Mindset

According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, a manifesto is a statement that describes the policies, goals, and opinions of a person. In the following video segment I will describe my learning manifesto in regards to technology. This manifesto is deeply rooted in my philosophy of education.

 

I believe an education should be supplied to every person regardless of any circumstances.  It should provide people with specific and general knowledge to succeed where ever life takes them.  The purpose of education is to help develop every individual to their fullest potential.  It is my job as a teacher to help students reach their full potential.  It is my job to allow students to realize they can define their own life and they are capable of accomplishing whatever they desire.  It is my job to help them develop the skills to accomplish whatever they want to do.

 

Students need great teachers, or teachers that are striving to be great in order for students to develop those skills. I am passionate about helping teachers become more effective with the technology available to them, about helping teaching unlock their full potential (by trying things they’ve never tried before).

 

More and more technology is becoming available to teachers and students every year. The schools and parents are providing technology for students. However, having a technology device in hand, isn’t the solution to build global citizens.

 

At a national and global level, I think an emerging issue regarding digital learning is the lack of internet access. In urban or rural schools, especially those that are considered impoverished, many students do not have access to internet at home. So even if we provide the device, such as iPads or Chrome Books, how do students participate at home for assignments requiring internet? I understand that many things can be downloaded onto the devices such as documents or videos (depending on the storage), but there still exists the “what if” question. How do we ensure equal access for all of our kids?

 

According to GettingSmart.com, one emerging trend in education is app innovation and “gamification”. App innovation is one thing, but how do you feel about gamification? Gamification seems scary to me. Turning learning into games can lead kids back to a fixed mindset focused on winning the competition or getting the right answers to move to the next level. It seems games might not be the best way, especially if we want our kids collaborating and having discussions.

 

On the other hand, I’ve witnessed apps that allow for great collaboration between students as well as between students and teachers. Google suite, for instance, allows kids to work together and discuss as they build docs or presentations. Google classroom also allows me as the teacher to see the work immediately. I can comment on their product as they work, giving constructive feedback. They can also ask me questions and notifications are pushed to my cell phone even when I’m not at school. I think this tells kids that education is important and we are providing them with as many tools as we can to help them be successful.

 

Like I said earlier, we are putting technology into the hands of our students and asking them to participate in more digital classroom settings, even flipped classrooms, but we aren’t ensuring equal access to the internet to ensure all of our students are successful. I believe we can partner with our community members and business owners to create wireless internet access points throughout our community for students to use if they don’t have the option at home. For instance, some cities, like Midlothian, Texas have wireless access points at their public parks. Although there is no place inside for students to sit if the weather is less than favorable, it still provides an option for students who otherwise would not have access to the internet outside of school. Obviously, libraries have internet, but they aren’t open all the time or close enough to commute to for all students. Local businesses and chain restaurants also have internet access, but they usually require purchases in order to use them. Districts could partner with some local businesses like coffee shops and chain restaurants allowing internet access for free to students who show their valid school IDs. This would give opportunities for students to have internet access with shelter from the weather. To prevent loitering, I do not believe it is unreasonable to put a time limit for how long students are allowed to stay each evening.

 

Going back to my philosophy of education, I believe that in order to develop a child into their full potential, school should be a place that develops critical thinking skills while teaching academics.  With years of adult interaction from home and throughout the school system, economic and social skills should naturally be developed.  With everything they have learned throughout their education, students should be able to go out into the world and develop their own opinions about society and know how to act on them if necessary.  Students should leave school as functional adults ready and capable to survive in the world and be an active contributing member of society.  As a teacher, I must teach students how to succeed in the real world.  I must give them plenty of opportunities to develop their critical thinking skills.  One of the most important aspect of my job as a teacher is building inquiry processing.  The world is full of problems that are far from any textbook example.  Students need to be able to solve the problems that have no clear answers and be solution oriented rather than focused on prohibitions to getting things done.  An inquiry unit is an approach to teaching and learning that creates a situation, a need, to learn.  This situation is what motivates the students.  In a job setting, a person might be faced with difficult decisions and having an education heavy in problem solving will help them answer the question of how will they choose the right approach?  They will use the knowledge they have in problem solving to deal with life’s great obstacles.  

 

Tying this back into technology and my learning manifesto, the 21st-century learner thinks critically, communicates, collaborates, adapts, and perseveres using technology and literacy skills. I believe that, used appropriately, technology can raise awareness, start conversations, find answers, inspire teamwork, change minds, make a difference, take action, and drive change. (You can read more about the Digital Learning Initiative my team put together here.)

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I want technology in my organization to be used to transform how we teach children. I want it to be used to personalize learning for each child. I want it to be used to ensure students are getting relevant and update to date information and content. I want our use of technology to increase engagement. Just having technology is not the key, but proper usage to inspire and promote collaboration and teamwork.

We don’t need to teach our kids the ins and outs of every software and application available in order to make them ready for the work force and college. Although, it’s not a bad idea to make sure they at least know the basics of Microsoft Office. We however, need to teach them that they can persevere and figure out how to navigate and use the pieces of technology that are available to them because as they continue to function in this 21st century, new technology will continue to emerge. I model this daily when students ask me a question regarding technology that I do not know the answer to. Write there in front of them, I show them how I figure out the answer. As a result, I have students from all grade levels and classes as well as teachers coming to me to ask technology related questions.

 

One of the best and easiest uses of technology includes students searching for and finding answers. I use this aspect regularly in my precalculus class. As a result, students are learning they have access to information they never dreamed of before. They are using data from the FBI and other government agencies to create mathematical models for the length of day related to latitude, using exponential functions to model depreciation of cars and thus learned important life lessons about how to buy a car and what they should actually pay for it. They have used linear conditional applications to create a spreadsheet to accurately compare cell phone plans depending on how much data they use and the change in price if they go over their data limit. Currently they are using information from the CIA to determine how birth and growth rates can be represented as a recursive function for various countries across the world. All of this wouldn’t be possible if we didn’t have access to the internet. Sure, I could have them do the same activity, but I would have to choose and provide the information for them. These projects allow them to choose their own countries, their own cars, and their own cities to explore these mathematical models. The autonomy allows for greater engagement. I then give them the freedom to present their information in whatever method they choose. Some submit slide-show presentations, some submit websites, and some choose to use a spreadsheet to organize their information. Overall, I have been blown away at the quality of the product I receive when I give them so much autonomy.

 

To sum everything up, I believe all teachers should strive to be the best they can be for their students. I want to be a person that helps teachers reach their full potential. Technology is a tool that we as teachers can use to help the 21st-century learner think critically, communicate effectively, collaborate well, adapt to the circumstances around them, and persevere using technology and literacy skills.

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References

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Freiberger, S. (2017, July 16). 5 emerging trends in 21st-century education. Retrieved from http://www.gettingsmart.com/2017/07/5-emerging-

trends-in-21st-century-education/