REFLECTION 1.1 & 1.2 - Zero to Hero ICT Capabilities!

On a scale of 0 (totally unprepared) to 10 (totally ready) to teach with ICT in your classroom, where would you rank yourself?

On a scale of 0 to 10 in terms of readiness to teach ICT in my classroom, I rank myself at a 3. I am so completely overwhelmed by the intense amount of information that is currently available along with how far a classroom has come in such a short time. I myself graduated high school in 2010 - not that long ago, right? Wrong..The classroom is so completely different now along with teaching expectations and curriculum inclusions.

I base my ranking on two documents. The first being the AITSL 'National Professional Standards for Teachers' ICT Elaborations. This document can be found here. Although standards 3.1 - 3.3 are things that I think I can achieve - the moment we assess my ability based on 3.4  'using resources' is where I begin to panic! I am quite limited when it comes to 'technical' ability. This will no doubt present many challenges in terms of my lesson plans and my own professional development.

I am lucky that my work at the moment is based around working with children (private drama, singing and dance training) so skills in behaviour management and student inclusion etc come quite naturally to me now. I'm glad this is the case because it means that I can use my energy to focus on my ICT ability. This is all very new to me, but I am looking forward to this exciting challenge and broadening my own skill set.

The second document I base my ranking on is the Australian Curriculum ICT general capabilities, this can be found here. The benchmark that the Australian Curriculum expects students to be by the end of year 6, 8 and 10 in ICT is past where my own capabilities are. This means I am going to have to ensure my learning is ahead of the students so I can give them to best chance possible at attaining these skills. The learning curve is for everyone! How exciting!

What an exciting semester we have ahead of us, getting our head around this wonderful world of technology that is ever evolving...

I definitely say 'exciting' to try and alleviate my own anxieties.

As I've now had time to settle into this course and what it has to offer, I reflect upon my own values towards this technologically savvy age! I can't tell you how many times someone has said to me: "You're young - you should know how to do that"
"Do what?" I ask myself! I feel like this world is evolving so quickly I can't keep up. In a past life, I worked in a law firm as a clerk. I got the job because I was tech savvy! My skills? I could type at a fast rate, use Excel to a decent capacity and I knew my way around Powerpoint and Outlook..How things have changed. Kids are BORN with these skills now, or at least it feels like it - which means they're starting one step ahead! No wonder they're programming computers by 10! That's insane! So here my values and my emotions plays out together! I think it's extremely valuable and beneficial, particularly when engaging students. So I will 'come to the party' so to speak when it comes to ICT, put my own hesitations and insecurities behind me and venture out into this unknown technological territory. What do I have to lose?

My approach to learning and teaching has always been to make it about the students. I'm lucky that my professional background gives me experience in this. If students aren't engaged, they don't learn. It's as simple as that. I also like to give students control of their learning - to set guidelines and then to let them explore and take some ownership of what they're about to learn! I think this will be very valuable as I head into a school classroom.

Before I finish (what was meant to be a short post), my last experience with technology in a classroom (before my undergraduate degree) was being the 'guinea pigs' in year 9 for a completely digital year. I remember being panicked and fumbling my way through as teachers thrust this idea of 'paper free' upon us. This BEST thing about that year - was that I learnt what I never wanted to become as a teacher. My needs weren't catered to, so I as a student shut down. This is vital, through all of these ICT expectations, it's still necessary and important to cater to your individual student needs to allow them to succeed! If they succeed, we succeed!

In summary, although I feel unprepared, I honestly think that's probably the overload of information clouding my vision. I'm ready to learn, ready to grow and ready to explore..isn't that what teaching is about? Always learning and then sharing..

I'm excited to launch into this world of technology!
3..2..1..Blast Off!