In the last 32 weeks within the Postgraduate DCL learning journey I have gained a lot of new knowledge and have been exposed to a new range of ideas and thinking surrounding education. The biggest learning I have taken away from this course is the idea that the world is drastically changing and as educators we need to be keeping up and ensuring that the skills we are teaching our students is appropriate to prepare them for the future.
I knew that I wanted to make a change in my practice to ensure that I was best preparing my students for their futures. When I made the decision to do this course I knew that I was moving from the Year 1/2 team and into the Year 7/8 team and I wanted to be digitally prepared for these learners so I could challenge them in their learning. I value future focused education and providing our students with the skills to thrive in the 21st century - I wanted to learn the skills to best get them there so that I knew I was doing my best job as a teacher. I wanted to gain more confidence and a better understanding for and why it is important to teach students 21st century skills, especially collaboration.
A key change I have made to my practice is the increased use of digital technologies in the classroom. Prior to this course I hardly ever usd digital technology with my Year 1/2 students, when iPads were used it was for game based activities as opposed to transformational creative tasks. This year with my older students I now have more knowledge on how to use digital technologies with them, we use devices throughout the entire day, my tasks for students are digital and creative but also allow for collaboration and the ability to share with others. Prior to completing this course my understanding of digital technologies in the classroom was lacking, as was my understanding of 21st century skills, I knew I wanted an increased understanding of this as I knew the future of education is about to change rapidly.
A key change I have made to my practice is the increased use of digital technologies in the classroom. Prior to this course I hardly ever usd digital technology with my Year 1/2 students, when iPads were used it was for game based activities as opposed to transformational creative tasks. This year with my older students I now have more knowledge on how to use digital technologies with them, we use devices throughout the entire day, my tasks for students are digital and creative but also allow for collaboration and the ability to share with others. Prior to completing this course my understanding of digital technologies in the classroom was lacking, as was my understanding of 21st century skills, I knew I wanted an increased understanding of this as I knew the future of education is about to change rapidly.
ITL Research- 21st Century Learning Design has guided my practice in the classroom (ITL Research n.d). This also relates to Standard 5 of the Teacher Standards (Ministry of Education, nd). The students in my classroom are provided with digital tasks that are based on the curriculum content, 21st century pedagogy such as collaboration, creativity, communication and are created based on their learning progressions. Through my learning at The Mind Lab I have been exposed to appropriate resources and an understanding of how to implement these in the classroom i.e. introducing flipped learning to my maths sessions.
From this experience I have learnt that students are very willing to learn new ways of learning, I have also learnt that things may not go right the first time but it is important to keep trying because when they do go right it is amazing to see in the classroom and the benefits it is giving our students. In the future I would like to look into gamification in the classroom and how this can best be implemented for our learners.
References
ITL Research. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://education.microsoft.com/GetTrained/ITL-Research
Ministry of Education (nd). Practising teacher Criteria and e-learning . Retrieved from http://elearning.tki.org.nz/Professional-learning/Registered-Teacher-Criteria-and-e-learning
Osterman, K. & Kottkamp, R.(1993). Reflective Practice for Educators.California.Cornwin Press, Inc. Retrieved on 7th May, 2015 fromhttp://www.itslifejimbutnotasweknowit.org.uk/files/RefPract/Osterman_Kottkamp_extract.pdf
From this experience I have learnt that students are very willing to learn new ways of learning, I have also learnt that things may not go right the first time but it is important to keep trying because when they do go right it is amazing to see in the classroom and the benefits it is giving our students. In the future I would like to look into gamification in the classroom and how this can best be implemented for our learners.
References
ITL Research. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://education.microsoft.com/GetTrained/ITL-Research
Ministry of Education (nd). Practising teacher Criteria and e-learning . Retrieved from http://elearning.tki.org.nz/Professional-learning/Registered-Teacher-Criteria-and-e-learning
Osterman, K. & Kottkamp, R.(1993). Reflective Practice for Educators.California.Cornwin Press, Inc. Retrieved on 7th May, 2015 fromhttp://www.itslifejimbutnotasweknowit.org.uk/files/RefPract/Osterman_Kottkamp_extract.pdf
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