Reflective blog #1

Educational Philosophy

The purpose of education is to empower individuals with the ability to reach their full potential as successful participants in today’s society.  An educator has a tremendous responsibility to be a role model for students, and to set an example of excellence in setting and achieving goals.  I was influenced by teachers who employed traditional methods of learning basic fundamentals, but whose enthusiasm for the materials kept me interested. My favorite teachers were encouraging and caring, but at the same time we as students understood that mediocrity was not acceptable.  The best teachers in my experience also showed me that we must learn from our mistakes.  They had a sense of humor about their own shortcomings and as a result, they took ownership of their imperfections, learned from bad choices, and then moved on without looking back. My teaching methods now also reflect a modern approach of the teacher as facilitator because I believe that emerging technology keeps students engaged and enables them to construct new knowledge.

As a result of my past teachers and educational background I have learned that people learn differently, and a teacher should be aware of these differences to help each student reach their full potential. I choose to be a teacher and librarian that instills a love for reading, a desire to gain new knowledge and sets a precedence of life-long learning. One of the most important things I can do as a teacher and librarian is instill in the learner that one must receive, process and use information analytically.  A learner has a responsibility to determine the source of information, why and how information is being presented and to distinguish between opinion, theory and fact and to take all of these facets to construct new knowledge and understanding.

I believe it is important to know one’s educational philosophy because as a process, it helps one become a better educator.  As I reflect on my past teachers, my role as a student and my experience as an educator, I must learn from everyone I come in contact with.  For example, being influenced by the curiosity of a seven-year old student can be just as important as the wisdom of a veteran teacher who has taught for thirty years.  My philosophy is a reflection of my educational experience but it is also a statement about how I see my future role in education and whether I am able to make a commitment to make improvements.  The role technology plays in education is also constantly changing, and I have a responsibility as an educator to keep students engaged by creating meaningful assignments and projects.

 

Educational Blogging

After reading the article about blogging, my conclusion is that blogging is a good tool for writing, reflecting and sharing.  The benefits are there, as Downes states, such as the ability to develop a community of learners and to “put students in a situation of equity.”  Blogging will not be possible though if students do not have the technology available to use it and this will defeat the whole purpose of “equity” in the classroom. My school district is required to use filters that block access to all blogs so we are a long way from using them to their full potential.  I believe that the ability to use tools such as blogging will come eventually, but by the time our school districts can afford to give students access to the technology or the policies to allow students to use them, blogging will have either evolved into something entirely different, or replaced by something even better. It is important, however to understand what blogging is and how it benefits us as educators. Whether or not we blog or don’t blog, we need to understand that as a practice, it is a statement about our changing world and how we are able to share knowledge and make connections.

 

November's article

November gives us six points in his technology framework.  Each one is thought provoking, but the point that stood out to me the most was his idea of collegiality. No longer is it acceptable to hoard ideas and best practices and his idea about “sharing stories” helps achieve teamwork. Competitiveness is not a bad thing, but sometimes when we have a great idea we want to keep it to ourselves because part of us want “our students in our classroom” to be the best.  November states that we must foster teamwork and at the heart of learning and technology are relationships and that technology facilitates idea sharing and makes it easier to collaborate.  Recently, I noticed my colleagues have been more excited than in the past to try new ideas and more optimistic about beginning a new school year.  Technology has an important role because these new ideas were all made possible by social networks and my colleagues’ ability to follow experts and enthusiasts in their field.  They are becoming aware of what is out there and what is working for other teachers across the country and even the world.  This hopefully will have an impact on our students at our school, and their new fervor will translate into improved learning.

 

Expectations

I hope to learn new skills and gain new knowledge in this class, but more importantly I hope to be able to apply what I have learned to my students and my learning community. In the past I felt that technology was about “automating” and way to make our lives more productive. Automation is a good thing, and looking back on my years in the library, I cannot imagine an un-automated library and having to rely on the card catalog again. Hopefully, I will learn to see the importance of “informating” and understand not just the skill or the ability to use technology but also the impact that learning the technology can have on my teaching practice.