It is critical that appropriate instructional strategies are used by educators to ensure that every child gets an education that will prepare them for the 21st century. There are 10 main strategies discussed in our reading they were presentations, demonstrations, cooperative learning, gaming, simulations, problem solving, discussion, drill and practice, discovery, and tutorials. It is important to use varied approaches to learning to keep the learner envolved and to address the learning styles of all students. Teachers must know their students in order to know which strategy will work best in their class. If the most suitable strategies are introduced in the right sequence then students will learn and retain the information. The challenge is that every classroom is different. There isn't one set formula to follow to guarantee learning because as every child comes to us with a myriad of different experiences and learning styles. Imagine a teacher who is blindfolded carrying a pitcher of water ready to dispense the recommended 8 ounces of water to each student. Then imagine 28 students with their different sized cups, some will need 12 oz of water, some are half full, others are bone dry, and still others have a sippy cup! Now imagine what happens when the teacher begins to pour. To help me become familar with my students at the start of the year they take a learning styles test. The data is later compiled by class period to help me address the needs of each class.
I see technology as a tool that can help teachers pull students into the curriculum. Old strategies must be seamlessly joined to technology not just because it engages students, but also because the jobs of the future will demand it. Technology has formed a network that has made the world a smaller place. In every industry employers expect potential workers to be able to communicate and to work collaboratively using media beyond text and other people. We have become a society that must be involved and engaged. We call or text in a vote to decide who we want to remain on our favorite television programs, our video games are not the passive sit and click versions of old. As I read the Jane McGeehan article I found myself comparing how the brain communicates with how our world has now communicates. Our world has begun to mimic the network in our brains. I see technology as a new neural pathway of communication that we need to use repeatedly to help students master the curriculum as well as the medium.
The role of technology is to support learning. Technology is not something that can replace the teacher, because it is not the best media to evoke emotion, which according to McGeehan is the "gatekeeper" to learning. Technology alone is not the answer to all of our educational woes. Technology must be joined to instructional strategies and as this needs to be reflected in our state and local standards. Not only must they be written into the standards, but money must be available to purchase what is needed to carry out the standards. As an educator I know if something goes wrong in the lab the chances of my getting to come back the next day are pretty slim, because every teacher in the building has a project and curriculum deadlines to adhere to. At my school it isn't about whether or not the teachers want to integrate technology, they do it is about how fast can you reserve the computer lab?
As an educator in the 21st century I am using the strategies and integrating technology. I plan to continue to use daily essential questions and discussion topics to evoke emotional responses in my students as I teach. I will continue to design labs that require students to research and communicate their ideas using technology. What could I do better? I would like to start a Wiki. I am going to speak administration first to get permission, but as I look at my own practices I use all of the strategies, some more than others. I really liked the chart in our text that sort of diagnoses when to use a certain strategy. The art of teaching if only it was this simple!
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