Ideas form from many places and spaces. How do
we get these ideas? Sometimes they just come to us and sometimes we
are fortunate enough to come across people who inspire ideas or just plain give
the ideas to us. This is what has always been a significant driving
force for my continuation of learning.
The learning in the last two modules brought
home the crux of technology: What is needed to create, implement and sustain
learning? How can we get old dogs to learn new tricks? How can
we collectively learn from each other? How can we stay current when
innovation moves quickly? And how can we CREATE time to
learn when there isn’t any time left? I will endeavor to find answers
and/or accommodations to all of these questions along my journey.
Notions to ponder...both myself and my mentor:
If I am not the creator of the task then I am
a hands-on learner. I need to see it in action, how it was developed what are
the driving forces behind it. I need exemplars. I need to talk it
out. I need to ask a gabillion questions. I need timely answers. Soooooo
if I need this, there are more of us out there. I need to be mindful
of this throughout my career and others need to as well. Even when
they are teaching adults. We discuss differentiated
instruction…well, it doesn't stop just because you’re teaching an adult. Also,
I’m not a one type of learner: I need to hear it, see it, and write it. I
need it all! Therefore, many modes of learning throughout this
course, helped to solidify my learning. I honestly, can’t say one
was better over the other. I can say that differentiation needs more attention.
That said, I do have one comment on one specific task: The
Strategic Technology Plan. When creating a 3yr plan to have a mobile
tech cart, I was reminded of something George Couros said: “Technology
should be at the point of instruction and be as accessible in learning as a
pencil; it shouldn't be an event. How many pencil labs do you have in your
school?”
I think that is plenty of a notion to consider...universally.
Bottom line…learning should be accessible. Learning should be equitable. And continuing to learn, for whatever your reason is, will help to maintain several standards within yourself and or within the standards of practice. We need to commit to our students’ success, development and achievements. Equally, we need to commit to ourselves. We are in charge of improving are teaching practices. Therefore, we need to improve our learning practices.
I maintain a commitment to staying the course and not becoming obsolete…
