"First Post"

Online learning has arrived and, whether we like it or not, is here to stay.  From the rise of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses),  to the popularity of sites such as Khan Academy, the concept of the flipped classroom  to the move to online standardized testing and textbooks and equipping students with the latest and greatest gadgets,  educators must learn to adapt to these changes and learn how to utilize these online technology tools to educate our 21st century students.  Online is the world in which we live, work, socialize and learn in - it is the only world our students know.  I came across an article titled: The App Generation: How Technology is Changing Us by Howard Gardner and Katie Davis. http://cognoscenti.wbur.org/2014/02/12/apps-howard-gardner-katie-davis. I thought this quote from the article was applicable to our students. 

"This generation expects that every aspect of life will be quick, efficient, streamlined, available immediately on demand, tell you what to do, how to do it, how others feel about it, and, at least implicitly, how you should feel about it, how you should feel about yourselves".

Gardner and Davis utilize the term digital immigrant to describe those of us who remember a less technological era, which I find to be spot on. I do feel like an immigrant when it comes to online learning/technology. While it offers amazing opportunities, it is challenging and scary at times. I certainly can be stubborn and reluctant to jump on board.   For example, whenever I see a student with a smart phone out in class, I ask them to put it away as I immediately view this form of technology as a distraction -  texting a friend, playing a game-  but what if they are looking something up for class?   Coming from the "old world" of technology made me think about It's a Book by Lane Smith - see the trailer below.   

Over the last few years, I  have primarily used technology for student projects and have become somewhat comfortable with them - Prezis, powerpoints, podcasting and imovies. I have used Buzzword and Google Docs with my students on occasion.   I am currently using Noodletools for online note taking for student term papers which is something that is still rather new to me but I do recognize the advantages to online notes and feedback.  I have a wiki for my European History AP class and the FirstClass website for posting homework assignments; however both of these tools are to communicate assignments and are not being utilized to the fullest potential.  My goals for the class are to become more comfortable with my own digital literacy skills, or lack thereof,  and to integrate online tools into my teaching beyond just projects -  on a more regular/ consistent basis.  I want to be that teacher who utilizes the laptops, ipads and  and be the teacher who doesn't immediate think that a cellphone out is a distraction!   I am interested in learning more about how other educators are using technology in their classroom to enhance their student learning.  I am a Mac user but have never used an ipad and am not sure how I would utilize them in the classroom - what are the benefits of the ipad over a laptop?  I am hoping to get some ideas on how other teachers are using  digital resources in the classroom using these technologies.  I am curious about blogs and blogging...can a blog serve the purpose of what I am currently utilizing my wiki for (mainly communicating assignments/resources) and I would like to move towards creating a conversation among my students - allowing students to respond to, comment and to provide feedback on certain historical topics/questions.   I came across this slide which I want to keep in mind as I move forward with this class regarding learning outcomes.
http://www.slideshare.net/glennw98/social-studies-in-21st-century-2013-27752923?utm_source=slideshow02&utm_medium=ssemail&utm_campaign=share_slideshow

What would a classroom of digital learners look like?  As I think about the future, I wonder about the direction of education and how knowledge will be disseminated and how skills will be taught in schools (or maybe not in schools?) ...traditionally educators/textbooks conveyed the information but now information is accessible at the push of a key.  I listened to a Ted Talk by Sugata Mitra titled: Build a School in the Cloud about his "Hole in the Wall" experiments. 
http://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_build_a_school_in_the_cloud.html
By placing computers in the slums of New Dehli, he was amazed at the learning that took place by setting the process in motion by letting learning happen and he witnessed children teaching other children.  I was fascinated by what he had to say but also scared about what he was suggesting about how our system of education is obsolete.  We don't always allow learning and teaching to happen in such an unstructured way and with standardized testing it is not feasible, but I do believe that as educators we can take something away from this as we think about teaching our students.  While I may have doubts about my own digital literacy skills, students will, more often than not, rise to the challenge especially when it comes to digital learning.  My goal in  a classroom of 21st century digital learners would be for them to be engaged in the task at hand, work with each other in the classroom to problem solve, find answers but also to raise questions about their own discoveries (similar to what I would like to see in a traditional 2oth century style classroom).  

I know that educators must find ways to use technology and tools to help them be better teachers to the students of today's world. Some school systems and educators may be slow and/or reluctant adopters of the new technologies, but that does not change the fact it is our new reality in education and it will continue to improve and increase at an exponential rate. I appreciate the opportunity to take this course and am looking forward to it.