Yearn to Learn

For starters, before I began this course I had NO IDEA of what Web 2.0 meant.  So that definition became an actualization of both the term and the implementation of fully interactive learning and communicating with technology.  I read several blogs that were intriguing in their content.  My first thought was that a good number of the blog contents were the stuff of professional journals.  Where one would usually subscribe to an educational publication, now, one could go on the internet and read for free what other educators are doing, thinking, creating in their classrooms.  I also thought it takes hubris to publish on the internet.  In the past, one’s article for publishing would be previewed and the writer would at least have the satisfaction of knowing that his/her ideas have worth and have passed publication muster.  Blogging presupposes self-confidence in “putting it out there”. That said, I did really like, and hope to incorporate the “Upside-down Pop Quiz” into my repertoire this year.  I found it to be a strong strategy for building successful outcomes for my students who may not read closely or accurately on the first pass.  Additionally, it personalizes, from my point of view, what I want the class to carry away from a particular lesson.  “Spies Like Us” truly alerts us to the 21st century.  Life will never be the same with portable Smart Phones, so all of us have to be vigilant as teachers, parents, and citizens.  “The Ripe Environment” struck me as a writing that would have benefited from editing so that the author’s words would be more accessible to a larger audience.  His writing tended to be esoteric in a way that made it difficult to connect with his concepts.  The 10 prerequisites are more down-to-earth and link more strongly to the ripe environment for learning.  The act of commenting on blogs enables authors to receive immediate feedback and go in to fine tune their writings.  The immediacy of blogging is an advantage for creative minds as well as for seekers of new ideas.  It also speaks to our society’s growing need for immediate gratification: we are not willing to wait even one second for sites to download.  Finally, it is true that blogging can facilitate learning by expanding the audience,  floating new ideas and experiencing endorsements, and prompting timid learners to respond in an anonymous forum.  I read more blogs, but in the interest of brevity, I am stopping here!

While reading the 7 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learners, it occurred to me that this is a relatively new concept to be promoted.  It was the goal, when I was in school to “finish high school; finish college; finish one’s advanced degree(s)”, and then move on.  As I have advanced in my profession of teaching, I have benefited enormously from Habit # 5: Creating a Learning Toolbox.  I think this has been both the most important and the most resonant for me as a teacher.  However, it has not been easy.  I gathered my tools progressively while my children were young.  Had it not been for a colleague with whom I began my continuing education in Maryland, I would have been defeated from the start.  But she encouraged me with study groups and shared discussions after classes.  My first response would have been to create the obstacle of “…my children are young and I’m too busy with their schedules…”.  But she encouraged me to be resourceful and work around that so she and I could ‘move forward together’.  That camaraderie was HUGE in my toolbox. In addition, the shared experience activated confidence in myself as a learner and enabled me to integrate new ideas and teaching formats into my lessons.  But the paramount gain in my toolbox was that I changed my entire teaching area from French to Special Education.  I have never looked back because my teaching of students with learning disabilites has been, and continues to be, so rewarding.