As I hear the droll beeping of my alarm clock in the morning, I no longer give into the temptation of the snooze button.
Why you might ask???? Well, I live, work, breathe, learn, grow and foster growth in a 21st classroom. We are all IN SYNC with one another. Our learning environment has transformed into a collaborative, organic room. Together, we are all growing and changing. The reason I am so inspired to hop out of bed and enter into the new world that is my classroom is because I am no longer the one in the driver seat.
While as the teacher, my job is to be purposeful with objectives, questions, assessments and projects....my new role is to be open to the PROCESS rather than the immediate product.
The students are seeking opportunities to use this learning tool in an authentic way.
We are even in sync with the technical aspect of this project. I've released part of the cumbersome, laborious duty of syncing the cart. I am so fortunate to have an all day volunteer all Tuesday. While she is a technological novice, she quickly learned how to sync the cart so it can be accomplished during the school day without pulling me away from instruction.
So what does this atmosphere look like?
Well, to understand really would be to see it, but I'll do my best.
The students are engaged, immersed rather in learning. They are reading books, blogging ideas, asking questions, mapping thoughts, drafting stories, organizing deadlines, emailing artifacts and researching areas of interest.
Learners are now empowered to find the tools and resources rather than being spoon fed them. The skills these students are learning will surpass their 3rd grade year. They are steering.
I find the biggest SHIFT for me is that I have given myself permission to STOP TEACHING THE TECHNOLOGY. I'm surrounded by digitally literate individuals. It is insulting to show them step by step all the features of an app or provide a template. They have discovered more applications and "bells & whistles" than I did when researching the apps.
Check out some of their published work!
http://iphone.childrenslibrary.org/cgi-bin/view.py?b=2oy6ewsgyidh7jwiawu2
More to follow....still trying to have the notion of "no last names" stick with the kiddos. The rest of the work samples will be revised and posted.
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What an incredible post, Megan! I am so happy for you; your exuberance is contagious and utterly inspiring. It is incredibly rewarding to me to be a witness to your growth; I still remember the time spent together last summer in the 21st Centurizing Your Classroom. Even then, your energy was boiling over!
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite lines is "...I am surrounded by digitally literate individuals." On an almost daily basis, I am told that these kids don't know how to use the tools and I couldn't disagree more. When we hand over ownership of the learning, I find most students will rise to the challenge and surpass our greatest expectations.
What would you say is your next step? When you think about the characteristics of 21st Century learning that we identified last year, what still needs work in your classroom? Keep pushing yourself, Megan!