Month: August 2016
Ideas About Innovation
This semester has been a very interesting foray into the realm of innovation. There are a few different ways in which I have been innovative throughout this class. The first way I have been innovative is in the way that I have been asked to broaden my creative repertoire. Daily creates have required me to expand my skill set beyond what it used to be and has encouraged me to continue to do so throughout the rest of my life. There is more than one way to look at, represent, and appreciate the world, and daily creates have ensured that I recognize this as a tangible fact rather than an abstract concept. Continuing along that vein, I have been introduced to new and exciting forms of technology, both hardware and software, through this class and its assignments. The combination of daily creates, personal learning networks, and professional connections through social media have ensured that I have a pool of resources to draw from that is both wide and deep.
To my mind, innovation has many forms within the realm of learning. It can take the form of a student finding new ways to understand information such as a new piece of technology or a new pattern of thinking. Innovation could be a student taking the initiative to make change in their communities or their lives. In my opinion, an innovation does not have to be large at all to be meaningful. For instance, it can be as much as a student trying out flashcards to aid in their learning when they had never done so before, or it can be as much as spearheading an effort to create a sustainable community garden. With that being said, I have to keep in mind this quote from Couros, “I will focus on what is possible today and where I can push to lead towards tomorrow.”
I do not really know if there is anything I have “unlearned” this semester as per the definition established in this blog post. However, that is not to say that there are still things left for me to unlearn. To be fair, if I really had to pick something that I have unlearned this semester, or had help unlearning through the things I have learned this semester, it would be the dynamics of classroom management. While there are numerous different theories about how to best handle a class, the only true takeaway is that you have to find what works for each class each day. It is one thing to have a good routine, but it is completely another to have a good routine that is flexible and adaptive as necessary.
In regards to the social media and tech tools that I will use in the future with my class, I like the thought of my students using WordPress to keep a classroom blog. I want my students to be able to keep a blog about their thoughts and opinions as we go through the classwork and the lessons and I want the students to be able to interact with each other. This will also serve as a record of their progress as they improve upon their writing and their thinking.
As I continue to strive towards my goal of becoming an educator, there are still many things for me to learn and unlearn along the way. Therefore, I must be prepared to be innovative at every step and embrace all opportunities for creativity in thought and action.
gratuitouslygeeky 