In my life experiences so far, I have come to realize many important constants. One of them being, that in all work, successful completion is dependent on having the right set of tools (metaphorically, literally, or both). It is my personal opinion then, that every person, in every field that works inside this 21st century, needs to have a unique blend of life and formal education, digital familiarity, a contact list of go-to people and resources (material and virtual) to draw from, and a desire to constantly learn/improve in order to maintain status and achieve professional development.
About a week ago, for a particular program-related assignment, I was faced with a situation whereby I had to complete several interviews with teachers in a relatively short amount of time, during the first week of Summer vacation. Normally this kind of scenario would present as a somewhat challenging one, but knowing I had the tools I needed to make things work, I felt at ease knowing I could complete the task while learning a great deal in a short amount of time, using just a few online resources I have come to depend on and enjoy…
For example, by transforming a simple printable paper hand-out/questionnaire into a Survey Monkey online instant survey and distributing the link to an open audience of teacher-friends I had on Facebook and Twitter (my contacts), I was able to distribute to a much larger audience, in a short amount of time, and have most of the numerical data analyzed for me immediately, without having to collect and sort myself. This cut down on the data collection and allowed for more time reflecting upon the “meat” of the work, which was interpreting the results to see what patterns, trends, and import and other important facts could be learned.
This is just one recent example of many, where these three tools (Survey Monkey, Facebook, Twitter) can be extremely effective and helpful in preparing/executing any particular work or school-related task. However a teacher might even use resources found within their social networks to create lesson plans or develop in-class hands-on material tools using those innovative new ideas discovered online. - Yet another way to use these tools would be to distribute home-to-school surveys and notices with parents or in conjunction with the PTO/PTA initiatives/activities, to get parent feedback and/or develop participation/interest in the community by keeping a social network going and allowing for greater collaboration/input, etc…These communication and social networking software tools could also be used in tandem with a great many other creative ones, such as Mindmapping sites, YouTube, Voicethread, Piktochart, Slideshare, Google Docs, iCloud, Blogger, etc. which are also personal favorites now, and for which I use often, depending on the need. There really is no limit to the uses and applications we currently have at our fingertips!
Other tools I use all the time and often, are hardware specific, such as my iPad and think that in combination with a Whiteboard or Smartboard, could make the almost perfect “universal learning tool kit” for any 21st Century classroom. By creating individual and group project-based learning activities from the iPad (using fun educational software and apps) - and shared, projected, synced with a Smartboard, a teacher might allow for active and passive spaces, have more lesson planning time, reduce waste, maintain classroom structure, and be able to dedicate more specialized attention to each student and their individual needs/styles/aptitude, have children move at their own pace together and separately, stay more engaged, and help his/her learners develop their own digital savvy in the process.
Though I have not yet worked in a formal classroom setting, I’d love to attempt to develop lesson plans involving this tandem technology use (which seems to be a growing and successful trend), to see how learners respond and what can be achieved/learned in the process. I know there is a lot of resistance to this sort of digital “take-over” in the classroom, but with a good mix of material and virtual tools (and certain comfort level that I have using all of these tools, given my age and frequency of personal use), I think I would not only be successful in integrating these great resources into daily work, but would have for myself and create for others, fun while doing so.
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