A few summers ago, I attended a STEM conference in Dallas at Fair Park.  This conference really opened my eyes to the many benefits of integrating technology into the classroom.  For this reason, the first organization I searched for was a STEM oriented one.  STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics; this meta-discipline revolutionizes the science and mathematics curriculum by incorporating technology and engineering into the courses.  The STEM Education Coalition (www.stemedcoalition.org) is dedicated to “support[ing] STEM programs for teachers and students at the U. S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, and other agencies that offer STEM related programs.”  This organization is dedicated to educating policymakers and other key leaders on the vital role that STEM education has in the United States, both in our nation’s competitiveness and economic prosperity in the future; by forging strong relationships with these policymakers, members of this coalition are able to “serve as a valued source of expertise to their staffs on STEM education issues.”

The STEM Education Coalition serves as an advocate for adopting novel and successful STEM programs from agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the Department of Education.  The mission statement for the STEM Education Coalition is to “foster new and innovative policy initiatives.”  In so doing, this organization is able to encourage and inspire students, recruit highly-skilled STEM teachers, improve STEM resources in classrooms, and encourage cooperation and partnerships between federal agencies as well as local communities and colleges/universities.

As a Star Wars fanatic, I love everything to do with George Lucas.  When I learned about his educational foundation, I nearly had a fit!  This genius of a man stated that “education is the foundation of our democracy.”  However, Lucas also realized that traditional education had some flaws, including a failure to engage every student all the time.  To combat these imperfections, he developed the George Lucas Educational Foundation (www.edutopia.org). 

This organization has set out to improve the “K-12 learning process by documenting, disseminating, and advocating for innovative, replicable, and evidence-based strategies that prepare students to thrive in their future education, careers, and adult lives.”  In order to complete its arduous task, this foundation has vowed to expose the world-wide community to a new world of learning.  According to the website’s statement of vision, schools need to offer more project-based and social-emotional learning as well as access to innovative technology.  In other words, school should be a place where students can grow academically and also develop critical 21st-century skills such as how to locate information, how to determine the quality of said information, and how to use it – effectively and creatively – to achieve a preset goal.

My definition of educational technology is more of an agglomeration of words and phrases that make me think about technology being integrated into the classrooms.  I truly believe that educational technology is a mixture of different media used to improve instruction.  I also believe that the best educational technology is interactive, allowing students and teachers to connect digitally and socially.  By being interactive, educational technology is also hands-on.  Once instruction is integrated with technology it becomes fast paced.  Immediate or near-immediate feedback is nearly always provided when educational technology is used, satisfying this generation of students who expect instant gratification.  An increased use of visuals, graphics, and colors also help to catch a student’s interest and hold it.  By being both hands-on and a way to prepare children for their future endeavors, my definition of educational technology fits well with my philosophy of educational technology.  I have attached my concept mapping of educational technology below.

ETEC 524 Week 1 - My Educational Technology Philosophy

My Educational Technology Philosophy

As a teacher, I have witnessed many moments where a student’s frustration vanishes, his/her eyes light up, and the lesson or concept is finally understood.  To me, this process of true learning is what makes teaching so rewarding.  My idea of a great teacher is one who makes a class fun, is always willing to help, and gets to know his/her students on a more personal level.  The ideal teacher also makes his/her classroom feel safe and inviting.  I try to be an educator, tutor, instructor, coach, facilitator, trainer, lecturer, and professor to my students.  At times, I have been told by former students that I acted like a mother to them.  I’m not quite sure what to think about the “mother” part, but my students do know that they can come to me with any questions/problems and that I will do my best to help them. 

My students, on the other hand, hold the responsibility of scholars, apprentices, and learners.  With this in mind, I try to choose assignments that provide enough repetition of a concept while, at the same time, break the monotony of worksheet after worksheet.  For example, when I was reviewing my students on TAKS Objective 5 (quadratics), I could have papered them to death.  Instead, I had my classes construct catapults, launch play-doh balls and, then, analyze the path of the projectiles.

As a math teacher, my students use graphing calculators every day.  I encourage them to research the Internet if they get stuck on a homework question and are unable to find me for help or ask a friend.  My campus recently purchased Promethean Boards, a brand of interactive white boards, as well.  My students enjoy working problems out on the board now, simply because it is new and fun, yet harder than one might think, to write with the stylus.  I also encourage my students to utilize technology when I assign projects.  I have assigned a project in the past where my students had to write a children’s book explaining a math concept.  I had several groups turn in an actual bound book, but a few accepted my technology challenge and created their books in PowerPoint and other similar programs.  They truly enjoyed working on this project and their test results showed that it helped them master the concepts.  I have also had projects such as creating a music video that encourage students to use technology; one group even used a program to synthesis their voices!  If I can find a way around the texting charge, I might even have pop quizzes where my students “text” the answers to a given site.  With more and more of my students getting Smart phones, the applications for technology in the classroom are endless!

I expect the best from my students and from myself as a teacher.  When comparing unit pretests and posttests, I expect to see growth from each student.  I encourage my students to try their best and attempt to answer each question.  In my opinion, effort is a needed step to reaching academic success.  As a teacher, I hold myself to high standards.  I strive to engage all my students during each lesson; my goal is always to see each child achieve mastery of the concept.  I realize that my teaching methods must change and grow with each class; I allow myself the flexibility to modify lessons and reteach concepts as needed.  In my opinion, teachers learn and grow alongside their students.

I chose teaching because I feel that is where God wants me to be so that I can help young adults prepare for the future.  It is my goal to instill in my future students the joy of learning and a love for math.  I truly believe that, as a teacher, I can make a difference in this world and in the lives of my students.  Technology is the way of the future.  We must either accept it or move out of its way.  I find the challenge of integrating technology into my classroom to be exhilarating.  It provides teachers with a new means with which to hook our students.

While the free writing part of this exercise was hard for me, partly because I was using a word document for it as opposed to pencil and paper, I think that actually taking the time to think about how you feel about technology is a good thing.  Once you know where you stand regarding technology, or what your personal philosophy towards it is, then you can better assess how you can utilize it in your classroom in the future.

I think that blogging in education is an excellent idea.  My campus has recently started reflective journaling.  Right now, it is hard to encourage our students to write freely and that there will be no repercussions for what is written.  I think that having a class blog would make it easier for students to reflect about the class; by sharing on a blog, I believe the students would feel less threatened and be more willing to reflect honestly.  I also agree with some of the comments made in the article.  Having a class blog would allow me to post assignment and test/quiz reminders.  I could also offer tutoring/homework help at a certain time online.  If time is not taken up during class to answer homework questions, then more content could be taught and more progress would be made through each course’s curriculum.  I do not believe that we have reached the potential Stephen Downes’ mentioned in his article.  While I agree that blogging is a way to teach students how to learn outside of the classroom, I think that our current curriculum is too structured to allow teachers the freedom to utilize this technology.  I also believe that a large percentage of teachers are either technophobic or simply not comfortable with technology, which limits their use of technology in the classroom.  When I first started teaching, a colleague called his teacher computer that “TV/typewriter thing;” he could check his email and reply to them but claimed that he did not know how to compose a new message.  Fortunately, the move towards technology integration in the classroom has increased the training offered and led to more teachers conquering their technological fears.  The recent influx in new teachers from a more technological generation has also helped those with little or no knowledge about technology to ask questions and become more proficient. 

The area that stuck out to me the most in the Creating a Culture for Teaching and Learning article was the sixth one – Collegiality Is What’s Needed.  I agree completely that teachers who are forced to attend technology training will return to the classroom and continue doing their own thing instead of incorporating the new approach.  What I liked most about this section of the article was that it included the students.  I think this is a wonderful idea – train the students in the new technology and they will hold the teacher accountable.  Our students are also more accepting of technology, as well as savvier, than most teachers.  I can’t remember how many times my students have “fixed” my computer or some other piece of technology when it stops working correctly. 

My expectation for this class is to grow more proficient with technology.  I would also like to be exposed to more ways that I can incorporate technology into my classroom.  I am always open to new ideas and would like to encourage my students to participate more freely, something that I believe technology will help me to do.