This, I believe
For our final project we were asked to create a podcast based on the NPR podcast series, This, I believe. It is meant to be a statement of our beliefs on pedagogy, content and technology and my own practice, intertwined with what I have learned during my coursework this summer. Click the link below to hear the podcast. A transcript can be found below the podcast link.
test_for_i_believe.mp3 | |
File Size: | 4293 kb |
File Type: | mp3 |
I believe that I need to teach for the future.
I clearly remember the first time I wore contact lenses, my world view was completely different when not seen through a frame. It seemed somehow brighter. I clearly remember the first time I walked outside while wearing headphones connected to my personal cassette player. I was stunned to finally have my own soundtrack to follow my life. These experiences seem quaint and old fashioned in today’s world of laser surgery and mp3 players that can be hidden in a closed fist. But how long until these too, are old fashioned and quaint?
While I haven’t moved much in terms of my eye technology, my music has moved from 45’s, albums, 8 tracks, cassette tapes, cds to digital, all in less than 35 years.
35 years ago, I couldn’t have imagined the changes in how I store and listen to my music. Five years ago, a touch screen phone was science fiction to me. I can’t know what lies in the future in terms of technological advances; I can know that technology will continue to advance, at a rapid place.
I had my first email address in 1994, my desktop in 1999, first laptop in 2002, first mac laptop in 2004, an iPad in 2010 and I currently own a iPhone, a couple laptops, two iPods and most recently, an iPod touch. In less than 20 years my world has changed from computer labs, in some schools, to individual computers in the pockets of most of my students.
Not long ago, I began thinking more about how quickly the technology I was encountering in my life and in my career was evolving. I began to think about how much I had to learn every time I wanted to figure out a new tool. It seemed to be coming at me with ever increasing speed. After much contemplation, I went back to school. Why? Because I am a teacher. It is my responsibility to help prepare my students for their future.
In the past, students were expected to gain knowledge through static, one way delivery systems. Literacy was thought of mostly in terms of print. Today, students need to be able to interact with the information. Text forms have changed, they are no longer only print. The structures have changed. As students are increasingly exposed to digital texts, their literacy needs are different. The strategies and skills that worked for me are no longer sufficient for the student who must interact and even manipulate a text in order to comprehend the multimedia embedded in it, in a meaningful manner. Students of the past were mostly expected to be consumers, students of today are largely expected to be creators; what will the students of tomorrow need to be able to do? I believe it is my responsibility to prepare students for their future.
In the past, students were given a clear definition of plagiarizing, taking the work of someone else and passing it off as their own. In today’s world, this is a fuzzier area. Artists in film, music, and literature regularly remix. Today’s culture is one of great imagination. Students must know how to create. I believe it is my responsibility to prepare students for their future.
In the past, games were something that kids played at home or in the school yard. Today research is showing the power of gaming and the skills learned by participating in them. I need to expand my understanding of what needs to be learned and how to make that learning happen. I had a gut feeling that playing games did good things for the players, and I am now armed with research and data to back up the importance of play and what different kinds of games can teach. Problem solving, collaboration, designing, are all skills that are learned through gaming and that are in high demand outside of school. I believe it is my responsibility to to prepare students for their future.
In the past, we seemed to believe that there was a finite amount of information available to us. Today students have access to an unimaginable amount of information. Information that is presented in numerous, interactive, collaborative ways. I don’t know what technologies will exist in 20 years. I don’t know what new literacies will be needed to access information. I don’t know what additional skills which can be learned through play will be needed to perform in various careers. I do know that as a teacher, I have a responsibility to my students. Teaching based on my past will not prepare them for their future.
I need to teach for the future. This, I believe.
I clearly remember the first time I wore contact lenses, my world view was completely different when not seen through a frame. It seemed somehow brighter. I clearly remember the first time I walked outside while wearing headphones connected to my personal cassette player. I was stunned to finally have my own soundtrack to follow my life. These experiences seem quaint and old fashioned in today’s world of laser surgery and mp3 players that can be hidden in a closed fist. But how long until these too, are old fashioned and quaint?
While I haven’t moved much in terms of my eye technology, my music has moved from 45’s, albums, 8 tracks, cassette tapes, cds to digital, all in less than 35 years.
35 years ago, I couldn’t have imagined the changes in how I store and listen to my music. Five years ago, a touch screen phone was science fiction to me. I can’t know what lies in the future in terms of technological advances; I can know that technology will continue to advance, at a rapid place.
I had my first email address in 1994, my desktop in 1999, first laptop in 2002, first mac laptop in 2004, an iPad in 2010 and I currently own a iPhone, a couple laptops, two iPods and most recently, an iPod touch. In less than 20 years my world has changed from computer labs, in some schools, to individual computers in the pockets of most of my students.
Not long ago, I began thinking more about how quickly the technology I was encountering in my life and in my career was evolving. I began to think about how much I had to learn every time I wanted to figure out a new tool. It seemed to be coming at me with ever increasing speed. After much contemplation, I went back to school. Why? Because I am a teacher. It is my responsibility to help prepare my students for their future.
In the past, students were expected to gain knowledge through static, one way delivery systems. Literacy was thought of mostly in terms of print. Today, students need to be able to interact with the information. Text forms have changed, they are no longer only print. The structures have changed. As students are increasingly exposed to digital texts, their literacy needs are different. The strategies and skills that worked for me are no longer sufficient for the student who must interact and even manipulate a text in order to comprehend the multimedia embedded in it, in a meaningful manner. Students of the past were mostly expected to be consumers, students of today are largely expected to be creators; what will the students of tomorrow need to be able to do? I believe it is my responsibility to prepare students for their future.
In the past, students were given a clear definition of plagiarizing, taking the work of someone else and passing it off as their own. In today’s world, this is a fuzzier area. Artists in film, music, and literature regularly remix. Today’s culture is one of great imagination. Students must know how to create. I believe it is my responsibility to prepare students for their future.
In the past, games were something that kids played at home or in the school yard. Today research is showing the power of gaming and the skills learned by participating in them. I need to expand my understanding of what needs to be learned and how to make that learning happen. I had a gut feeling that playing games did good things for the players, and I am now armed with research and data to back up the importance of play and what different kinds of games can teach. Problem solving, collaboration, designing, are all skills that are learned through gaming and that are in high demand outside of school. I believe it is my responsibility to to prepare students for their future.
In the past, we seemed to believe that there was a finite amount of information available to us. Today students have access to an unimaginable amount of information. Information that is presented in numerous, interactive, collaborative ways. I don’t know what technologies will exist in 20 years. I don’t know what new literacies will be needed to access information. I don’t know what additional skills which can be learned through play will be needed to perform in various careers. I do know that as a teacher, I have a responsibility to my students. Teaching based on my past will not prepare them for their future.
I need to teach for the future. This, I believe.