Our Philosophy of Student Motivation

       Motivating students in the 21st century classroom can be challenging.  Whether you are a child or an adult, technology has a major impact on everything we do. Using technology is an essential form of instruction to use with 21st century learners. Before reading our philosophy of using educational technology in the classroom, click the link below to view a video clip about students and the 21st century.

Video:  Students and the 21st Century

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A-ZVCjfWf8

       As you can see, technology is not being incorporated into classrooms as much as it should.  Though technology can be incorporated into many classrooms, teachers must be trained and familiar with various forms of technology.  Although it may take time to learn, educators will find that using these resources not only increases student motivation, it also makes teaching more fun and interactive.

       Using technology in the classroom enables a different form of information processing, addresses multiple forms of intelligences and is an effective way of differentiating instruction.  Teachers may also use various forms of technology for homework (i.e. blogs, Facebook, Ipads, texting, etc.).  Teachers must take precautions, however, in order to ensure proper use of these resources for at-home use.  Also, some students may not have internet access and/or other forms of technology. 

       As educators, it is important that we experiment with these new technologies ourselves before we expect our students to do so. Just as we would not expect our students to try out reading strategies, or certain writing activities before we have experienced them and modeled them for students, we shouldn't expect students to acquire 21st century learning skills and use these technologies until (as Will Richardson says in his book Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts) "We become connected and engaged in learning these new ways if are to fully understand the pedagogies of using these tools with our students." We as teachers can't discuss 21st century reading/writing skills until we fully understand them and have experimented with them ourselves.

       We would also like to emphasize the importance of choice in teaching reading, and how 21st century technology can help to enhance choice for students. Examples: accessing electronic texts online and e-books can allow us as teachers to provide various texts to students and/or various levels of texts of the same or similar topics with relatively low cost. We can provide books on topics of interest to students more easily. Also, having students partake in reading projects, discussions, and bookclubs using new technologies like Blogs, podcasts, and glogster for example opens up a great variety in choice and flexibility for student learners.


 

       We have researched three different popular and effective forms of technology (Blogs, Glogster, PodCasts) with a specific focus on uses in the classroom and enhancing reading instruction.