Throughout the last couple of weeks, I have noticed that I have not had the opportunity to really reflect and take measures to achieve my goals. I, like all teachers during this time, have been focusing on final exams, finishing old grading, and planning review sessions with my students. So as you can see, I have not had that much time to reflect on my goals or work towards achieving them.
All in all, I must say that I have come along way in addressing my goals of finding new projects and new technologies to incorporate into my classroom. Throughout various resources from this course, discussing ideas with colleagues and peers, and simply through trying out some of the things that I have read and viewed during the video resources, I feel that I have a great deal of work ahead of me. Let's face it. There really is no such thing as time off for teachers. Even during our breaks, we are continually looking for ways to improve our classrooms. That's the professionalism in all of us, and we owe it to our students to find ways to become better educators.
For the upcoming semester, I realize that many of the ideas that I have will take valuable class time to explain because these will be new skills for many students. Although similar to teaching a new concept in the classroom, by implementing technology, these new concepts will also require new technological skills. For instance, teaching to the standards for World War I using basic and traditional methods of direct instruction will also require the teaching of these technological skills. I have ideas about using digital storytelling in my classroom and in order for students to succeed in grasping the content, they will have to learn the content and the skills necessary to complete the projects using newly learned technological skills. Though this may seem to be a challenge, it is a necessary evil considering that many of these skills are needed by today's 21st century students.
I have much work to do, but I am confident that I will achieve my goals and achieve success.
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Hey, Mike. I’m right there with you. In fact, it just hit me that I hadn’t done the blog for this week. I am giving finals Tuesday and Wednesday and doing make-ups on Thursday so I have been focused in other places.
ReplyDeleteI think you are right - you have made the necessary steps to get the ball rolling so to speak. You have done the things that you needed to do to get yourself headed in the right direction. I can really see you going on to the next point, the next step toward your goals. Just be sure to take the time to look over where you are and keep it all in mind as you plan for your next semester. I don’t know if you teach the exact same courses next semester to new students or if you actually have different classes. If your situation is the former, you have a real advantage here, an advantage you usually don’t have in teaching. When you begin to plan your lessons, now you have these ultimate end goals that will shape your planning. Use that to its fullest, use it to your advantage.
Good luck.