One of the aspects of the Kiva article that particularly resonated with me was the question of appropriately using time in our classrooms with an already existing, mandated curriculum.
I'd like to think that a feature of a classroom in the 21st century, hopefully something I'm doing, is that time management and lesson planning allow for the inclusion of the skills we have been talking about. I think that the more comfortable I become with using all of these skills the more natural the planning process will be which will take the stress off of, "how do I do this?" ringing in my head.
The article we read explored the theme of 'changing the world.' For me, this is just a little bit too zealous. However, I do like to think that I am of the mindset of, "how can I impact my student's lives?" One of the ways I like to think I have an impact is through the creation of interesting lessons and discussions. Certainly, there are some days in school which will simply be rote memorization, we all know that, but there are plenty of opportunities to allow for the use of 21st. century skills. As an ELA teacher one thing I would like to bring to the classroom is the ability for my students to interact with student around the world. There are many avenues, including Skype, email, video mail, blogs, etc., which make this a possibility. At the same time, I like to remind the kids that a 'simple' letter is also still an effective tool of communication.
Many of the options we have as educators today are already things that students are comfortable with using. This, in theory, should make it a little easier for us to use the technology in our rooms.
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I agree with your comment about our curriculum and the time it takes to accomplish a "Kiva" type project.
ReplyDeleteIt does take a different mindset and the flexibility within the curriculum to accomplish a "Kiva" type project. I think our goal should be to encourage our students to make a difference somewhere in the globe. We have to consider, though, what parts of the curriculum might not be possible if we do.
ReplyDelete"Many of the options we have as educators today are already things that students are comfortable with using. This, in theory, should make it a little easier for us to use the technology in our rooms."
ReplyDeleteMaybe this is a reason for asking the students to join the conversation about how to accomplish what you discuss in the post. It also will help them to develop the skills we will talk about at the end of the course: Life and Career Skills.
Dennis