Assignment 2

After reading the articles and watching the videos, I realized that it is crucial that we start teaching our students how to be independent learners, critical thinkers, creative, and collaborate with a variety of people and networks. Today, students have access to a variety of technology, and as educators, we need to not only implement technology into our lessons, but also teach students how to use technology to enhance their learning. Students need to be able to communicate using a variety of methods. It is not enough for students to be able to write a short answer, circle the correct answer, or fill in the blank. Students need to be able to be creative in presenting the information they have learned. For example, students need to able to use audio, video, texts, images, and other forms of technology to present the information they have learned. This will not only teach students how to properly use different types of technology, but also strengthens their critical thinking skills and creativity.

Educators need to also guide students in learning how to properly use technology. Contemporary literacy by David Warlick describes the four E's of what we need to teach students. We need to expose knowledge to students. Students already know how to gather information on the internet. However, we need to teach them how to find relevant information, understand and explain the information they have gathered using a variety of methods, evaluate the information, and organize the information. The next "E" is employing information. Students need to understand how to employ numbers to solve problems, and how to use spreadsheets and data-processing tools. We also need to teach students how to express ideas in a compelling way. There are a variety of ways to communicate, such as, video, audio, texts, blogs, etc. Students need to be more creative in their communications, and write convincingly and effectively in order to grab the audience's attention. This will also be a great skill that can be used n the workforce. Finally, we need to teach students about the ethics on the internet. Students need to be aware of plagiarism, hacking, inappropriate blogs, etc. in order to be safe on the internet.

Due to the stress of standardized testing, educators have been teaching to the test and teaching test taking skills rather than focusing on what matters most. According to Dr. Tony Wagner, we need to use content to teach core competencies. We need to change how we teach students. Instead of teaching them what the right answer is by regurgitating it to them, we need to incorporate more exploration and discovery into the learning process. Today's learners have difficulty exploring information independently. They are waiting to be shown how to find the answer. We need to engage students in the problem solving process by helping them use their critical thinking skills, explore, and collaborate with others to solve problems.

After reading the articles and watching the videos, I realized that I need to adjust my teaching methods as well. I try to integrate technology into my lessons, however, I need to have the students use more technology in their projects and assignments. I need to allow for more exploration and discovery in the classroom in order to encourage critical thinking, problem solving strategies, creativity, and collaboration. By engaging and guiding students in the learning process instead of teaching to them, I will help them become life-long learners, and become more successful in the future.