ITC 6550 Reflection
July 26, 2013
Activities/Main Topics
- Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century: In my district, we will continue to focus on the knowledge, skills and dispositions necessary to effectively teach the 21st century student.
- District Policy Map: It was eye-opening to me to realize that many of our policies have resulted from either teacher or student misuse.
- Materials Challenge: As we continue to utilize more and more innovative teaching strategies, we must be prepared to face challenges from the public.
- Acceptable Use: These policies vary from district to district with some districts being more open than others.
- Copyright and Fair Use: I learned that copyright begins when something is created.
- Cyberbullying/Harrassment: A couple of the districts that we researched do not have policies to address cyberbullying.
Personal Interactions
In working on projects for this course, I was fortunate to be able to interact with three others from my district who are also in this program. Their support and willingness to work as a group were invaluable in completing the assignments that we did as a group. Additionally, the interview with our district technology director allowed me to see that she, contrary to the opinion of teachers in the field, is not about being as restrictive as possible in allowing access for instructional purposes, but that she must adhere to certain guidelines. Also, since we utilize the filters provided to us by the state, there are some things over which she has no control.
Self-Analysis/Changes
Since my focus has been primarily on curriculum and instruction for my entire career in education, this class was good for me to investigate the use of technology and the implications thereof from a more broad perspective. I have had the 21st century teaching and learning from a classroom perspective at the forefront of my mind for quite some time. However, a deeper look into how our district adopts and revises policies has helped me to understand better why we have some of the policies in place that we do. Additionally, the broad scope look at a materials challenge was eye-opening for me. Overall, I think my take away is the ability to look at instructional technology issues from an entire district perspective and realize that there are multiple lenses through which to consider these issues.
Planning Proposal
Complete and implement ideas suggested in NC Education in the following professional development modules:
- Connecting with Our 21st Century Learners
- Digital Literacies in the K-12 Classroom
- 21st Century Mentoring