EDUC-6712D-2 Reflection

This class was an eye opener. Other classes have talked about the 21st century skills that schools need to be teaching but few have had us make examples how to do so. What I enjoy about this masters program is how well the classes work together. Each class builds off of the other and it allows a student time to absorb and construct relevant materials for classroom students.
The most striking revelation I had from this class was just what teaching 21st century skills should look like. Creating the inquiry project has showed me how much should go into using technology in the classroom. I have seen plenty of teachers and I myself have been guilty of this as well, giving students assignments on a computer with no other expectations than the final product. What I learned from this class is that the final product is only a result of a well planned and organized unit intended to teach 21st century skills. Skills like verifying websites and sources using the REAL system (Eagleton & Dobler. 2007).. These types of strategies improve school work but most importantly teach our students to become smart internet consumers and that is a skill they will use the rest of their lives.
Going forward in my own teaching I will be focusing on teaching my content while teaching 21st century skills. This will be difficult but I compare it to my first year of teaching. I know what my students need to learn but I will need to create new lessons that emphasize skills students need in today’s world. It is not enough to simply assign a PowerPoint assignment or a wiki discussion. The form and function that are 21st century skills need to be taught alongside our content. Our classrooms can no longer be one dimensional, ever content teacher worries about their content, reading and writing, but there is now much more that teachers need to be responsible for.
For my professional development goal I would like to work to continue to improve creating inquiry projects. I can see adding many different aspects to this project. I would like these projects to move further into the realm of technology as I improve in creating it. I will also need to work on how I create grading rubrics for these projects. Assessment creation and grading is a second area I would like to improve upon for a professional development goal.
I enjoyed this class. There was a fair amount of work but I enjoying what I learned from this class. Learning complete process to determine the validity of websites was a lesson I will never forget. This skill is important for adults and students, I am looking forward to sharing this skill with students next year.

Kevin Kleespies

References
Eagleton, M. B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the web: Strategies for Internet inquiry. New York: The Guilford Press.