreciated how the teacher demonstrated a video to show us an example of what exactly was expected. The abcya where we created our word collage was easy to navigate as well. I will admit when we get assignments like this one the first thing I think of is whether or not my computer will work. With voice thread the only thing I had trouble with was recording my myself. When I clicked on the record button something kept coming up error. Other than that I really enjoyed this assignment. I also enjoyed going through the different WebQuest and Internet Projects. I can remember being in school and working on the flat stanley project with other schools and engaging with other students.
I must admit that I like the liked the WebQuest and Internet Project more than I thought I would. I like the idea of the Video Thread however I hate recording myself on anything. I do think after getting to play with the WebQuest and Internet Project that there could be a lot done with those and would be a lot of fin in the classroom. I think the Video Thread could also be fun and have a lot of benefits, however I almost wonder what would happen if instead of the teacher doing it, if the children came up with their own presentations instead of poster boards or papers.
I enjoyed this weeks reading, but I really enjoyed this weeks assignment. I found so many interesting new things about WebQuests and Internet Projects that I could use in my classroom. I really enjoyed using VT as well. There are so many things you can do with the voice thread to communicate, and get students involved in their learning and learning process throughout the year. I will definitely be keeping this weeks tasks in mind when I am teaching in the future.
Up until this week I had never heard the terms Internet Projects or Web Quest, they were quite interesting to learn about and explore. The first thing I went to when I opened each page up was the “Let’s get started” ~ pages. The assignment overall was a bit difficult for me. I think because the sites and concepts were so new to me, is what made it a challenge. I really liked the fact that most anyone could be involved in these projects; friends and families were utilized for many parts. It is always good that any sites Professor Freeman shares are useful for our own classrooms. Although I do not have my own class yet, I have created a binder where I have written down and printed out resources that I could see myself using in my own classroom. I liked the word collage generator that she shared with us, it was so easy to use and very creative to add to our slides. Another great aspect to this assignment is that it promoted collaborative work, I think it is awesome when students work together to come up with ideas that they may not have had on their own, it encourages learning.
Reflection Technology in the 21st Century for this week has been an enjoyable experience as we used WebQuests and Internet Projects to complete tasks for this week’s assignment. Educators need to be able to master and be current on information in order to teach what is required of them to students for them to be successful in and outside of classroom environment. The fourth R for research is an addition that requires a student to be able to achieve. WebQuests and Internet Projects are informational resource tools that can be used in group activities to help students to better understand a topic. After this week’s posting and hands-on activities, I as a teacher will become more familiar with their usage and apply these newly found tools within the course.
So far Johnson has talked about how we can improve our classrooms and our productivity with technology in the past couple of chapters. Chapter 5 informs us how and why we should teach students 21st century skills. As technology is making its way into the classrooms, more than ever should students be prepared during this Information Age with the added skill of information literacy that is just as basic as the s R’s: Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic. Johnson’s (2012) definition of information literacy is “the ability to use information and information technologies to solve problems and answer questions” or just plain old research (p.114). Something that I wish would have existed in my past years of school. You can almost say I was “click, copy, and paste” happy when it came to finding resources for projects, I was never taught how to diligently look for legit sources and how to apply them to the task at hand.
ReplyDeleteHe then goes on to explain that as teachers, we must go above and beyond just giving students mediocre assignments using technology skills that have no meaning and will be soon forgotten. To enhance projects with technology we must be able to follow the four A’s that Johnson provides us with. The first A is for assignments, by giving students assignments that matter they are better motivated in learning. Students will be able to see the value of the assignment, engage creativity to come up with a solution, and is somehow relevant to their lives. The second A is for activities, by giving students full range of resources such as allowing secondary sources, experimenting, technology, presenting information in more than one way, and working collaboratively, they are discovering through a hands on approach and thinking on a higher level. The third A is assessment, providing students with a rubric to show them what is expected of them, that way as they progress through their final project they are able to guide their own learning through each step of the way. And the final A is attitude, which I believe to be a huge factor on whether or not a student learns. If we don’t feel comfortable teaching a certain thing or believe that students can complete an assignment that radiates into the classroom. We must be confident in what we’re doing and tackle anything that pops up and take it in as just another learning experience for the students’ sake as well as ours.
Johnson ends the chapter by citing the differences between engage and entertain, which I happen to hear a lot in the break room. It basically boils down to children needing more active learning, which is what engagement is all about. When we engage students, they are learning hands on and thinking critically, entertainment is like watching television, we just sit there and watch. Overall this chapter states the obvious that many want to avoid for their own benefit, students are not the only ones who have to be engaged or creative in learning, teachers as well. When you love what you do and go above and beyond, that filters into every student in your classroom and is what teaching is all about, teaching our students to love to learn.
Reference:
Johnson, D. (2012). The classroom teacher’s technology survival guide. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
We as teachers can introduce assignments that require the use of technology. This helps students to use the skills they already have and develop more useful skills. Technology allows students to be creative, learn how to research, learn how to organize thoughts and information, and how to communicate. Several jobs will require technology skills. Assignments for science, social studies, and language arts can easily be made to require technology. This also may allow time to work in groups which develops social skills for the students.
Delete
DeleteAs our society continues to grow and advance as educators so should we. Just knowing how to turn on a computer just does not make it any longer. Becoming really knowledgeable in a 21st century classroom, the teachers need to be open, and willing to learning new skills. Having a working knowledge of all the new and inventive technology skills for classrooms is important. What is equally important is also having a working knowledge of how to use these skills to help the students in our classrooms.
Hello Jennifer,
DeleteMediocre assignments with technology are not pushing the child to learn at all. We want children to gain a positive impact when learning through technology. One of the most modern ways I have seen technology used is through one of my observations and was called breakthrough to literacy. Breakthrough to literacy is where the student has a teacher selected weekly book. It will be followed by verbally hearing the book, answering questions, and playing interactive games that will help the child understand the book. This is one way technology can be used to enhance learning.
I thought it was a good chapter and as the author stated there is a difference between engaging and entertaining students. When teachers look at it from this perspective they will have a greater understanding on why it is important to help children develop skills in technology. Do you think most teachers will ever grasp this concept?
DeleteThank you everyone for the responses, I think we can all agree that as teachers we must be willing to continue learning for the sake of our students. What kind of teacher would I be if I only taught them how to type on Word? The kind that would not be setting up her students for success.
DeleteTo answer your question Caprice, I think the majority understands the concept but perhaps it is the students who make it harder? I remember being in 6th grade math class and a boy just flat out saying, this is boring. The teacher came up to him and basically told him that she was not a clown and that she was not here for his entertainment. She was there to do her job and now it was time do his. Well his parents requested a conference that week and had the nerve to ask, what the teacher was doing. The teacher didn't back down and told them the same thing. Back to your question, yes teachers grasp the concept, perhaps it is others who do not.
Hello, Jennifer
DeleteI agree with what you say about when we were students, that copying information instead of going to reliable and authentic sites was what most of us used to do back in the day. However, I think that far from being our fault, teachers should have put more effort in designing assignments that would call for our engagement and personal interest.
Johnson expreses, “ teachers, celebrate ambiguity”. (Johnson, 2012)With this statement I believe that Johnson is trying to let us know that we should be challenging our students, so that they become capable of looking for information using the necessary skills.
Resources
Johnson, Dough (2012) The Classroom Teacher’s Technology Survival guide (1st. ed.) Jossey-Bass Teacher, A Wiley Imprint.
Hi Jennifer!
DeleteYou hit the nail right on the head, copy and paste was my best friend back in the day, I was unaware of the proper way to cite sources and give credit where it was due. I believe the preparation given to me was subpar and not a tool i really learned to utilize until I reached high school and by that time things had changed 10 times over. It is important for educators to keep up with the time to fully give students the education they deserve in this fast changing world.
While reading chapter five of Doug Johnson’s, The Classroom Teacher’s Technology Survival Guide, I found that the “21st century skills” were a reoccurring theme. The whole chapter centered around the idea that the next generation will need to have communication, technology, information literacy, creative, problem solving, teamwork, and critical thinking skills (Johnson, 2012). I agree that these skills are very important for the younger generation to have, and these are skills we now focus on even in preschool.
ReplyDeleteIn order to teach students, they need to understand why they need to learn something. If they don’t understand why something is important, or will be important, they will likely go through the motions (Johnson, 2012). As a teacher, and a student, I completely agree with this idea. As a student, I hate higher-level math because I have never needed to use it in my every day life. As a preschool teacher, I have been guilty of not explaining why we need to learn certain things. For example, many children jump while brushing their teeth. After I explain that jumping could cause them to fall, them think about it and usually stop jumping.
Students tend to learn better when they are interested in a topic (Johnson, 2012). I love that this was included, because I believe it is the truth. Apparently other educators do as well, because my program is now focusing on doing child lead studies instead of themes. This means the teacher isn’t the one who chooses what units are taught in the classroom. For example, if I have a class of children that are really interested in cars, we would do a study on cars. During this time, the children would lead the learning process, and I would provide the materials and direct the academics of the study. My job is also to ask tons of open-ended questions that will help the children think outside of the box and build on what they already know. This allows the children to be interested in what is being taught, which should leave to children being more engaged.
Another part, of the chapter, that really stood out to me was, “Why Robots Make the Best Students.” This section explained that robots don’t question the teacher’s authority, they keep their eyes straight forward, and they learn at the same pace (Johnson, 2012). I loved this, because it was all so true. This is exactly what most teachers believe is the best student. However, it isn’t a reality, and it isn’t the best way to learn. Other countries have already figured out that having these expectations is only hurting learners. We are still stuck in our old ways, because this is what was expected of us when we were in school. Educators need to get away from this way of thinking. We need to start finding new ways to teach students without treating them like robots.
References
Johnson, D. (2012). The Classroom Teacher’s Technology Survival Guide. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Hello Kaylie,
DeleteI did enjoy when you talked about why robots make the best students. This also caught my attention because I questioned why. Robots do not question the teachers authority, they just listen and are very focused on what you are teaching them. For students they question everything and are curious which is not a bad thing but makes it hard for the teacher because they never know when a child is understanding or believing in what they are saying. Robots are the best students, but having the students question what they are being taught makes them more deep learners and curious about the world around them.
I think child lead studies can be a good way to teach children; but how much should be child? I think there needs to be a balance, children still need some type of guided theme.
DeleteHi Kaylie,
DeleteI also agree with the topic that students learn better when they are interested in a topic. I have learned this through many observations and fieldwork experiences. One of the classes I am taking I have to do a week long project and as I decided to choose what the theme would be my teacher explained the importance of observing what interests the students to keep them engaged and focused through the activities and instruction.
Hello, Kaylie
DeleteEven though I work with young children, my program is also now introducing case studies instead of themes. I liked your example of studying cars, because that is exactly what happened in my two year old classroom; I noticed that children were very interested on this topic, so I conducted a lesson plan based on transportation.
Your example of “why robots make the best students” (Johnson, 2012) also called my attention from the textbook, and I agree with you, expecting that children stop their curiosity is only going to hurt their learning.
Resources
Johnson, Dough (2012) The Classroom Teacher’s Technology Survival guide (1st. ed.) Jossey-Bass Teacher, A Wiley Imprint.
According to Doug Johnson, “in the age of educational accountability, too many classrooms seemed to be gearing all their instructional efforts toward helping students master left-brain skills because these are what standardized tests measure” (page 137). As an educator it is important to focus slightly on what is on standardized tests, but it is very important to balance by teaching right and left-brain skills. Through this book The Classroom Teacher’s Technology Survival Guide we are reading chapter five, Teaching 21-st Century Skills. As I stated earlier it is important to use the left and right brain while teaching the students to master six skills.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Doug Johnson, “although these sets of standards have different organizational structures and emphases, they all recommend that schools should be helping all students master: informational literacy skills, technology skills, communication skills, creativity, problem-solving skills, and personal traits and ahbits” (page 113-114). Mastering all of these skills will help the student succeed throughout school and in the future. Learning about informational literacy helps the student know how to research about topics for personal reasons or papers. This ties in with problem solving because it gives the child ways to work through problems and use information to work through it. A child learning this particular skill will help the student confront obstacles and provide solutions. This book is mostly about technology, so the teacher needs to provide multiple opportunities for the students to practice with it. With technological skills there are four A’s that we can follow when designing technology. The four A’s are assignments, activities, assessments, and attitudes. An educator needs to provide instructional, easy to follow technological skills including all four A characteristics.
As the student is growing older and joining speaking programs communication will have to be mastered. There are many types of communication. First is teaching the child to be able to share anything with other students, teachers, and parents. A big key factor is to always have that communication skill under your belt. These last two skills work hand in hand bringing up the first topic we went over. The two skills are creativity and personal trait/ habit. When talking about using the right brain this is when the student will be able to use their ability to create a masterpiece of their own. When thinking of personal traits the children can use either left and right brain showing their strengths and weaknesses. Teachers have a responsibility to their students by giving them knowledge of the six standards this chapter taught me how important it is to teach 21st century skills to students.
Johnson, D. (2012). The Classroom Teacher’s Technology Survival Guide. Jossey-Bass: CA.
As educators, we have to stay flexible in their learning of 21st-century skills, but they also have to open in how they are going to teach this skills in their classrooms. As technology is growing at rapid rates educators have to stay growing and learning rapidly too.
ReplyDeleteEducator’s classrooms are where new learning processes take place and as we (educators) stay current we are opening new doors for our students. Chapter 5 of our text book informs and gives us tips and tools to implement 21-st century skills into the classroom. The thing most parents do worry about is, will their children be able to keep up with what the 21st-century is offering. Our text states, “As painful as it sounds to add one or more skill set to an overburdened curriculum, the case can easily be made that information literacy is as necessary a skill in the Information Age as the basic R’s of Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic have been in the past”, (P.114).
With all the technology brings to educators and their classrooms, finding new and innovative ways to teach it to in the classroom make a few educators uneasy. Our text talks about the “fourth R” that the educators have to use in their curriculum. “A simple definition of information literacy is “the ability to use the information to solve problems and answer questions.” In one sense, information literacy is a much-expanded term for the fourth R- plain old Research”, (P.114). Today’s students have access to learning capabilities that some of us could not dream so it is vital that today’s educators keep up with those capabilities. Today’s students need to stay updates on their critical thinking skills, learning how to think through and solve problems, work in teams and build on their creativity. These are skills that are hard taught, but these skills are a must in learning technology in the 21st-century.
It is an educator’s job to find a way to relate to their students when implementing new learning skills. Finding ways to make new materials relevant. “As teachers, we are comfortable with our familiar old secondary sources of references books, magazine indexes, and trade books”, (P.119). Educators have to learn to tap into their high learning skills and teach within their disciplines. Just as educators are teaching important learning disciplines they have to engage the students in 21st-century learning skills too.
The important lesson in this chapter is that learning and growing as educators are where students learn and grow too. 21st-century skills are our future and we have to stay in the know and up to date. “Our society and educational system sadly see many of the opportunities just as listed “extras”- frills that are often the first to be cut in times of tights budgets. We are doing a disservice to our students as future works and citizens by doing so”, (P.134). As educators learn and grow in implementing 21st-century skills in the classroom, they are modeling, providing support and the resource their students need to in their learning.
Reference:
Johnson, D. (2012). The classroom teacher’s technology survival guide. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
According to Doug Johnson a few thoughts about Creativity in the 21st century there are quite a few skills listed pertaining to creativity as one of those abilities tomorrow’s most productive workers will need to possess. We in education are supposed to be producing creative graduates. It’s something we are as educators give a good deal of lip service to like and think we encourage student’s, but only to a degree. Too much creativity makes us a little nervous, and the student who is less creative is also less challenging. “Reading the side bar about Why Robots Make the Best Students.”
ReplyDeleteThe most important in teaching technology in the 21st century is to make sure that the children know how to use technology because we are in an age where technology is needed in every area of life. We are coming to an age where robots will be taking over our jobs and people will be eliminated from positions. The more you are able to use technology the better your chances are at keeping a job. We must also know how to stay safe when using technology. The must be taught the do’s and don’ts of social media to protect themselves from physical danger and long term financial danger. It is important that the children have fun while learning. We all know children learn through play and it’s the process not the product that is the true measure of learning.
Teaching the children is like building their future, it helps you guide them to use what’s in their environment. Technology in 21st century helps children because some are well versed using technology and to be able to teach children makes me happy because I can see how excited the children when using technology. There is an increase in dependence on technology because it requires less energy than normal bodily function, technology itself is becoming an extension of the body. We rely on autocorrect for basic spelling, we rely on technology for food, we rely on technology for almost everything. With more exposure to technology, especially phones, everybody is lost behind a screen involuntarily losing all originality due to the fact that technology only fulfills the need for attention because there is a connection to more people.
Hi Tanesha,
DeleteI liked how Johnson provided us a list to see if in the future a machine could take over our jobs. Isn't that sad? The more technology that is invented, the more people are losing their jobs. The bank by my house replaced over 75% of their tellers with automated machines. I walked in the other day and a handful of staff were left and all these machines were there where a friendly face greeted you. It's sad that those who are looking into what they want to do for their rest of their lives have to think, will my job be securing in the next couple of years? Good post.
Hi Tanesha,
DeleteThat's crazy how machines can take over certain jobs. I mean I thought it was crazy that McDonald's wanted to replace their tellers with machines. It's nice to have a friendly face to interact with. Do you think there is a downfall to machines taking over jobs, minus people losing their jobs?
Many jobs are turning to robotics and technology to replace human employment. This is a very good reason to teach our students about technology while we have them in class. I like how you mentioned creativity. Technology allows students to be very creative in a variety of ways, just like how we use voice thread this week. Learning skills for the 21st century teach students how to research, how to organize thoughts and information, and how to communicate. All these skills will be needed once students enter the workforce.
DeleteHI Tanesha! I agree that it is so important to encourage students to be creative! In today's society, it pays to be creative and think in a way that is different from other people. Therefore, it is extremely important to give students the encouragement and opportunity to work on these skills in the classroom. I also liked that you emphasized the importance of teaching students to use technology. It is unreasonable to think any student isn't going to have to use technology daily. I agree it is important to teach students how to use social media. It is a dangerous world, so students need to be taught when social media can put them in danger. They should also be aware that what they post on social media and have consequences. Our job as educators is to help create productive members of society, and that can't happen if our students are ruining their chances at getting a job through social media.
DeleteI think technology taking over more jobs is happening more and more, and you are right in order to have a job in the future you have to know how to use technology, and master technology. I agree that technology is becoming an extension, it is amazing how many young children have tablets, phones, or laptops that they are able to use better than I can.
DeleteHi Tenesha!
DeleteYou made some great points here in your post! To your point about robots taking over our jobs is spot on…so many places I’ve been lately have started to replace humans with machines. As a classmate mentioned, my local bank has about 7 new atms and only 2 people at the window. I’ve seen dessert dispensers at a cupcake shop, lots more self checkout lines, and even a machine operated best buy at the airport. Although this world is changing in the blink of an eye it is important that we continue to teach students how to remain “human” through it all.
In chapter five of The Classrooms Teacher’s Technology Survival Guide, Johnson discusses the need for technology skills in the 21st century. One of the skills he talks about is information literacy. Information literacy is an expansion on researching. It teaches students how to come up with good questions about a topic. They also learn how to locate relevant data and identify reliable information. Students develop skills to organize information and suggest solutions to a problem as well as use media to communicate their findings. These skills prepare them for the workforce world. Johnson says that students need to be practicing information problem solving every day in class. He suggests some easy ways to accomplish this. One way is to have students check the local weather forecast and suggest a dress code for the following days. Students can also search for and do a report on interesting facts about an author of a book the class has already read or use a upcoming book. Collaborate with other teachers and allow students to email students in other classes asking questions about specific topics. Students can also pretend to be movie critics and give a verbal review of a T.V. show or movie. By developing these 21st century skills students are allowed to show their own creativity. Creativity can be shown through visual displays of artwork, music skills, athletics, dancing, storytelling, humor, teambuilding, problem solving, and creating leaders. This can help students gain confidence and learn things about themselves that they had not discovered before. Teachers need to be current on their books and information to properly inform their students. We should give students choices and stress higher level thinking skills and creativity. We should give students a variety of information finding tasks and allow students to do hands on learning. I teach a cooking class to third through fifth graders. This chapter gave me some ideas to use for this class. I have always said the students have to take one “thankful” bite. One reason is because students do not know if they like something until they try it. Another reason is for students to understand all the steps it took to prepare food and how much work it is to get food to the consumers. If we were making mash potatoes, I could have students research how potatoes are planted, picked, cleaned, transported to stores, displayed in stores, and cooked at home. I think this would be a good opportunity for students to apply the 21st century skills
ReplyDeleteHi Jennifer, like I mentioned in my post, I wish I was taught information literacy skills (research) back when I was in high school. My best friend was copy and paste with a few changes, but that didn't mean I learned or even read what I was doing. My grades suffered and I learned the hard way. As I got older my skills were perfected in this new jungle of information as Johnson likes to call it. Now there is too much to navigate and I can say that I better and better each year. I for one love that it is considered a skill that should be taught because it'll better prepare our students as we send them off year after year onto their future careers. Good post!
DeleteHey Jennifer,
DeleteI think it's great that students are being taught how to navigate the web. In high school I was taught simple computer skills, like how to use word and excel, but never how to navigate the web and how to use certain apps and tools properly. I had no idea what google advanced was until last week. It's so much easier now to look for information. seeing how advanced technology is now and how much it changes. Children should be taught the skills to use it properly to have the upperhand in the future. Now how can a teacher who isn't familiar with technology teach it in the classroom? do you think schools will look for people who are more equipped to teach it?
Hi Jennifer! I really liked that you included the importance of teaching information literacy. This is a skill that students really need to have when entering the workforce, because many jobs require people to find the answers on their own. Students need to be able to be creative and inventive while solving problems. I agree that students need to be provided with resources that are up to date in order to find accurate information. It can be very frustrating if a student is using the skills to find the correct answer, but is he/she is unable to find a reliable answer due to out of date resources. The teacher should be conscious of what materials he/she is providing for students to find information.
DeleteI really like how you include navigating the web and different ways to include technology into everyday lessons. I like how you also mentioned cooking and how you have to try something to know if you like it, but you have to be willing to give it a try.
DeleteChapter five of the textbook explains the way in which teachers nowadays are committed and expected to teach students “21st- Century skills”. However, how can we be sure we are teaching them the needed skills? How can we make sure they are processing the right information?
ReplyDeleteAccording to Johnson, “Today’s schools are not teaching the skills our students will need in tomorrow’s technology-infused, global economy and society” (Johnson, 2012, page 113). In my personal experience, sometimes I find myself regarding “21st- century” skills as fancy skills that I don’t know anything about yet, such as handling sophisticated softwares or learning difficult computer tasks. That was my thinking before I read this chapter.
Now, what then, should educators teach children in order to help them acquire these and other skills? According to Johnson “personal traits and habits that enhance lifelong learning abilities, like curiosity, tenacity, self assessment, teamwork, and critical thinking” (Johnson, 2012, page 114). I believe that this is pretty accurate, since we should be “planting seeds” today so that children can have these bases, in order to keep up with the challenges of this century.
Something that truly called my attention is what the author explains about creativity. According to Johnson, “Quite number of “21st- century skill” list include creativity as on of those abilities tomorrow’s most productive workers will need to possess”(Johnson, 2012, page 129). I have been thinking about creativity as the base of many ways of learning and teaching; I was suspecting that it has been underestimated and now I have confirmed it. As educators, we should start regarding creativity as a major skill that should be developed in order to think out of the box and foment problem-solving skills. According to Johnson, “If we wish for students to master 21st- century skills, we need to model them” ”(Johnson, 2012, page 135).
Sometimes, as educators, we tend to forget about some critical steps and strategies in teaching, such as the one that I just mentioned, which is creativity. I also believe that we tend to forget about putting children in the position of practicing what they have learned and experimenting with new know ledge and skills. Johnson explains that “Practicing information problem solving needs to be a daily activity for every student in our schools, not just a biennial “event” “”(Johnson, 2012, page 126).
I know that for some educators (as myself) it becomes a real challenge to get children engaged in activities and maintain an ongoing learning environment. Sometimes we may even find ourselves trying to entertain children, instead of engaging them. Johnson explains that “In learning environments, entertainment and engagement look quite different, and its easy to tell them apart” “”(Johnson, 2012, page 127). Whenever we identify our classroom being a place for entertainment instead of engagement, we must look for strategies that provide the opportunity to change the situation and give space for involvement. If I had to choose only one phrase to teach by from the whole textbook, I would go for the following one:
“When today’s children disappear for hours on end, it is often not to watch television (a passive form of entertainment) but to play videogames, chat, and interact with Internet sites (active forms of engagement) ” (Johnson, 2012, page 128)”.
Resources
Johnson, Dough (2012) The Classroom Teacher’s Technology Survival guide (1st. ed.) Jossey-Bass Teacher, A Wiley Imprint.
In this new age of technology things have move along faster and further, then some expected. Educators have to stay abreast of what is new and exciting, so they can teach their students these new skills too. When students are learning new skills it prepares them what is new and exciting in the world. As students get more comfortable with technology it will allow them to have a better understanding how technology skills are a part of their day to day learning.
DeleteIn today’s society technology is always changing. What might have been a technology update a month ago might be something totally different today. As technology is changing teachers in the classroom have to keep up with how fast technology is advancing every day. In our text chapter five talks about “teaching 21st-century skills “to our students. This mean that they should be learning skills that they will need in the future. According to the text “ But we’ve all heard the rumblings that today’s schools are not teaching the skills our students will need in tomorrow’s technology-infused, global economy and society” (pg. 113). A lot of times the reason why teachers are not teaching 21st technology is because the classroom don’t even have up-to-date computers. Another reason is because teachers are not well trained themselves in order to teach 21st technology. You can’t teach anything you have not mastered yourself but children still need to have these skills because technology is taking over and you will have to be able to keep up with all its advancements.
ReplyDeleteThe text explains that teachers should be helping all children master information literacy skills, technology skills, communication skills, creativity, problem solving skills and personal traits and habits that enhance lifelong learning abilities. These skills should be taught so that children are able to have 21st –century skills. Skills that will help them get the job they want. Skills that will help them in college to create presentations and do research papers. This is where creativity comes in at. When we think of creativity we always think about art. According to the text “Quite a number of “21st – century skill” list include creativity as one of those abilities tomorrow’s most productive workers will need to possess” (pg. 129). Students having creativity will be able to problem solve and know how to deal effectively with a problem whether it be mechanical or human. The text explains that creativity must be accompanied by craft and discipline (pg. 130). I never thought about creativity on this level until reading the text. I was that one person who that thought creativity was all about art. But now I see it means so much more.
As I stated before teachers have to understand and be willing to learn new skills. If the teacher don’t know how can the children that they teach be able to learn 12st- century technology skills. Teachers can do so much more in the class with these skills. According to the text teachers will be able will be able to create projects that processes not just facts. Teachers can encourage students to research areas of personal interest on-line. Teachers will also encourage students in nontraditional ways, and support students learning environments. Technology is here to help all students not only have school success but success beyond school when teachers are teaching 21st-century skills.
Reference:
Johnson, D. (2012). The classroom teacher’s technology survival guide. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
Natasha,
DeleteTechnology is a major part of today’s society and if an individual lack the skills to perform tasks that require the use of certain equipment or devices they will basically not be able to function in the classroom or workplace. The 21st century skills will help prepare students for future careers or higher educational adventures. Yes, there are teachers who may not have mastered technology use as of yet but they should seek ways to assure that they receive the proper trainings needed to teach in the classroom. Some jobs offer their employees trainings so that they can be up-to-date on their knowledge and capabilities of technology.
In our society today we are able to request a car with a click of a button and even spending money without leaving the house. Technology is everywhere and we all need to be equipped on how to be successful using in. And that learning starts in the classroom. Chapter 5 ‘Teaching 12-st Century Skills’ gives us tips, tools and idea on how to implement 21-st century skills into the classroom. Most parents worry about if their child is slacking in school or if they can keep up, but with technology being a big part of our society parents are now worrying about if their children will be able to keep up with what the 21st-century is offering. “As painful as it sounds to add one or more skill set to an overburdened curriculum, the case can easily be made that information literacy is as necessary a skill in the Information Age as the basic R’s of Reading, writing, and arithmetic have been in the past”, (Johnson,2012, pg.114). As a future parent that to me is worrisome. Not only does my child have to learn reading, writing and arithmetic, but now they have to learn technology skills. That is a lot and easily understandable, but our society is changing and becoming more technology advanced we have to make sure our children are equipped to succeed.
ReplyDeleteWith all the new apps, and different technology that is being introduced tend to make teachers and educators wary and nervous about coming up with innovative ways to incorporate it into the classroom. As I’m reading this chapter I too get nervous. First, I’m not that tech savvy as I said before and also, I don’t use technology into my classroom. So, in the future how am I going to be able to incorporate technology into my classroom. The text mentions the fourth R” and how educators have to use it in their teaching and curriculum. “A simple definition of information literacy is “the ability to use the information to solve problems and answer questions.” In one sense, information literacy is a much-expanded term for the fourth R- plain old Research”, (Johnson 2012,pg.114). Technology is always changing and it’s our jobs as educators to make sure our students are up-to-date on the newest and latest technology. We must make sure they have all the resources they need to succeed in this world. “As teachers, we are comfortable with our familiar old secondary sources of references books, magazine indexes, and trade books”, (Johnson, 2012,pg.119). I am so used to going to the library and looking things up and doing my research, so having to use the internet as a main source takes some time to get used to. Last week when we learned about google advanced search it was great because it actually made doing research easier and faster. Instead of me just typing into google what I wanted to find and having to look through website after website just to find what I needed it was great to learn about an easier way.
Reference:
Johnson, D. (2012). The classroom teacher’s technology survival guide. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Reflection
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of Web Quest or Internet Projects until this lesson. I did not really like the Internet Project just because I think it would take too much time researching and navigating through the site. I enjoyed the Web Quest better because it was more of an assignment and it is easily broken down into steps for the students to follow. I also had never heard of Voice Thread. I thought it was very neat to use. I thought it would be good to use in class for an “All About Me” lesson. Students could make slides according to characteristics they hold and they could also upload pictures of themselves and their families. I could also use it after we read a book as a class. Students could discuss favorite characters, plots, climax, ending, or their favorite part of the story. All of the sites we used this week allowed students to be very creative. It also shows them how to work as team and develop social and communication skills. I liked in Voice Thread how the user could change the colors, make it interactive, and how it had options on how you could comment. I think 3rd-5th grade would really enjoy using this for assignments.
Johnson mentions a couple things in this weeks reading although there were a couple things that stuck out to me. One thing he mentioned were the four A’s for assignments. I have often thought about the assignment, the assessment and the activity that goes along with it however I haven’t really ever thought about the attitude as part of planning. There is always the hope that the lesson will work and everybody will like the lesson and will be able to achieve the goals of the lesson, but that’s it. Usually when I try a lesson that flops horribly I look at the lesson and see what I could have done differently, however I rarely go back to it, and the last thing that Johnson states it that teachers need to keep trying to do the lesson again in the future, don’t just give up on the lesson.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that I took a lot of interest in was a few thoughts of creativity. It stats that creativity isn’t always art but also includes discipline and creativity in other areas.
Resources
Johnson, D. (2012). The classroom teacher’s technology survival guide. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
Teaching 21st-Century Skills was a very enlightening chapter. The author states, “But we’ve all heard the rumblings that today’s schools are not teaching the skills our students will need in tomorrow’s technology-infused, global economy and society (Doug Johnson 2007). I think this statement has some validity. Teachers are not teaching students the skills needed to become successful for the future. Many of these skills need to be developed in major divisions such as information -literacy, technology skills, communication and problem-solving (p. 113).
ReplyDeleteMany schools are beginning to implement new ways of teaching students how to conduct and learn different methods of technology usage. These methods will increase students learning abilities as they create guided curriculums in the classroom. The Four A’s are extremely relevant to helping students develop 21st-Century Skills. Assignments, activities, assessments and the student’s attitudes are major components needed to improve and enrich students learning abilities.
Students skills can be properly developed when they have a precise understanding of their assignments; it is also encouraging to students when they are given choices concerning their assignments. This can make the projects more interesting when assignments are given to students that are pertinent to their life, they can gain a greater understanding of the assignment. As students choose topics they learn to answer real questions, they learn to do research and they are able to interact through hands on learning.
Project-based learning is designed to guide students as they learn to build information skills to use in technology. I was not very familiar with this topic but after reading it I think it is a very clever way to get students engaged as they interact with technology. There is so much they can learn through technology.
Reference
Johnson, D. (2012). The Classroom Teacher’s Technology Survival Guide. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
Summary: Chapter 5
ReplyDeleteTeaching 21st-Century Skills
After this weeks required readings Johnson (2012) discusses the three attempts that have been made to predict the skills our students will need in the 21-century that all recommend schools help their students master. These skills are, information literacy skills, technology skills, communication skills, creativity, problem-solving skills, and personal traits and habits. Furthermore, he talks a little more about these skills and explains Information literacy being able to take information technology and use it to solve problems and answer questions. (pg. 115) Johnson, (2012) explains how teachers can teach these 21st-century skills by incorporate technology into the lesson and activities in the classroom. One way to this is by enhancing different projects with the four A’s and extending lessons in groups or involving all students. Johnson goes over projects that teachers and learners can enjoy with the use of technology. These fun activities and assignments are all shared by characteristic being grouped into four categories. The first A assignments include projects having clarity of purpose and expectations, giving students choices, relevant to the student’s life, higher-level thinking skills, and that answer real questions. I think this is important, because it engages the students in projects they can participate in. There are several lessons I have worked on with my students as young as preschool and I have incorporated technology in them. For example, one study we did was on insects and we introduced several different insects to our students when it came to discussing aunts we went outside, and made graphs, but we also watched educational video clips on aunts. The students could visually see the aunts and how they live through their own eyes. I saw how engaged they were and able to answer questions.
Next, he explains the second A of activities that matter that involve a variety of information-finding tasks, that are hands-on, use technology, ask students to communicate more than just verbally, complex, and collaborative. The third A being assessments that matter are results that are shared, using authentic assessment tools, providing examples and samples, and allowing learners to reflect on their projects. Lastly, the fourth A Attitude, Johnson (2012) describes teachers who enjoy authentic, project-based learning. (pg.126) I think this chapter is a great one because it helps teachers to understand and appreciate when preparing and conducting project based lessons into the classroom. Before educators can introduce these projects, they should be well thought out. Sometimes we tend to jump into a lesson or try to teach our students something that just doesn’t go well, but it can if just listen to them.
Reference
Johnson, D. (2012). The Classroom Teachers Technology Survival Guide. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Jessica,
DeleteIt is amazing how technology has taken a toil on today's society. If a person is not literate enough in how to incorporate technology in his or her lifestyle they will find themselves struggling. Teachers, therefore have to be on their "A" game to provide students with sufficient amount of education that includes technology for the 21st century skills in preparation to be equipped for using the four R's.
Reading Chapter 5 of Doug Johnsons book has been very insightful. This particular chapter reviews and disccuses the benefits of sharing 21st century technological skills with out students. Our world is changing so quickly so that means that so are our classrooms. Many people think that technology is "slowing us down" or "making us lazy" when in fact, it is helping us work smarter not harder!
ReplyDeleteIt is critical that as we are teaching our students we are also learning, Methods of instruction change just like everything else. Johnson (2012) says, “If we wish for students to master 21st- century skills, we need to model them” (p.135).Being a proactive and encouraging educator it is important that we step out of our comfort zone of just books, magazines and newspapers but that we utilize all of the information out there for our benefit. Technology gives us the opportunity to really and truly say "the sky is the limit" what do you want to know, we can find it!
The best “Survival Tip” I’ve read thus far is Douglas’ (2012) “Making sure students understand why something they need to learn is or will be important to them is probably the most important but most neglected part of a teachers role. Unless you can convince sudents of the WIIFM (What’s In It For Me) of the information or skill you are teaching, they will at best go through the motions” (p.117). I’m sure many of us as children hear the phrase “because I said so”, “Don’t ask why, just do it”, and“because I’m the adult and you’re the child”. Treating students with respect that we would give to anyone else will encourage them to listen to you and truly soak in you reasoning for trying to help them. It is important that we explain the benefits of the tools we are introducing to students, we must show them how it can help them at the moment and in their future. On a more personal note, before I knew about Google Docs, I was hesitant to use anything other than Microsoft Word, boy oh boy did I miss out for a long time. It wasn’t until a couple lost assignments later that decided to check it out. A technology professor shared with my class that Google Docs saves as you type and you could take it anywhere we went, it was heaven sent. For about 4 of our classes he moved us around campus without our laptops to show us we could be anywhere to access our documents. Because my professor shared the benefits with me and explained how it could change my life I was more open to it and willing to try and listen. Best switch I’ve ever made!
Johnson, D. (2012). The classroom teacher’s technology survival guide. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Great Post this week. I like how you mentioned that statement from Douglas (2012) and I definitely agree that this "survival tip" is something teachers need to keep in mind. I have had many instances throughout my education when Ive thought to myself "why do I need to learn this?" But when a teachers is able to explain the importance and significance of learning the content I am more interested and engaged in the learning.
DeleteRefelection:
ReplyDeleteAs educators we are always still learning and growing right along with our students. Most of our students come into our classrooms with skills and knowledge that we (educators) have to take timeout to learn. Today’s classroom are 21st century ready, so helping our students embrace these skills and how to use them properly in the classrooms is the goal. Understand that just knowing how to use technology does not mean we know how to teach it to our students. That why it is important that we (educators) take classes or professional developments courses.
Teaching 21st Century Skills
ReplyDeleteThe 21st Century Skills are a set of standards that recommends that schools help their students to develop and master informational literacy skills, technology skills, communication skills, creativity, and problem-solving skills (Johnson, 2012). These skills are essential to students’ success as it provides them with the necessary information needed for learning, literacy, and life skills.
The Information Age required that students be taught the three R’s: Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic. Information literacy need to expand as the fourth R is added, Research. For enhancement of projects, Mr. Johnson discusses the four A’s: assignments, activities, assessment, and attitude. The assignments will give students a purpose for learning, choices, relevant to their lives, cause for higher thinking skills, and answer real questions. The activities provide hands-on, technology use, collaboration, and information finding tasks. Assessment results, such as test scores, can be shared with family members and professionals. The students can review, revise, and reflect on final projects to make improvements. The attitude on the part of the teacher and student is extremely important for teaching and learning as the Mr. Johnson survival tip states, “Students inherently that a job not worth doing is not worth doing well (Johnson, 2012, p. 124).”
Technology in the classroom as we have discovered through reading the previous chapters have its advantages for teachers and students by incorporating it into the curriculum and keeping it upgraded for better productivity. Mr. Johnson is informing us that as educators of the importance of us being aware of incorporating technology in our teaching to assist students with learning through different styles and forms. Teachers use technology devices and programs for instructional support to meet developmental needs as it allows access to information which promotes the use of their critical thinking and improves interpersonal communication skills while making connections to the complex world.
Reference:
Johnson, D. (2012). The Classroom Teacher's Technology Survival Guide. Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass.
When it comes to teaching 21st century skills in the classroom, and integrating technology there is no right or wrong way. The important thing is that we are teaching the students the necessary skills they need to succeed in our economy and society. What does 21st century teach and learning look like? In Chapter 5, Johnson explains that the standards in which we teach ask us to teach students information literacy skills, technology skills, communication skills, creativity, and problem-solving skills (Johnson, 2012, p. 113).
ReplyDeleteJohnson speaks about the Four A’s of designing technology enhanced projects to help in teaching these 21st century skills in the classroom which are Assignments; when it comes to assignments, it is important to relay the purpose and importance of why you are teaching them this topic/subject, choose specific subjects that are in their interests and relevant to their lives to keep them engaged and focused, allow for creativity and higher-level thinking, and answer real questions. Activities; create activities that involve a variety of information and resources to complete tasks to encourage creativity and prevent plagiarism, create hands on experiences, use technology, use different ways of communication, are manageable and collaborative. Assessments; provide assessments that can be viewed by other classmates teachers and parents to encourage them to do their very best work, use authentic assessment tools such as rubrics and checklists, provide samples and examples of what quality work looks like and what you expect from them, and allow learners to reflect, revise, revisit and improve their final projects, and Attitude; roll with the punches and be ok with “loss of control over time”, accept active rather than passive students, realize that you are still learning as well and are a co-learner in the classroom, be enthusiastic about your teaching, and understand that things won’t always go the way you planned the very time every time.
At the very end of the chapter one of Johnsons survival tips states that “If we wish for students to master 21st century skills, we need to model them.” An age of 21st century teaching in which teachers use technology, information problem solving, and lifelong learning instead of lecturing about them, foster student relationships and create a sense of community, being able to teach all learners (differentiate), encourage students to ensure that they will be able to navigate their way through this constant changing technological world, embracing change and adapting to it. Teachers who are able to model these skills will help their students to become lifelong learners and the 21st century students’ society expects.
Johnson, D. (2012). The classroom teacher’s technology survival guide. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
I really enjoyed this weeks assignment because I had no experience or knowledge on WebQuest, Internet Project or Voice Thread. Now I have all that knowledge so that I can use it in my own classroom. It was so interesting making the word collages because WebQuest and Internet Project have kind of the same purpose but have a different way of showing it. WebQuest to me was better for both the teacher and the student because it shows them both how to create the activity and the steps behind it. For Internet Project it was more focused on a huge project and teaching a variety of people how to join in.
ReplyDeleteThe hardest part for me was learning about Voice Thread. In this application you are able to post a media picture and them place comments or have others comment back to you. For me it took me a while to figure out how to post the picture and if I should write a text or use a voice record. In the end I learned how to do both and will be using Voice Thread for sure in the future because it will help teachers interact with one another on specific subjects or to have student have a discussion with one another on experiments or digital profiles, you name it. This was a very interactive and well instructed assignment.
Final Reflection:
ReplyDeleteThis assignment was challenging but very different. I enjoyed the outcome of the assignment but not the process. It took some time to figure out, some of the links to create collages were not working, so I had to try various links that were given. This assignment allows for creativity and children can learn proper skills for writing, reading and critical thinking.
This is a project I would have parents observe because they can see the work of their children as they engage and interact with others as they develop new skills. Did any one have a problem with Wordle.net?
FINAL REFLECTION
ReplyDeleteI learned about new resources to keep in mind once I have a classroom of my own and one resource I had seen students in my middle school and finally had a chance to do it.
The word collage was something we had as an icebreaker our 6th graders did on the first day of school. They were asked to use words to describe themselves and the teacher printed it out. They loved it as much as I did. I loved seeing what I typed out for the assignment some to life almost. It gave it a different way of viewing it.
The new resources were the Voice Thread, Internet Projects, and Webquests. The voice thread is almost like a PowerPoint but allows for commenting from others, which I think, is a great idea. To be able to get input on the spot is something that could be used in the classroom whether it’s coming from other students or the teacher. One drawback I had with making the Voice Thread was that I was not able to copy and paste so I had to type everything out, for some reason it blocked me from performing that command, other than that it was good.
The Webquests and Internet Project are great resources because they encourage everything that children will need to know how to do to join the workforce. I wish there were more collaborative learning experiences because almost every single job involved teamwork and there are some that need a Teamwork 101 workshop. These tools take the textbook lessons, and make them go above and beyond anything we could have imagined back then.
Reflection
ReplyDeleteThis assignment wasn’t long to finish, but it was a bit complicated to understand at first. I actually liked playing with the tools that we used and learning about WebQuests and Internet Projects. Creating this assignment, using Tagul.com reminded me of when I used to write on pictures, back in 2008-09. I had fun with that tool and printed out some works for my classroom too.
From the internet projects, the one that I liked the most was “Challenging the three little pigs”. I liked it because for me, it was as realistic as possible. Showing images to children about what the damages that the wind may do to the buildings is a good way to show them what exactly we are talking about. I think that sometimes our assignments may turn out to be a little unrealistic and by including technology we could actually help students have a different perspective of what it is asked to do.
Another thing that I learned was to use Voice Thread. Even though I am aware of some other apps to share information for lectures, I liked that on this one, students can comment in many ways and that they can even write on the image that is being presented.
Now I have some tools that will do some tasks easier and some other possible.
After this week I found out that I love WebQuest. I have never heard of them before, so it was nice to learn about them. I love how fun and engaging teachers can make them. Instead of the traditional lesson plan, where students are reading out of books, listening to a teacher talk and taking notes, students are working with others to use the internet to research a topic. Students are also putting their ideas together. And I love that. The Three Little Pigs WebQuest I love and would love to try this out one day. I honestly didn't like the internet projects. I mean they we're all cool especially the Grocery bag one, but they just seem like alot of time and planning and I feel like it would take away from other subjects and learning from the children. But internet projects do teach students about using different technology which is great. Now Voicethreads are cool. It's a fun engaging way to let students connect and discuss certain topics. I would most definitely use Voicethread in my classroom whether it's for getting to know students, talk about a fun topic and connect with patents. Great week.
ReplyDeleteFinal Reflection
ReplyDeleteI found it very difficult to do this week's assignment, because I wasn't able to get into Blackboard on Saturday. Therefore, I was confused about what I needed to put in the Voice Thread. However, I really liked using Voice Thread. I had never heard of it before doing this assignment, and I liked that it was interactive. It made it easy to include many different elements, and I think it would be a great teaching tool. I hope to use it in the classroom once I am teacher elementary school aged children. Right now, I'm not sure how much I would be able to use Voice Thread with my preschool aged students. However, I am open to suggestion if anyone has any ideas! I really enjoyed using it, and I will use it again in the future.
Reflection:
ReplyDeleteThis was one of my favorite assignment so far. I really enjoyed playing around with Voice Thread and creating the different slides/ I appreciated how the teacher demonstrated a video to show us an example of what exactly was expected. The abcya where we created our word collage was easy to navigate as well. I will admit when we get assignments like this one the first thing I think of is whether or not my computer will work. With voice thread the only thing I had trouble with was recording my myself. When I clicked on the record button something kept coming up error. Other than that I really enjoyed this assignment. I also enjoyed going through the different WebQuest and Internet Projects. I can remember being in school and working on the flat stanley project with other schools and engaging with other students.
I must admit that I like the liked the WebQuest and Internet Project more than I thought I would. I like the idea of the Video Thread however I hate recording myself on anything. I do think after getting to play with the WebQuest and Internet Project that there could be a lot done with those and would be a lot of fin in the classroom. I think the Video Thread could also be fun and have a lot of benefits, however I almost wonder what would happen if instead of the teacher doing it, if the children came up with their own presentations instead of poster boards or papers.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this weeks reading, but I really enjoyed this weeks assignment. I found so many interesting new things about WebQuests and Internet Projects that I could use in my classroom. I really enjoyed using VT as well. There are so many things you can do with the voice thread to communicate, and get students involved in their learning and learning process throughout the year. I will definitely be keeping this weeks tasks in mind when I am teaching in the future.
ReplyDeleteHi Everyone!
ReplyDeleteUp until this week I had never heard the terms Internet Projects or Web Quest, they were quite interesting to learn about and explore. The first thing I went to when I opened each page up was the “Let’s get started” ~ pages. The assignment overall was a bit difficult for me. I think because the sites and concepts were so new to me, is what made it a challenge. I really liked the fact that most anyone could be involved in these projects; friends and families were utilized for many parts. It is always good that any sites Professor Freeman shares are useful for our own classrooms. Although I do not have my own class yet, I have created a binder where I have written down and printed out resources that I could see myself using in my own classroom. I liked the word collage generator that she shared with us, it was so easy to use and very creative to add to our slides. Another great aspect to this assignment is that it promoted collaborative work, I think it is awesome when students work together to come up with ideas that they may not have had on their own, it encourages learning.
Reflection
ReplyDeleteTechnology in the 21st Century for this week has been an enjoyable experience as we used WebQuests and Internet Projects to complete tasks for this week’s assignment. Educators need to be able to master and be current on information in order to teach what is required of them to students for them to be successful in and outside of classroom environment. The fourth R for research is an addition that requires a student to be able to achieve. WebQuests and Internet Projects are informational resource tools that can be used in group activities to help students to better understand a topic. After this week’s posting and hands-on activities, I as a teacher will become more familiar with their usage and apply these newly found tools within the course.