First Reflection

Hello and welcome to my blog. The exercise of writing reflections can often be a difficult but enjoyable experience. I like the process of sharing, but can labor over writing things in a way that accurately reflect my thinking. Writing reflective blogs calls for a balance of hooking the reader, sharing something worth reading, and also being vulnerable in a way that others can relate.

I like to start with the things that are on my mind. 

Here is a picture of a couple baby chicks that hatched last week and have taken a lot of my attention lately. Raising and breeding chickens has been an immersive learning experience. I have followed my curiosity to learn about chicken breeding and genetics, animal behavior, carpentry (to build coops), business (selling and trading eggs) and many other areas of knowledge related to raising chickens. My passion has guided me to many new lessons, and is a great example of project-based learning. I'm starting here, because it is an example of the type of learning I want to facilitate and reflects the values of student-based learning and constructivism emphasized in our graduate program.

I value technology greatly and there are many ways it has made learning easier. The infographic below reflects one way technology has changed learning. With a little curiosity and Google, I can learn all about the parts of a chicken, how to care for them, and possible problems to watch out for. There is an amazing amount of information right on my phone. I like to joke that one can learn anything and become a PhD by watching enough YouTube

I am part of the first generation to be naturalized to the internet. I am what is called an "elder millennial". I have been a fluent internet user since the beginning, when AOL announced "you've got mail".  I was in college, and on Facebook when you had to be in college to use Facebook. I have blogged professionally, and built websites, and use all the social media (including slack). 

This is the second college class I have taken that is designed to teach us how to embrace and better utilize technology to create an online learning environment. The first was in 2008, and I have been using most of these tools for many years. From my previous employment, online schooling, and personal blogging, I am proficient at using Zoom, Google Drive, Slack, Blogger, etc. That said, in most of those experiences I have felt like I was building the plane while flying it. So, it would be great to build more of a foundation of skills used specifically for classroom teaching. For that reason, I wish we were practicing in Google Classroom and Clever (which is what I use teaching elementary school), but I am optimistic that some of the tools may be the same or similar to what we learn in this class. 

What if... before the class started we were asked what skills we already had, what technology is used in our schools, and what areas we wanted to develop? It would be such a fun KWL chart, and an opportunity to demonstrate social constructivist principles... you know, like we are being taught is effective education..

Reflecting on the week, I am not excited about another quarter of online learning. I like sharing memes and connecting with classmates I haven't heard from since winter quarter. Like most people, during the pandemic I found myself spending far more time in these online spaces than I would like. The online platform is really not my preferred learning environment, and sitting at home in front of my computer, drinking too much coffee, has become a sort of personal hell.

My best learning during this masters program was when I was teaching students in person. There is a time and place for online learning, but it typically fails to include the social emotional part of what students need from school. I share all this with you, dear reader, because my patience for how this program functions ran dry months ago. 

It's a shame, because this class is full of people (both professors and students) that are passionate, intelligent, and talented. I would relish a rich discussion. I would be thrilled to implement the progressive strategies of incorporating project-based learning in masters level curriculum. I want to feel inspired, engaged and curious again. Sadly, I feel like the masters in teaching program has been more an exercise in how well we can endure reading textbooks, writing lesson plans, and testing if we can make it to the other side without our fire going out. It's okay. I'm a durable guy. I have done some very difficult things in my life. 

My spirit is still alive, and this writing prompt is a chance for me to pose the same question I had when I started this journey. How does someone teach passion? How can education make teaching and learning exciting? Unfortunately, Eastern Washington University has not been able to provide an example of that type of education. I will grind through the rest of this program, learn what does not work, I will recover from the disappointment, and will continue to nurture the spirit of learning and growing that I want in my own classroom.

Now, stick with me as I address the last prompt. I like Slack because it allows for conversations to build without sending a bunch of emails. It syncs well with other cooperative work programs (such as Google Drive) and has a user-friendly interface. I used it as a program manager at an environmental non-profit for a few years. It was the primary way we communicated and worked together with our marketing team. For this to be of much use to me as an elementary school teacher, I would need to learn how I can oversee and manage student activity. My prior use of Slack was with other adult colleagues, so I did not need or explore these types of tools. If some "parental control" features exist, it would be a terrific way to add Slack and Blogger to my skillset for teaching.

I am sure I will make use of the new skills we develop in this class. I take teaching and education very seriously. I already see some unique strategies being employed, and appreciate our professors use of technology.