Upon starting this class I was very excited to start the design thinking process. Actually, I was excited to explore what that actually meant. Buzzwords in education are common knowledge and right now, design thinking is at the forefront. However, do we as educators charged with educating our students with 21 century skills truly understand what that means? As my group began the discussion around design thinking we collaborated to come up with a general problem or guiding question that we wanted to answer. Throughout the discussion the same theme began to show up, but we couldn’t quite pinpoint what exactly it was that we wanted to answer. Or better yet we kept thinking about what the general answer was going to be and we weren’t quite satisfied with digging deeper into that problem. Each of our experiences with teaching with technology as well as observing others- either experts or novices has influenced our idea of what blended learning looks like or should look like. Yet, we continually came back to the same question or problem. How do we ensure CCSS are met while blending technology in the classroom? How do we as teachers know that we are covering what needs to be taught while pushing for technology to be used at the same time? What needs to be let go? What skills are no longer necessary and what skills need to be emphasized more? How do we do this (work as a community) when the ideas of everyone can vary depending on our own ideas? One issue that came up during the first phase was who was our end user? If we are all working to improve the achievement of students then our first thought was the end users are the students. However, in order for student learning to change the teacher also has to adjust and change. If we focus on the learning (by the teacher) then as a by product the student will then also change. As we began discussing this more I couldn't help but laugh because our team became both the student and the teacher. We are moving through this process bouncing ideas off of each other, trying something and realizing no, that's not quite right all while looking through the lens of an educator trying to simultaneously answer a question we are all processing in our classrooms. Something that I have taken away only being a few weeks into this class is that the problem was not given to us to solve. We had to come up with the problem ourselves. I find this very motivating as the learner as I am not just researching something someone else is telling me to find. The problem is something we have all agreed upon which ups the motivation to want to find a solution. Even if the solution is somewhat ambiguous right now, the learning that will take place to find the solution will benefit each one of us in some aspect. I see this as a huge shift for our students (in a positive way). Why should we be telling them what they need to answer? If we truly want our students to be real world problem solvers then we need to step back and allow them to define what it is they believe are problems. Instead of “teaching” them we need to guide them to discover what it is that they want to investigate and solve. Vision and Action Steps My district already has a vision set in place: “Our vision in Vista Unified School District is to be the model of educational excellence and innovation.” Our missions as follows: “The purpose of Vista Unified School District is to inspire each and every student to persevere as critical-thinking individuals who collaborate to solve real-world problems.” I would expand on this vision and mission to say that our students will work collaboratively together to solve problems and learn to effectively communicate together through utilizing technology both inside and outside of the classroom. Students will take ownership of the learning by setting personal goals and challenging themselves to persevere to attain their goals. In order to reach this vision the following are three steps that we will take as a learning community to support our students and teachers in reaching this vision: Steps:
Technology Use at my school site Currently my school site is a 1:1 device school. Our kinder through first grade classrooms use ipads and our second through fifth use chromebooks. We also utilize several programs that are computer based, as well as apps that teachers use to share out documents. We have a fantastic tech team that is very supportive to respond to any needs. After completing the previous course on architecture enterprise I would say our technology department is very advance but our systems and support with curriculum and instruction is where teachers are feeling frustrated. Many are still trying to grasp the standards along with the programs that they need to use. This is where the breakdown between instructing 21 century skills and teaching students college and career ready standards are conflicting. My district has done a fantastic job to learn the needs of each teacher when it comes to using technology. Several surveys have been sent out and follow up to those surveys via professional development has been delivered. Currently this summer there are several opportunities for our teachers to learn more about technology and how to blend it with their teaching. The problem I see is not resources but teachers attending these trainings since it is by choice. While choice is good, we have much room to grow in order to fully utilize the technology that we have at our fingertips in every classroom!
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