My Past, Present, and Future in Education

 

BuddhaWhen I started the EDLD 5303 course, and throughout most of it, I was lost in a cloud of confusion. My instructor and cohorts displayed, to my amazement, an endless arsenal of educational technologies, and I felt like if I were extracted from the Stone Age. I felt so uneasy that I wondered “WHAT AM I DOING HERE.” I have a small rock on my desk, and I name it the Perseverance Stone. I rub it with my hand, and a couple of truisms came to mi mind: “Nothing lasts forever” and “Persevere and you will achieve it.” I know they are clichés, but they helped me to continue on this journey. This is the third time that I write this assignment, and I’m afraid it won’t be the last one due to the ePortfolio’s synergy effect.

Past

As a hypnotist I encourage my clients not to “remember… the former things, nor consider the things of old.” The prophet continued saying, “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:18-19). Focusing our attention in the past limits our potential to confront the future. Therefore, I will briefly review my technological education’s past. When I was a high school student, 42 years ago, my teachers’ technological education tools were: blackboard, eraser, chalk, and a mimeograph that has to be shared among more than 50 teachers. Hence, when I received my first training to use my electronic blackboard, I was so amazed that I wanted to do everything in my Promethean Board. During my first year as a teacher, I spent most of my lessons planning time: downloading, modifying, and creating flipcharts. Yes, I went to several trainings to learn how to use different new technologies, but I was so overwhelmed with the workload and the vicissitudes that every teacher goes through during his or her first year as an educator that those tools seem unattainable for me. During my second year teaching, I incorporated Plickers and GradeCam  into my technological toolbox. Oh my God! What a great help they are. They substantially reduced my paperwork load. Also, they provided me with instant data that helped me to impart differentiated instruction to those students that needed it the most. Plickers is great for formative assessments: kids love it, increases participation, provides instant data, and it’s free.

Present

Once past the shock of the first course, EDLD 5302, and water seeks its own level, I am planning what new technologies I am going to incorporate to my toolbox. My primary objective for this coming school year is to flip my classroom. My intention is to start one step at a time. According to Bergmann, one not supposed to flip a class, one should flip a lesson. Flipped classes will be another technique in my toolbox (2012). I am aware that flipped learning requires a shit in the learning culture. FlippedClassroomWorkshop (2014) stated that “Moving from the ‘Sage on the Stage’ model to a ‘Guide on the Side’ approach is essential, and it may not be easy for many educators” (para. 4). I think that no task is easy until you master it. Some of the technologies that will assist me in my flipped classroom are:

Besides of flipping my classroom, other tech tools that I will implement during the next school year are: ClassDojo, Kahoot!, and Socrative

Even though this article mainly focuses on technological tools, I am studying some pedagogical systems to implement the above technologies successfully. For example, Technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) is a structure to understand the types of knowledge required by an educator for efficient pedagogical practice in a technology-enhanced learning context (The Teaching Teachers for the Future, n.d.). Also, I am reading the book “Visible Learning and the Science of How We Learn” written by John Hattie and Gregory C. R. Yates.

Future

In a near future, I do not envisage myself out of a classroom. As an educator, I have some good assets such persistence and patience. Also, I have excellent class management skills; I am a good story teller; and I am a good leader. I will continue cultivating these assets to become the best teacher/learner that I can be.

References

Bergmann, J. (2012) Flipping the elementary classroom. Flipping the learning. Retrieved from http://jonbergmann.com/flipping-the-elementary-classroom/

FlippedClass.com. (n.d.). Tech tools of the flipped Classroom. Retrieved from http://flippedclass.com/tools/

FlippedClassroomWorkshop, (2014). The 4 pillars of flipped learning – The keys to successful flipped instruction. Retrieved from http://www.flippedclassroomworkshop.com/the-4-pillars-of-flipped-learning-the-keys-to-successful-flipped-instruction/

Isaiah. (2001). The Holy Bible: English standard version. Good News Publishers. Retrieved from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2043&version=ESV

The Teaching Teachers for the Future. (n.d.). What is TPACK? Retrieved from http://www.ttf.edu.au/what-is-tpack/what-is-tpack.html