2020

When I think of the year 2020 in ten years, I think there could be some major changes. Then I think back to 1999 and how everyone thought the year 2000 was going to have major computer problems, but they never really happened. Everyone believes things will change drastically in ten years, but I think there will only be minor changes, leading toward major changes in another ten years or so.

I think computers will continue to change the world and education. I think computers will be everywhere and more accessible in ten years. In every home, in cars, at work, in every school and every classroom, etc. Computers keep everyone connected with the push of a button. If you are not by your television to watch the news, no worries, you can find the news online with your computer no matter where you are located. If you want to talk to a friend, but have no phone, no worries, you can chat through Facebook, Myspace, or Skype. Computers will continue to keep us connected at any time and any location.

Since our world will be heavily influenced by computers, school districts will have new requirements when interviewing for all staff positions. Prerequisites for teaching will require technology skills. New staff will need to be able to use a computer and be knowledgeable about the applications that students will use. It will not only affect new staff, but other staff will have job description changes. Librarians may be more of computer technicians for the students. They will need to help students find all the information online. Principals and assistant principals will have to be able to understand how students are learning. They will need to make sure that students are succeeding and using the technology appropriately.

I think being a teacher in 2020 will be different from today’s teacher because every classroom will have at least some computers. Most classrooms will have a class set of computers for students to access the internet to connect with others. Teachers will be responsible to teacher students about the 21st century tools and responsible to make sure the students are using them everyday. Teachers and students will share their websites through social bookmarking sites like Del.icio.us. Teachers and students will be sharing their thoughts and knowledge through blogs. Students will collaborate with others through wikis. They will help teach each other by adding/editing others' wikis. In 2020 teachers will not standing up front lecturing, they will be on the sides, as facilitators.

I think the classroom of 2020 will start to change its appearance. Textbooks will be available online and students will not have to carry them around. Classrooms will start to become paperless. Students can no longer say they forgot their homework at school, everything will be accessible online. Students can access books, notebooks, videos, audios, anything that was discussed that day at home. Students may even have more contact with teachers in the evening. Teachers may set up times at time to communicate with their students through Facebook or Skype at night to answer any questions.

Teachers’ roles will change in classrooms where every student has a computer. Teachers will no longer have to take piles of papers home at night to grade. Students will no longer have to wait for the teacher to grade their tests and wonder how they did. Students will complete work on the computer. The work will be sent to the teacher’s computer, where s/he will diagnose it and then send back specific practice for each individual student. This will create Individualized Educational Plans for all students, not just special education students.

Since education will rely heavily on computers, the world will also rely heavily on computers. Students will need to learn and be able to use computers when they enter the work force. Most jobs will have computer skill requirements. No longer will companies have to travel to another country to meet with other staff. They will sit in a conference room and meet through video conferencing. All employees located in different areas for the same business can communicate easier and faster.

Not only will businesses communicate through video conferences, but I can see more high schools being taught online. I teach elementary school and believe it still might be hard to teach the basics through a computer, so I think only high school will be ready to learn online by 2020. High school students have had many years to perfect the use of computers and their applications. Money will always be a problem and a need. If high school students are able to learn through online classes, this will leave them more time to get a job and earn money.

I can see elementary schools communicating to other students around the world through Skype, blogs, or maybe Facebook. Students no longer have to be penpals through snail mail. They can talk to a friend around the world and share their thoughts, then only have to wait on the time zone difference to hear their response. Students will also have more opportunities to visit places online that they are unable to visit in person.

My uses of the 21st century technologies and making my students proficient in using them, will prepare my students for being a good citizen in the world. I can see some minor changes in the world and classroom in ten years. Many roles may change slightly. I think these changes will help prepare our students for their future outside of the classroom.

Zoho Notebook

Zoho Notebook is a web application that I could see my students using to make a study guide. During class, my students copy notes off the board that I think are important. Sometimes students do not copy everything and don't ask for more time or they have trouble studying at home. Zoho Notebook allows more than one person to access the notebook at a time. I thought I could have students type their notes and organize them anyway that works for them. Zoho lets you put text anywhere on the page, not just top to bottom like writing in a notebook. I would then have a partner access a friend's page to see if they missed anything important. I like how Zoho also allows you to add presentations, pictures, audio, etc. Students can then go home and study with their parents online.

Paperless Classes

I believe paperless classes would change my role as teacher to more of a facilatator. Students would have more opportunity to share what they are thinking. As an elementary teacher, I would have to teach the students each of the tools they would be using.

Paperless clases change learning by allowing students more advantages in their assignments. Students do not only type their paper, but they can add pictures, audio, video, etc. to help enhance their paper. It also changes where and how students view their assignments. Students can find everything online and at any time. Teachers can measure learning by the students papers and discussions. Students are still responsible to show what they are learning and thinking through discussions and papers.

I think a paperless classroom would make it easier to build a learning network because everything is stored online and can be shared with anyone. Students can also connect with other peers online if needed.

Big Shift: The Web as Notebook

Will Richardson's "Big Shif #7: The Web as Notebook (or Portfolio)" tells teachers that the web is taking the place of paper and pencil. Students use weblogs and wikis to store their ideas. Students can also save audio, video, photography, and more on the web.

Currently, I have not had this shift in my classroom. My students are still using paper and pencil to share their ideas. In the future, I expect my students to create blogs for journalling. I'd like my students to use wikis for the writing process. Students will write their first draft. Then peers will edit. Then the teacher can edit. Finally the students can make any final edits to their paper. I would also like to see more use of photography in the classroom. Students can take pictures of real-life objects that we are learning in a subject and blog about how the picture is connected.

After taking this class, I want to make this shift in the classroom. I would like to set up some examples mentioned above. I am also thinking about posting notes online for students who are absent or for parents who are intersted. I hope to have the students help me put the notes online or let them add any details they think I missed from the class. I started last year with a classroom wiki for students and parents. I hope to incorporate at least one more technology (blog, flickr, etc.)

Connectivism

I viewed the following wiki on Connectivism: http://su10-bceol.wikispaces.com/Group+E+6-A-1

I agree with their statement, "In his 2006 publication Connectivism: a new learning theory Ploen Verhagen opines that Connectivism is not a learning theory, but rather a pedagogy, since it deals with the reasons for and content of learning, rather than explains how learning takes place." For example, one principle of connectivism is the ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill. This is a reason, but does not explain how the learning takes place.

I also agree that Connectivism is relevent to teaching practices. Teachers are no longer lecturing. Teachers are now taking the tasks of amplifying, aggregating, facilitating, and modeling network learning. Teacher centered classrooms are moving to Student centered classrooms with teachers helping the learning.

Skype

I connected with two classmates on Skype to discuss our project. One nice thing about chatting through Skype is you can see when the other person is typing. This allows you to wait for their response before typing more. We didn't get to use the camera component, but I like that idea to see the person you are talking to. This is very fun when it is someone who lives far away and you don't get to see in person often.

I have been thinking about using Skype with my students. I do whole class video conferencing with another class already. I was thinking of using Skype for pen pal conferencing. I thought I would partner one person from my class with one student from the other class. Students could use skype to share projects, journals, etc.

By using this technology, I hope to gain a more personal connection with others. Students will make connections and share their thoughts with others.

Using Podcasts in the Classroom

I found a vodcast (they call it a podcast), Turtle Report, that I thought I could use in my third grade class. In reading, my students read a story called Turtle Bay. The story includes sea turltes' life cycle. I chose this podcast because it gives a lot of information on sea turtles: types, life cycle, what they eat, etc. I will share this podcast with my students as an example of what a podcast is and introduction on creating their own. This podcast will provide more information about sea turtles to build on my class's learning from the story. I will then put students into group and assign one type of sea turtle to each group. The group will be responsible to to research their sea turtle, then create their own podcast on that particular sea turtle. Each group will then share their podcast with the class.