So as I understand it Superintendent "Will Wildcat" is looking to hire educators that are strong in the understanding and implementation of 21st Century Skills.
What are 21st Century Skills you may ask?
Here is a link that provides more information: http://p21.org/
To me, 21st Century Skills are basically informing and instructing the children we have in our classrooms about how to use technology in their daily lives. It involves "critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation".
I understand that the teachers being interviewed will be asked to provide activities or projects that address ISTE NETS-T standards. These standards basically address the issue that
-Societies are changing
-Expectations are changing
-Teaching is changing
-Educators must lead...
WE are living in the society that's changing, expectations are changing around US, WE are the teachers that will be affected by the way teaching is changing, and WE are the Educators who must lead our students into the future! :)
Here is an example of a project that is aligned with the NETS standards that I made for my Ed Tech Class, you will find the lesson plan via the link to the google doc it's in.
Teachers will also need to be capable of differentiating their instructional styles with an emphasis on the role of facilitator: I have learned a lot about this in my educational classes and will elaborate below.
So, in response to Superintendent Will Wildcat, I write the following:
I have many strong attributes as a future educator. I am communicative, interactive, positive, dedicated, love children, work well with children, and love technology! Challenges I have are time, I have a tendency to try to fit too much in in a day's worth of learning. However, I feel like this is manageable. As I am a new teacher, I am still learning and I think how much students can comprehend will depend on the various students in my classroom. I have learned in my various educational classes at Kansas State University that differentiated instruction is really important. According to Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences, all students have preferred ways of learning that works best for them. This means, that no two students in your classroom will be exactly alike. To make up for this, the teacher needs to take this into account when teaching and planning lessons. Not all lessons should be in the format of direct instruction, but should involve various strategies that adhere to the different learning styles: Musical, Logical, Naturalist,Bodily- Kinesthetic, Visual-Spatial, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Verbal- Linguistic, etc. It's important that my lessons be clear, and have a variety of ways for the students to engage themselves.
In 3-5 Years, I see myself in my future classroom, hopefully an ESL classroom, or a Reading Specialist classroom. I am getting my bachelors in English as a Second Language - Elementary Education currently at Kansas State University. Once I graduate with that degree, I plan to come back and take the required courses to get my Masters to become a Reading Specialist if possible. I plan to get there with a lot of hardwork, dedication and motivation. My motivation is mostly my future students, I want to be the best teacher I can be for them, so this is the urge behind wanting to do my best in every aspect of my teaching.
As for strategies to learn a new software application, I love learning about new software. I, Myself, am more of a trial and error learner. I would rather play around with the software than actually watch the demonstration videos or read the instructions. However, if need be I would be willing to watch the demo videos and read the instructions if the software was too complicated to just play around with and figure it out that way. However, in my ed tech class this semester (Spring 2011) at KSU, I have had extreme success with trial and error when trying out new software, and if that fails youtube.com will usually have a demonstration of how to do it, and/or google.com will have directions. We are lucky to have these resources right at our fingertips, literally.
In my opinion technology can impact student learning in a variety of ways. Learning styles, like I mentioned above with the reference to Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligence is something we as teachers need to take into consideration. Those students who are visual-spatial, might really like some aspects of technology because to me, technology is very visual. However, students that are bodily-kinesthetic might not like technology as much because there isn't as much getting up and interacting. So, I can see the pros and cons of implementing technology in the classroom. However, I think the pros definitely outweigh the cons. The resources for Education and Technology are practically endless. Technology has definitely had an impact on my own education as I mentioned in the beginning that I attended a school with a one-on-one laptop program from 6-12 grade. I think because I was introduced to a computer so young, that it automatically became a part of my life. Honestly, if my computer broke down, it is similar to not having enough air to breathe. I literally use my laptop all the time. I stay updated through email with my teachers and collaborators on group projects, my grades are online and I also use various forms of social media to stay connected to friends and family. And, my laptop did break down this semester of college and I had to have it fixed, honestly it really impacted the way I look at things. I am so dependent on technology which is good and bad when you look at through critical eyes. Technology is becoming a predominant part of our society - and I think I am part of the society that grew up with it's impact gradually influencing my life. The funny part is I look at my younger sisters who are 17 and 13 respectively, and see hos it's influenced them even more because technology is getting more advanced by the day.
I would personally encourage my staff partners in a building, such as teachers I work with, and my administrators to use technology by first explaining it's impact on me, and then detailing how beneficial it can be to the classroom. While I don't agree with having cell-phones in the classroom in Kindergarten, I do think other things such as Ipads, and laptops are heavily beneficial. There are all sorts of Educational applications that can be utilized in the classroom.
I am familiar with all sorts of activities on the computer and a ton of technological tools. Here is my website for proof http://www.wix.com/amzink11/everything-from-a-to-zink#! If you visit my website you will find the tab titled "DED 318 Projects" From this tab, you will be able to see a small variety of resources that I am familiar with from my Educational Technology Class. Other applications that I am familiar with include, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excell, Microsoft Powerpoint, Garage Band, Iphoto - all of which are basically apple/mac programs, but that is the main computer being used in classrooms these days, so I feel as if this is beneficial. The various types of educational resources found on my website such as Glogster, Google Maps, Wordle, VoiceThread, and Prezi, are only a glimpse of what I know how to use. If you visit my Delicious account, you will find a large variety of resources that I am remotely familiar with and would like to use in my future classroom.
Overall, I have a lot of ideas for how to implement these resources and Google in general in my future classroom due to my book from this class "Retool your School" . And, I have learned tremendous amounts in this class, sometimes it was a bit overwhelming, but I feel like I have everything I need right at my fingertips. I have websites to go to for lesson plan ideas, resources that I can implement and incorporate in my lesson planning to relate to different learning styles, and overall a greater appreciation for technology and it's impact on the future of education. Because of this, I feel like I would be a great pick for your school.
What are 21st Century Skills you may ask?
Here is a link that provides more information: http://p21.org/
To me, 21st Century Skills are basically informing and instructing the children we have in our classrooms about how to use technology in their daily lives. It involves "critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation".
I understand that the teachers being interviewed will be asked to provide activities or projects that address ISTE NETS-T standards. These standards basically address the issue that
-Societies are changing
-Expectations are changing
-Teaching is changing
-Educators must lead...
WE are living in the society that's changing, expectations are changing around US, WE are the teachers that will be affected by the way teaching is changing, and WE are the Educators who must lead our students into the future! :)
Here is an example of a project that is aligned with the NETS standards that I made for my Ed Tech Class, you will find the lesson plan via the link to the google doc it's in.
Teachers will also need to be capable of differentiating their instructional styles with an emphasis on the role of facilitator: I have learned a lot about this in my educational classes and will elaborate below.
So, in response to Superintendent Will Wildcat, I write the following:
I have many strong attributes as a future educator. I am communicative, interactive, positive, dedicated, love children, work well with children, and love technology! Challenges I have are time, I have a tendency to try to fit too much in in a day's worth of learning. However, I feel like this is manageable. As I am a new teacher, I am still learning and I think how much students can comprehend will depend on the various students in my classroom. I have learned in my various educational classes at Kansas State University that differentiated instruction is really important. According to Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences, all students have preferred ways of learning that works best for them. This means, that no two students in your classroom will be exactly alike. To make up for this, the teacher needs to take this into account when teaching and planning lessons. Not all lessons should be in the format of direct instruction, but should involve various strategies that adhere to the different learning styles: Musical, Logical, Naturalist,Bodily- Kinesthetic, Visual-Spatial, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Verbal- Linguistic, etc. It's important that my lessons be clear, and have a variety of ways for the students to engage themselves.
In 3-5 Years, I see myself in my future classroom, hopefully an ESL classroom, or a Reading Specialist classroom. I am getting my bachelors in English as a Second Language - Elementary Education currently at Kansas State University. Once I graduate with that degree, I plan to come back and take the required courses to get my Masters to become a Reading Specialist if possible. I plan to get there with a lot of hardwork, dedication and motivation. My motivation is mostly my future students, I want to be the best teacher I can be for them, so this is the urge behind wanting to do my best in every aspect of my teaching.
As for strategies to learn a new software application, I love learning about new software. I, Myself, am more of a trial and error learner. I would rather play around with the software than actually watch the demonstration videos or read the instructions. However, if need be I would be willing to watch the demo videos and read the instructions if the software was too complicated to just play around with and figure it out that way. However, in my ed tech class this semester (Spring 2011) at KSU, I have had extreme success with trial and error when trying out new software, and if that fails youtube.com will usually have a demonstration of how to do it, and/or google.com will have directions. We are lucky to have these resources right at our fingertips, literally.
In my opinion technology can impact student learning in a variety of ways. Learning styles, like I mentioned above with the reference to Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligence is something we as teachers need to take into consideration. Those students who are visual-spatial, might really like some aspects of technology because to me, technology is very visual. However, students that are bodily-kinesthetic might not like technology as much because there isn't as much getting up and interacting. So, I can see the pros and cons of implementing technology in the classroom. However, I think the pros definitely outweigh the cons. The resources for Education and Technology are practically endless. Technology has definitely had an impact on my own education as I mentioned in the beginning that I attended a school with a one-on-one laptop program from 6-12 grade. I think because I was introduced to a computer so young, that it automatically became a part of my life. Honestly, if my computer broke down, it is similar to not having enough air to breathe. I literally use my laptop all the time. I stay updated through email with my teachers and collaborators on group projects, my grades are online and I also use various forms of social media to stay connected to friends and family. And, my laptop did break down this semester of college and I had to have it fixed, honestly it really impacted the way I look at things. I am so dependent on technology which is good and bad when you look at through critical eyes. Technology is becoming a predominant part of our society - and I think I am part of the society that grew up with it's impact gradually influencing my life. The funny part is I look at my younger sisters who are 17 and 13 respectively, and see hos it's influenced them even more because technology is getting more advanced by the day.
I would personally encourage my staff partners in a building, such as teachers I work with, and my administrators to use technology by first explaining it's impact on me, and then detailing how beneficial it can be to the classroom. While I don't agree with having cell-phones in the classroom in Kindergarten, I do think other things such as Ipads, and laptops are heavily beneficial. There are all sorts of Educational applications that can be utilized in the classroom.
I am familiar with all sorts of activities on the computer and a ton of technological tools. Here is my website for proof http://www.wix.com/amzink11/everything-from-a-to-zink#! If you visit my website you will find the tab titled "DED 318 Projects" From this tab, you will be able to see a small variety of resources that I am familiar with from my Educational Technology Class. Other applications that I am familiar with include, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excell, Microsoft Powerpoint, Garage Band, Iphoto - all of which are basically apple/mac programs, but that is the main computer being used in classrooms these days, so I feel as if this is beneficial. The various types of educational resources found on my website such as Glogster, Google Maps, Wordle, VoiceThread, and Prezi, are only a glimpse of what I know how to use. If you visit my Delicious account, you will find a large variety of resources that I am remotely familiar with and would like to use in my future classroom.
Overall, I have a lot of ideas for how to implement these resources and Google in general in my future classroom due to my book from this class "Retool your School" . And, I have learned tremendous amounts in this class, sometimes it was a bit overwhelming, but I feel like I have everything I need right at my fingertips. I have websites to go to for lesson plan ideas, resources that I can implement and incorporate in my lesson planning to relate to different learning styles, and overall a greater appreciation for technology and it's impact on the future of education. Because of this, I feel like I would be a great pick for your school.
