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The concept of reflecting on what I have learned is often a frustrating struggle for me

because I habitually contend that I have learned nothing! However inconceivable that is, I

suppose I may not realize that I am actually learning or changing my thoughts and ideas on

matters of any relevance. Classes often require a great deal of reading, writing, and group

projects that can form a bit of mental reluctance but also probe questions of the purpose of the

activities. Regardless, in the end, I know that I have learned because I have experienced new

ideas, thoughts, and insight to new tools and technologies, yet pinpointing and labeling exactly

what I have learned seems trying. Is learning changing one͛s mind? I ascertain Gardner͛s

suggestion that significant changes of mind ?
learning. His ideas focus ͞on changes of mind

that occur consciously, typically as a result of forces that can be identified (rather than through

subtle manipulation).͟ While my ͞forces͟ can be identified, my changes of mind/learning may

not be so easily identified! This reflection will be an attempt to describe and consider more

consciously, my own changes of mind, thus my learning.

I realize that I am only one teacher and one person in the lives of my students. I know

that to love learning or further guide students to apply learning and love that is a big job. The

more I learn as a teacher, and as a student, the more I want to elicit change in others. I can say

as a result of course concepts, readings, and class discussions, that I know I could be a better

teacher if I sought out and repurposed technologies to integrate in my teaching. However, I still

question if I actually understand this to be true thanks to the reading on Understanding

understanding! If I am truly mindful of the tendency of most to interchangeably use the words
understand and know, I should stop to ask, ͞Is understanding simply a more complex form of

knowledge?͟ I can ͞respond on cue͟ that I know technology can better a learning experience

for a student, but could also prove my understanding of that when I use my judgment of when

to use or not use any given technology. Technology is only an irrelevant object and useless

unless it is used to solve a problem. ͞[Technologies] only become a tool, a means to an end,

when they are connected to a problem.͟ (Zhao 2003) The problem lies in the fact that,

͞educators have slid into the 21st century- and into the digital age- still doing a great many

things the old way. It͛s time for education leaders to raise their heads above the daily grand and

observe the new landscape that͛s emerging.͟ (Prensky 2005)

͞Times have changed. So, too, have the students, the tools, and the requisite skills and

knowledge.͟ (Prensky 2005) Brophey (1997) says that motivation to learn is a competence

acquired through general experience but stimulated most directly through modeling͙ and

direct instruction or socialization by significant others (especially parents and teachers).͟ I need

not to be concerned with what other teachers are doing, what critics express of the job, we,

teachers are doing, or what the MEAP says about the learners I see every day. I do need to be

like the tiny red ant in the spoke of a moving wheel, not noticing the pressures of the outside

and press on with my job at hand; create lovers of learning, apply learning, and model that love

to others. It͛s the color-outside-the-lines approach to teaching. It͛s the take what 80% of

teachers are doing and throw it out to do what 20% have found to actually work- in essence,

denial of instructional and intellectual conformity. This is especially true if, ͞More and more of

our students lack the true prerequisites for learning- engagement and motivation- at least in
terms of what we offer them in our schools. Our kids do know what engagement is: Outside

school, they are fully engaged by their 21st century digital lives.͟ (Prensky 2005)

Considering that much of the educational practice is behind the times, it is reassuring to

know that it is not going unrecognized. It just seems that the practice is difficult to change or

maybe running into some resistance. However, in peeking at the newest edition of the â


?(August/September 2009), I noticed that there exists a double page spread entirely

devoted to technology! The spread has sections on Google, Schooltube, Wikipedia for Schools,

and Twitter. In addition, the NEA has noted their dedication to technology by inviting educators

to a group site they͛ve created which is created for the sharing of ideas and opinions regarding

education. Also, noted was a website for educators to find additional 

technology resources

for the classroom! (www.nea.org/freetech) I think that this is one of many signs of the birth of a

revolution.

Since my undergraduate work, every education class and professional development

meeting I͛ve had seems to push the installation of the love of life-long learning into our

students. There is no doubt in my mind that technology developments make this creation more

attainable now than ever. Technology beckons educators and students with opportunities for

learning and can increase student achievement. Learners who have success in the world of

education tend to like learning more. Students already love technology, consider how far one

could go in a public place without seeing or hearing a child speak passionately about some

technology. Educators just have to pair up with what most kids already love and foster it in such

a way that students can see that technology is more than for gaming, communication and social
networking. Recognizing that technology is a knowledge system for students is key to reaching

them more effectively, maintaining engagement in class, and continually motivating them.

Technology has not only become what they think about, but also a mode by which they think.

Why must my job be done the same as it has always been done?! Why not innovate and

integrate? What͛s wrong with blending the old with the new? A meeting of content and

pedagogy seems only appropriate- ͞at the intersection of what we teach and how we teach it.͟

(Mishra & Koehler 2009) If students are changing, why isn͛t our teaching? Ñ
should teach the

way 
 learn. They shouldn͛t have to conform to us the way we have always expected them

to!

Thanks to this summer cohort in educational technology, I want even more, to infuse

technology in my current curriculum to better student learning as well as create greater respect

for my subject area, Family and Consumer Sciences. I want to be able to repurpose tools and

integrate them into my teaching which requires that ͞special knowledge͟ referred to as TPACK

(technical pedagogical and content knowledge) by Mishra and Koehler (2009). I realize that

integration, appropriate and effective use of technology in my classroom is an ongoing process;

an evolution that requires me to continually better myself in content area, technology and

professional knowledge. With this in mind, consider Brophey͛s thought that:

Within any school subject or learning domain, student͛ instructional needs change as their
expertise develops. Consequently, what constitutes an optimal mixture of instructional
methods and learning activities will evolve as school years, instructional units and even
individual lessons progress. (Teaching: Educational Practices Series-1)
Thus, who can better themselves professionally without continual reflection, learning and

acceptance of change? Is there a Zen or Mecca that professionals arrive at in their careers? Is

Maslow͛s self-actualization a real destination professionally and do most people really seek it

out?! Are the tools with which I want to teach to possible attain this place in teaching even truly

available to me and can I effectively use and/or repurpose them to best suit my students?

These are questions I ask myself as a result of where my learning has taken me this summer.

Maybe questions do not prove what I have learned, however, Sternberg and Williams (1996)

would argue that, ͞It͛s more important for students to learn what questions to ask- and how to

ask them- than to learn the answers.͟ They would further contend that students given the

responsibility for learning, learns how to learn; ͞Active learning helps students develop skills in

seeking information.͟ While my seeking may take time, maybe even years, the questions and

the journey, so to speak, have begun.


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Consider the constant rhetoric that 

 

?

 

! So, with such a

great journey ahead, I should like any traveler, prepare myself by laying out a roadmap with a

planned route, anticipate the need to nourish myself with new ideas, pack the possibility of

getting lost (due to construction, of course), and leave fear of failure behind. As with any

journey or experience in life, a conscience and a sense of humor are mandatory, both of which I

will use herein! My conscience, which for entertainment purposes of this writing will take on

quotes from the character of a little green man, with superior insight, the ever-wise Jedi

master, Yoda. 
͞Always in motion is the future.͟ (1980) The Empire Strikes Back

As I͛ve previously discussed, the shape of education is changing because the world and

its͛ learners are changing. Schulman (1999) explains that, ͞learning was [once] understood as a

process of getting the knowledge that was outside the learnerͶin books, theories, the mind of

the teacherͶto move inside.͟ However, now believes that learning is a dual process which

alternates between the inside-out and outside-in. If teachers want to have students who

construct meaning from their lessons and make a difference, they must know ?  understand

that students͛ prior knowledge is a pre-requisite tool for their teaching. ͞The most important

single factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows. Ascertain this and teach

them accordingly.͟ (Schulman 1999) The first direction in my roadmap is to abandon and

revoke the condition of nostalgic teaching methods (X 

). The second is to take on the

challenges of integrating technology in my school as a whole, opposed to my own classroom,

both in practical use and fiscally (  ). Finally, even if only successful in my own building or

even my own classroom, I will attempt to foster a culture of technology ( ).

͞You will find only what you bring in.͟ (1980) The Empire Strikes Back

While some of the X 

 aspect of my journey has begun, I know that much of it lies

ahead. The backbone of my foundation for such exploration lies in my graduate education and

teaching experience thus far. Its future lies not only in the completion of the MAET program but

also in the search for further professional development and TPACK resources. Resources such

as 
â
?magazine, websites like Teach with Technology (http://www.4teachers.org/)

and Teaching and Learning with Technology (http://www.tlt.ab.ca/), or any number of blogs

like (surprise) Teaching With Technology (http://falconphysics.blogspot.com/) are widely

available. A deft student would include here any number of Key or Journal articles noted in the

TPACK.org explanation from Wikipedia! Nevertheless, I think that to name specific sites, blogs

or even scholarly writing now to use over the course of a five year span is limiting and naïve

because as we know, change is constant. I think it would be more realistic to say that this

promise of professional development would be a personal commitment, over time, to always

searching out the best, whether old or new, resources. Such professional development could

occur with a physical professional library to an e-library via deli.ciou.us for available reference.

In addition, up to date social networking to be in constant contact with others committed to

the same lifestyle would be a prudent choice.

My personal network of friends and colleagues provide me with a plethora of resources.

Classmates and teachers from this program have proven to be spectacular resources for

technology and applications thereof. I have past professors who I communicate with regularly

who often contribute to the technological development of my teaching. The role that these

people all play in my career is that they are all players on the same team; we all, to some

degree, share a commitment and passion for technology, both new and old, with a common

understanding that it is a tool, mostly free, for the taking!

While all of these people are valuable resources in my social repertoire, I feel that the

most meaningful face-to-face resources are my students. Students often know what to do

when I have computer ͞hiccups͟, they often know better sites and programs, they know that

they can always find a way around, over or through that I thought was unattainable. If I use

students as resources in their education, it would provide them with a sense of choice and
ownership. If I included them somehow in teaching teachers, they would feel of extreme value

and importance. Just because we͛re adults doesn͛t mean they we have to know everything!

Especially considering the idea that computers and the internet aren͛t really ͞technologies͟ to

our students they are to us. Respectfully and humbly͙ Just ask the natives!

͞Named must your fear be before banish it you can.͟ (2005) Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

The unknown is a scary place to be or venture to, but can conversely be part of a

remarkable ride in any journey. I think that my natural tendency in life is often to try to be a

leader. The MAET program seems to also instill a desire to be a leader in the realm of

technology in education. This manifesto, if you will, also makes me lay out the goal of

embracing educational technology and makes me realize that I truly want to    an

environment that fosters technology. I can do this by partnering with other teachers in my

building who have also earned their Master͛s degree in Educational Technology as well as those

teachers who have a natural technological inclination. We could create a team within our

building to introduce and increase technological integrations across curriculums. We would

have to have the support of building administrators and district technology leaders, in addition

to a well thought out and thorough plan to integrate technology, and be committed to

developing our building professionally with technology to match the education our students

desire with their 21st century learning styles. ͞As teachers [in our building] develop their core

technology skills, they [will] need on-going support though a professional development

environment that is consistently interwoven with hands-on use of technology to reinforce their

efforts and learning.͟ (Cunningham 2008)

͞Try?! There is no try! Only do͙ or do not!͟ (1980) The Empire Strikes Back

While I may anticipate 80% of teachers to be on board with the technological revolution

and 20% resistance, or vice versa, I should not let it hold me back from trying to s  the skills

and practices that I have learned, or have yet to learn, which could make them, us, better at our

professions!

Just Do It! Was a 1988 Nike campaign that was responsible for increasing Nike͛s share of

domestic sport-shoe business from 18 percent to 43 percent, from $877 million in worldwide

sales to $9.2 billion in the ten years between 1988 and 1998. Eventually the campaign was

credited with embracing not just resolve and purpose, but also the ͞beauty, drama and moral

uplift of sportͶeven, every now and then, fun.͟ (Data used from The Center for Applied

Research͛s mini-case study on Nike) The success of the campaign is that much more remarkable

when one considers that an estimated 80 percent of the sneakers sold in the U.S. are never

used for the activities for which they have been designed. This is evident of a 
  
 or a

 being repurposed. 
?

?
 
  would be the original intention, but look at the

success of the company for changing attitudes of consumers with a mere slogan! I suppose that

from this I should take that the prior thoughts and attitudes of teachers regarding technology in

the classroom needs to be known, possibly consciously changed, and further, developed to

increase effectiveness in teaching and student motivation, learning and performance.

͞May the Force be with you.͟ (1980) The Empire Strikes Back

m Hopefully, it will not be sacrilegious or offensive to do so, but this is the only thing I can

think of to support such a mission. My parochial school background and religious up-bringing

make me think of the way we were always dismissed from church on Sundays, as if the sermon
was a guide to live the upcoming days in our lives. Our pastor would quote Matthew 28:19-20,

in which Jesus is talking to his disciples after his resurrection and says,͞19Therefore go and

make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of

the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am

with you always, to the very end of the age." If this verse were transformed for the technology

enthusiast in any of us, let it be, ͞Therefore go and make techies of all contents, teaching them

in the name of the Macs, PCs and of the Holy Internet, and guiding them to ask Google anything

you do not know. And surely the force is with you always, until some new technology comes

about.͟
References

Brophey, Jere. (). Teaching. Educational Practices Series-1

Cunningham, Joan. (2008) Between Technology and Teacher Effectiveness: Professional

Development. http://www.techlearning.com/article/1110

Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2009, May). Too Cool for School? No Way! Learning & Leading with

Technology, (36)7. 14-18.

Prensky, Marc. (2005, December/January). Listen to the Natives. Educational Laeadership. 10-

13.

Shulman, L. (1999). What is learning and what does it look like when it doesn͛t go well. þ?



(4), 10-17.

Zhao, Yong. (2003). What Should Teachers Know about Technology?: Perspectives and

Practices, 1-14.