Having finished the first decade of this century, it is becoming increasingly obvious that online technologies are going to play an integral role in education. Moreover, the notion of even the “traditional” classroom is being redefined to include an online component. Couple this with environmental concerns and being more conscious of our use of resources, the 21 st century teacher is faced with a need to maximize the use of emerging technologies in a way that will reduce paper use, increase collaboration, and facilitate meaningful learning. As such, being a Humanities teacher I see the value in face- to-face interactions and group learning which can be augmented with online technologies. Courses in the humanities require both access to information and the articulation of ideas. Traditionally, these courses have used copious amounts of paper and involved immense amounts of time invested in getting information. The Internet reduces both of these issues. It is my goal to see core Humanities courses become totally paperless. Indeed, many of the courses in this area do not really need textbooks. The information is accessible and readily available. One of my professional goals is to offer Social Studies courses in a paperless manner. This would involve students creating their own course textbook of information that they deem valuable that also will cover the required learning outcomes. This textbook would include information, graphs, images, etc. which reflect the students’ learning while also covering the Prescribed Learning Outcomes as set by the Ministry of Education. Given the rising costs of textbooks and budget concerns that both public and independent schools face, this is could be a significant cost-saving measure. Tied to this professional goal is my scholarly interest in the ways that the integral notion of community can be preserved, enhanced, and maintained with emerging technologies. In this era, we, as a society, seem to shy away from community and become
This was my entrance essay for application to the UBC MET program in 2012.
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Having finished the first decade of this century, it is becoming
increasingly obvious that online technologies are going to play an
integral role in education. Moreover, the notion of even the
traditional classroom is being redefined to include an online
component. Couple this with environmental concerns and being more
conscious of our use of resources, the 21st century teacher is
faced with a need to maximize the use of emerging technologies in a
way that will reduce paper use, increase collaboration, and
facilitate meaningful learning.As such, being a Humanities teacher
I see the value in face-to-face interactions and group learning
which can be augmented with online technologies. Courses in the
humanities require both access to information and the articulation
of ideas. Traditionally, these courses have used copious amounts of
paper and involved immense amounts of time invested in getting
information. The Internet reduces both of these issues. It is my
goal to see core Humanities courses become totally paperless.
Indeed, many of the courses in this area do not really need
textbooks. The information is accessible and readily available. One
of my professional goals is to offer Social Studies courses in a
paperless manner. This would involve students creating their own
course textbook of information that they deem valuable that also
will cover the required learning outcomes. This textbook would
include information, graphs, images, etc. which reflect the
students learning while also covering the Prescribed Learning
Outcomes as set by the Ministry of Education. Given the rising
costs of textbooks and budget concerns that both public and
independent schools face, this is could be a significant
cost-saving measure. Tied to this professional goal is my scholarly
interest in the ways that the integral notion of community can be
preserved, enhanced, and maintained with emerging technologies. In
this era, we, as a society, seem to shy away from community and
become too introverted while the tools exist for us to enhance our
social connections. I am interested in seeing how we can best
maximize the technological tools that we have to foster a positive
sense of community.Overall, I believe that a model of education
that makes use of the best technologies coupled with live
interaction will lead to better learning through communicative
learning communities. iHIstokjaflkjafd
