Reflection

Over the last seven weeks I have gained an immense amount of information that has completely changed the way that I approach my teaching in all aspects.  I gained the knowledge and use of tools that I never would have imagined possible in a Physical Education classroom.  Additionally, I have discovered that thinking outside of the box is much easier than I once considered and in the end it is going to make me a better teacher and my students will be more engaged and motivated to learn.

As a professional teacher, I have learned how to create my own blog, respond to others’ blogs, contribute to a wiki and make my own podcast.  Through my exploration and experience with these technology tools throughout this course, I have quickly realized their value and place in today’s classroom.  When I originally started this course, I felt overwhelmed about the idea of using blogs, wikis and podcasts, especially when it came to creating my own.  The overwhelming feeling quickly went away as I began working with these tools when I realized how simple and valuable their use was.  Having had the opportunity to use these tools has helped me to have a wider range of tools in my technology toolbox, specifically when I think about addressing the needs of my students.  Furthermore, the use of these technology tools could potentially be the hook that my students need for a higher level of motivation for learning.  Through the use of these tools in both my learning and eventually in my teaching, I have an increased knowledge for teaching and learning.  I have quickly realized the value in being a facilitator of learning and allowing students to guide their own their learning.  I think that there is a higher level of motivation for student learning when they have a choice and are able to relate to their learning. 

Obviously, I have changed my perspective on being teacher centered to student centered in my classroom.  There has been a gradual shift within my school district in regards to this.  Instruction is to be data driven, therefore based on student need or student centered.  Through the duration of this course we have heard several different resources share the benefit of instruction and learning being student centered.  I firmly believe that student centered instruction creates a higher motivation for learning and allows students to develop skills that are necessary for the 21^st century job market.  Students are now more able to know where to find specific information and how to use it appropriately.  Additionally, they are developing skills such as leadership and teamwork by guiding their own learning. 

With a focus on student centered learning, there also comes the topic of continuing to work to increase my knowledge for learning and increasing student achievement.  I am planning on developing ways to integrate tools such as blogs and wikis into my Physical Education classroom.  I often find myself struggling with this concept because it is an activity based curriculum and unfortunately due to circumstances well beyond my control, students need as much physical activity time as possible.  However, that does not mean that I cannot continue to work to build my own knowledge base to increase student achievement and motivation for learning.  Additionally, I continue to attend professional development workshops that address the use of technology to support instruction.  Finally I am planning on implementing the skills and strategies that I am learning through my participation in this program.

I recognize that through my learning, the only way to become more effective is to implement the strategies and skills that I am learning.  I have two goals that I am working towards, that I would like to accomplish within the next two years.  The first goal is to implement the use of daily blogging about student learning in my classroom and the other would be for each student to complete a minimum of sixty minutes of physical activity each day.  Both of these goals are going to require finding the time and holding students accountable for documenting their learning as well as completing their physical activity minutes.  While it would be nice to have the time to take students to the computer lab to blog about their learning during the school day, most likely the time for that will not be found during the school day.  Instead, it will become a homework assignment.  Students will be given a window in which they need to post to their blogs.  Additionally, if students do not have computer and internet access at home, there has to be an opportunity for them to complete their assignment at some point during the school day.  The purpose of the blog would be for students to share and provide insight about their learning, but also an opportunity to share the various activities that they are doing to meet their sixty minutes of physical activity.  The blog would provide an opportunity for students to learn from each other and to share their perspective on their learning.  Finally, it would serve as a learning tool for myself as a teacher as well.  Through the blog postings students would be providing me with items that I would have never considered before when teaching.  It would also provide a unique opportunity for reflection because I would be able to see the impact of my instruction on my students.

Finally, when I referred back to my self assessment checklist, I have discovered that many of my answers to the questions have changed.  For example, I have discovered the value of collaboration and realizing the importance of providing students with the opportunity to understand how their learning relates to their own personal lives.  As I reflect on my current teaching practices, it is my goal to guide students down that path each and every day.  Overall, I want my students to take away something new and exciting each time that they leave my classroom and it is my job to make sure that it happens. 

Today's Students

Hello!  Below you will find my podcast discussing my students and their use of technology outside of the classroom.  Enjoy!

21st Century Skills - How can we prepare our students for their real world?

As educators, we understand that society is always changing, therefore the way that we teach and reach our students is constantly changing as well.  When asked to take the opportunity to peruse The Partnership for 21st Century Skills  it was interesting how much our students need to know and be able to do by the time they graduate high school.  The question is: who is responsible for teaching them and how can we ensure that they are being taught all that they need to know?

I found this website to be a valuable resource as it provides a foundation for the essential skills that our students will need to be productive citizens after their completion of high school.  While many may think that these skills are a bit outrageous in the fact that it may most likely be assumed that students will learn these skills in a school setting, I find it interesting at the variety of skills that are listed for our students to be successful in the working 21st Century.  The one area that I find most interesting and eye opening is the wide array of life and career skills, with attention to Productivity and Accountability.  I find this area intriguing as I do not feel that the education system holds other factors involved in the education process accountable other than teachers and administrators.  The factors that I am referring to are parents and students.  For example, in my school district schools that are not making the appropriate amount of progress on high stake standards provide families with the option of a school choice.  As if to say, we are not doing our jobs as educators and you now may choose the school that your child may attend because of our short comings.  However, the reality is in order for us to be successful with our students we need the support from the home as well.  We need parents to ensure that students are completing homework and that they are coming to school prepared to learn.  When do parents begin to be held accountable for their student's progress as we are as educators?

Many could or would argue that quite possibly all of these skills are not necessary for students to have by the time that they graduate high school.  However, I am in support of these skills as they are skills that many of us learned throughout our years and have had experience with through various opportunities.  I believe that the website above has done an excellent job of identifying those skills and breaking them out into categories to show how they fit within the different areas of our lives.  I never once thought that we would need a large knowledge base of ICT Literacy, but with the continuous advances in technology it has become apparent why we need to this form of literacy.

Through the exploration of this website, I have realized how imperative it is that we begin to address these skills with our students in elementary school all the way through their educational careers.  It is a large challenge, but just as the skills of the 21st Century have shown us we have to be creative in our thinking just as we need to teach our students to do so as well.  It will also be a challenge for students to understand the various tasks and challenges that will come with teaching 21st Century skills, but with careful thought and creativity it can be done.  It will take more time, which is not something we have a plethora of, but these skills can be integrated into our curriculum through more project based learning and less test types of assessments.

Blogs? In Physical Education - Yes!

I teach Elementary School Physical Education and the use of a blog in this type of setting might be a crazy idea, but I believe that it will serve a vital role.  


The use of a blog in my setting would serve as a means to update my school community on the latest happenings in my Physical Education Classroom.  It would be a place to share our current unit, vocabulary and skills that students are practicing in class.  Additionally, it would serve as a resource to families for items such a fitness calendars, nutrition information and ideas for families to be physically active, together.  My blog would also serve as a place where additional information and resources would be posted about the current unit of instruction, so that students can access the information outside of the classroom.  Finally, I do not typically assign homework or expect student to practice skills outside of the classroom, but it would serve as a place to post ideas for extra practice and video references for student use.


I excited to continue my exploration of the use of blogs in the Physical Education Classroom and welcome any ideas and suggestions on how it could support instruction! 

 

Blogging - A New Experience

Hello!  I have created this blog to share and hopefully network with other Physical Education Teachers on the use of technology in the Physical Education classroom.  I am currently in my 5th year of teaching elementary school PE and my school system has a large focus on utilizing technology as a means to enhance student learning.  When the opportunity knocked, I jumped right on board.  In my classroom, I currently use various forms of technology, but most specifically a cart with a LCD projector, computer, interactive white board, a student response system (ActiVotes) and gaming systems.  


I am excited to see where this blogging experience will take me!  I have not used blogs that much, but from the ones that I have perused over the last few weeks, I am curious to see how all of it turns out.