Digital Learning Philosophy
Abstract
My Philosophy of Education is that all children have the ability to learn. They might not all learn the same way or on the same day, but learning is possible for everyone. I am invested in each student that I cross paths with. I want to create a space where children can expand their social and emotional skills. I also want them to grow physically and mentally. My classroom will be a special place where we all feel respected and protected. I want us to be able to learn from each other and explore our creative desires. I consider myself a lifelong learner and I want to teach my students how to adopt the same attitude not only inside the classroom but also in life. I am an advocate for learning skills that we can utilize in our everyday lives. Being able to teach lifelong learning skills is a necessity in today’s world. Students have to learn these skills to assist them in higher education and career environments. The expectations of “Teachers being innovators” and “Teachers being creators of learning” are extremely relevant. They expose how important it is for educators to adopt and teach lifelong learning skills. In the article, The Relationship of Prospective Teachers’ Educational Philosophy and Life-Long Learning Tendencies to Their Teaching-Learning Process Competencies, Hasan Sahad detailed that, “ It is seen as a necessity that teachers be open to development and constantly renew themselves.” I want to make sure that I am staying updated with the best classroom practices, methods, and information that will help my students. This is the main reason why I am advocating for more education on Ed.Tech in my district. I want my colleagues and the students that I teach to be educated in Digital Learning. There are an unlimited number of benefits that are possible if more districts adopted and gained knowledge on digital platforms that would help students learn. They also are made to be convenient for educators.
Learning Environments
My goal is to create a comfortable, respectable, loving, and engaging space for my students. I also want a student-centered learning environment in my classroom. I want my classroom to be a place where my students and I will grow. We will learn how to adopt and maintain a “Growth mindset”. A growth mindset is being able to accomplish abilities by having perseverance, dedication, and the willingness to work hard. My mission is to be fearless and take chances when it comes to our learning. One of the most important ways to increase learning is to create significant learning environments. CSLN’s will help students engage and connect with the learning that is taking place in the classroom. In the article “It’s about Learning” by Harapnuik the Finks Taxonomy design and principles were discussed. This design includes many factors that help the classroom function as a successful learning environment. For example, the classroom needs to be student-centered, have teacher roles, instructional designs, multiple delivery formats, academic quality, and structure. Together the classroom can achieve our personal and planned goals by keeping a growth mindset. I will strive to promote and encourage students to adopt this mindset in the classroom and in their own lives. I want to create an environment that encourages academic success. My students will flourish and become independent learners. I believe that every student can learn and have success in the classroom with hard work and diligence. Students will be able to create their own futures by being innovative in the classroom. Innovative tools and lessons will be utilized in my classroom daily and technology will help promote their learning. The COVA approach has been transforming my learning. I will use the COVA framework to transform and impact our learning environment. Being able to have choice, ownership, voice and authentic learning opportunities will help students to take charge of their own academic journey. Harapnuik analyzed the COVA approach in the article DLL. It states, “In DLL the learner will not be asked to sit and get professional development but will be required to go and show what they have learned through the creation of their own authentic projects and learning ePortfolio.” My goal is to prepare them for their future and instill in them to have a mindset that there are “endless possibilities” when it comes to their future. There is no “glass ceiling” that will prohibit them from reaching their goals.
Eportfolios
I am passionate and dedicated to preparing my students for the “real world”. I want them to be academically prepared and not afraid to make mistakes during their growth process. I want them to recognize all of their small and large milestones, and appreciate all of their growth. I want my students to create E-portfolios that will help them measure their growth. E-portfolios will give them the opportunity to look and reflect on their progress. This will be beneficial to my students as they enter higher education. E-portfolios are an innovative tool because they help create a student-centered learning environment. It also keeps students engaged and helps teachers meet the student’s needs in real-time. The evidence of learning is visible and students are able to access their accomplishments and assess the areas they need to improve in. E-portfolios allow teachers to gain a holistic view of how students are learning over time in school, they also encourage communication, track performance, and they can use them as a tool for planning. While actively researching the powers of an ePortfolio, I discovered Karen Barnstable’s article. She disclosed many benefits of an eportfolio. Barnstable categorized and explained a multitude of benefits that ePortfolios can have on students, staff and professionals in the Education field and even corporate companies. A few of the reasons that immediately stood out to me were Students developing their own personal goals for learning and learning how to be reflective in their learning. I am driven to bring this information to my campus to better the students and prepare them for higher education and their careers.
Digital Learning
Digital learning will keep education innovative. We as educators have to keep up with technology as it changes rapidly. Utilizing technology in our classrooms will only help students become smarter, independent thinkers, collaborative, employable and reflective. We are able to analyze a student’s growth in the classroom with technology. We are also able to create and cater specific lesson plans that will benefit each individual student. It is time for all campuses to become as innovative as they can be in order to educate our students. Technology is continuing to expand nationwide and campuses are utilizing all aspects of technology. Although each campus wants to utilize technology and digital learning, sometimes it simply is not possible because of the lack of technology on many campuses. In order to learn and lead the resources need to be available, and they are not. Technology like computers speakers,Smart Boards/Promethean boards are necessary for digital learning to be successful. In order to have technology their needs to be proper funding in school districts.
While education is constantly changing there are some factors that just do not seem to go away. Funding is one of the major issues in the education system. There are so many schools that do not have the proper funding needed for their students to be successful.Schools that are underfunded are teaching students using dated textbooks, insufficient technology and old buildings. This is an issue because it is impossible to use digital learning on a campus that does not have resources. It also affects and limits student growth resulting in poor education. Chandra Villanueva examined how funding is imperative in the Texas education system. Villanueva states, “Well-funded schools have a stronger ability to offer high-quality teachers, reduce class sizes and increase arts, technology and STEM curriculum. Teacher quality is often cited as having the largest impact on student success, but even the best trained and most dedicated teachers struggle to be effective in over-crowded classrooms. Improving teacher quality, updating classroom technology and reducing classroom sizes all require better and more sustained funding.” Properly funding schools is important because it could play a role in students’ success while in the classroom.
I am a firm believer of the success digital learning will have on not only the students, but the teachers as well. It is important to stay relevant and connected with new ideas and concepts. Digital learning is new and we are all learning how to navigate through more and more each day. As educators we have to stay informed and continue our own education as Digital learners. I want to make a difference on my campus by taking further steps to ensure that my students are prepared for college. My goal is to incorporate E-portfolios in the classroom. This will be a beneficial resource for my 10th graders, and other high school students on my campus. Students will be able to use the E-Portfolios to monitor their growth and progress over time in all of their classes. The E-portfolios are easily accessible through computers, tablets or smartphones. E- portfolios will also help students gain a deeper understanding of learning and critical thinking skills. The E-portfolios are an innovative tool, because they help create a student-centered learning environment. It also keeps students engaged and helps teachers meet the students needs in real time. The evidence of learning is visible and students are able to access their accomplishments and assess the areas they need to improve in. E-portfolios allow teachers to gain a holistic view of how students are learning over time in school, they also encourage communication, track performance, and they can use them as a tool for planning. I want to be able to incorporate E-portfolios into my classroom with the students that I will teach the upcoming year. With a growth mindset, technology and optimism I believe that education is going to be a part of an evolution.
I have attached the link to my entire Learning Philosophy
The Digital Millenial 
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