Revised Philosophy Statement

Wow! These past seven weeks sure have flown by! I have learned a lot from this class, honestly more than I thought. Since I'm in my mid-twenties, I considered myself very tech savvy. Little did I know how far off I actually was. I was familiar with blogs, I used to keep a personal one in my teen years. But I was very unfamiliar with wikis, e-portfolios and creating podcasts.

I am very thankful for this course and the lessons I learned because I think it is crucial for today's teachers to be up to par with technology. Students these days are being raised in a digital era and it's important that the teacher's don't get left behind. We, teachers, need to be prepared to teach the students and keep up with modern technology so that even they don't get left behind on new developments.

When the semester first started, I wrote my Philosophy Statement as a Constructivist. To this day, that still stands. The only thing I revised in my statement was that I added a section on importance of technology in the classroom and posted it below:

Philosophy Statement

The purpose of education is to prepare children for their life outside of school. As teachers, it is our job to equip them with the knowledge and skills they need for after they graduate. It is extremely important to have a philosophy and plan in place so that an effective classroom can be run with full learning potential.

After reading through the six philosophy resources, the one that I most closely identify with is Constructivism. I believe a classroom should be student-centered where high-level thinking and student autonomy are encouraged. There also needs to be a reflection time so that the students can figure out how and why they got their answers. Constructivism places a lot of responsibility on the students and keeps them accountable for their own learning.

The role of the learner is to seep up information that will prepare them for the future. Also to expand their knowledge off of what they currently know and incorporate it in their everyday lives. The role of the teacher is to set up a classroom that encourages all levels of learning. Lesson plans need to encourage higher-level thinking and the teacher needs to serve more as a facilitator than a lecturer. Children need to be challenged, but also supported and encouraged to do well.

Technology is also a vital part of the classroom. We live in an age where new technology is coming about and advancing every day. The current students are also being raised in a digital age. Teachers need to be trained and keep up-to-date on current and new technologies. Technology should be implemented in the classroom for learning. It is crucial to have so that the students will be prepared for later classes and to be successful outside of school.

My objective as a teacher is to run a positive classroom with set expectations and rules. There will be order and organization in my classroom so that full learning potential can be met. I will have the students work in groups more often than not so that they can learn from one another. I want the children to learn to think for themselves and learn to come up with answers on their own, rather than them sitting through a lecture and writing down notes. I don’t believe that just lecturing allows the students to use their brains in creative ways, nor does it encourage high-level thinking or student autonomy. I believe a student can grasp a concept best if they try to figure out the problem on their own. Of course, the teacher should always be there to help and to guide the students. I also will have a fun classroom, learning needs to be seen as fun and enjoyable so that maximum learning can occur.

I like to look back at my previous teachers and see what had the best effect on me. My worst teacher was my 2^nd grade teacher. She was very mean, always in a bad mood and was very hard on us as a class. That is the complete opposite of what kind of teacher I want to be. I want to be more like my sophomore year World History teacher. While her class was very tough and challenging, it was also fun. We worked a lot in groups, doing different projects and activities. I believe I learned more this way, since I was actively learning, rather than passively learning.

I will hold true to my philosophy on Constructivism and set high expectations for myself and my students. My students will always be expected to excel on their assignments and completely fully and to the best of their ability. I will hold myself accountable for them as well. If a student is struggling, I need to recognize it and come up with a plan to help them understand and ultimately do well in the class.

Reflective Blog 6: Podcasts

As I was reading through the article, "Teaching with Technology Podcasting," I noticed that the studies conducted and the methods talked about were really targeting the higher education realm. Honestly, I think podcasting would be more beneficial and useful in higher education more so than in grade school. I think the future of podcasting is bright, even though it is a fairly new endeavor. Podcasting allows teachers to record lectures and make them available on-line to students. It also allows the students to get involved if they are to create their own podcasts. Studies have shown that pre-recorded lectures made available by podcasts have had a positive effect on exam grades. Also,  podcasts are available not only on the computer, but on tablets and MP3 players as well. They are readily available to everyone everywhere.

The reason I think podcasts are better for use in higher education is because there are a lot of students in grade school who do not have access to computers, tablets or MP3 players at home, especially in lower income areas. However, I'm not saying that they shouldn't be used at all in grade school. Projects can be completed in the school computer lab, as they should be. Students need to be exposed to all realms of technology, including podcasting. Especially since podcasts are being used more often in higher education, grade school is the perfect time and opportunity to expose them to this.

One possible negative side effects of podcasting would be less class attendance. Students may see the podcasts as a way out of not actually going to class. However, so far, this hasn't been the case. And this most certainly wouldn't be the case in grade school since students have to attend school. So as of right now, this possible side effect is really a non-issue.

As far as personal use of podcasting in my classroom goes, I would say really depends on what grade level I am teaching. I am Highly Qualified to teach 4th-8th grade. If I am teaching a 4th-6th grade classroom, I probably wouldn't use podcasting as much as I would if I were teaching a 7th-8th grade class. The 4th-6th graders would be exposed to podcasting in a lesson, but wouldn't be something heavily used throughout the year. I may have them do a fun little project involving creating a podcast so that they are at least exposed to it. In the 7th-8th grade classes, I would probably use podcasting more frequently. As in delivering pre-recorded lectures that they can use while doing homework or studying for a test. I would also have them create at least one podcast so that they are exposed to that side of it as well.

Podcasting is a great tool for the classroom. It can be used in many different ways and accessed through many different outlets. I have a feeling more and more schools and universities will be using podcasting more often down the road.