Week+2+Journal+Entry

In Week 2, our goals were to:
 * Expand your knowledge concerning the unique characteristics of 21st century Digital Learners,
 * Consider your experiences taking the teacher needs assessment,
 * Relate your team's needs assessment results with what you just read about the 21st century learner, and
 * Develop your understanding of various technologies that will be used to enable communication during this course.

​ In our article, "The 21st Century Digital Learner" by Marc Prensky, I was not surprised by the comments the students made about being bored and wanting to use their cell phones, MP3s and computers more in the classroom. I thought it was interesting when he wrote, "Unlike the corporate world, where businesses spend tens of millions researching what their consumers really want, when it comes to how we structure and organize our kids' education, we generally don't make the slightest attempt to list to, or even care, what students think about how they are taught." It is becoming more and more obvious that the "screenagers" in our classrooms are very different from students we have had in the past. They are motivated to learn on their own using technology. They are reaching out to teens in different countries. They are creating movies with involved plots and great character development and publishing them on the web. They are writing songs, designing websites, and creating online art. They have become great problem solvers while playing games on their gaming systems and online simulations. They take in an enormous amount information at lightning speed using their cell phones, laptops, television, and MP3 players.

We need to find ways to tap into all of this, to get them to use all these creative skills in school, and get them excited about taking ownership of their own learning. We need to discover the benefits of emerging technologies such as mobile devices, gaming in education, online learning and open education resources. This really motivates me but, also, is a bit scarey. It is easy to see the barriers and challenges in our schools that make it difficult to image being able to use these 21st Century skills in our classrooms, but we need to find ways to change how we are teaching our students.

As I answered the questions on our needs assessment, I realized how little I know but was comforted by the results of others. Seems we are all in the same boat. We have knowledge about some technology and all seem enthusiastic about learning more. I look forward to reading others' wiki and google pages to learn more about the 21st Century Skills they are using. As our team discussed the results from the Needs Assessment surveys, we were confused by what some of the questions were asking. It was especially confusing since the survey switches between Very Little (as 2nd lowest to 2nd highest) and Somewhat (from 2nd highest to 2nd lowest). We realized that many of the teachers had areas that they did not know much about and did not use them in their classroom.

As for my understanding of the technologies we will use to communicate during this course, I'm a little confused on what we are suppose to put where. Do we put it on our Google site, our wikispace, the moodle site? I'm hoping our technology leader will help us understand this better tomorrow. I do enjoy working on these sites. I find it easier to add the extras (graphics, colors, etc.) to the google site than it is to this wiki site, but I'm sure I'll get it all down eventually. Is anyone else out there frustrated with trying to get school stuff, class stuff, and life in general all to fit in during a 24 hour day?

What was made very clear from the video, "Social Media Revolution" by Erik Qualman, is that we need to make sure our students understand how to know if the information they are getting from their social networks is reliable or not. We can't begin to teach them about this if we don't use them ourselves. We have been warned by the state, our district, and our unions about responsible use of these sites, but how much do our students understand about how what they do on them will effect their future. I also look at the ratings consumers give products when I am deciding on something like which camera to buy. I know that there is no way of knowing if the source is reliable, but then again, are any ratings? This is definitely something we will have to learn more about. I love watching these videos with the different statistics flashing by. It is all so mind boggling. I remember, when I was in 6th grade (during the Nixon election) my teacher described computers as these amazing machines of the future. One computer would take a room bigger than our classroom. After going from my too bulky handheld hp to my ipod touch, I can't wait to see what is in store for us next!

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