The Contemporary Classroom

The Contemporary Teacher

Throughout this undergraduate degree, I have learned that if I am not emotionally invested in a unit or topic I will quickly become disengaged in the subject. I can immediately think of some lectures I have sat through in the past and consider watching paint dry more engaging **looking at you,  marketing unit lecturer**

Now that I've ripped off the wrapper of EDSE12024 Digital Pedagogies in Secondary Schools, started digesting some of the content and watched the recording of Week 1's lecture, I am positively charged for this unit!

As mentioned in my intro blog, I have the advantage of a re-do. I am also incredibly grateful that my practicum last term had me placed in a private college where all students had personal ICT supplied by the school and all classrooms integrated SmartBoards in their teaching and learning. I realise I still have a LOT to learn, but I'm ready for it!

I know that I have fresh eyes and an eager attitude BUT I also realise that I need to continuously work on my self-reflection and evaluation. This will only help me become a better educator. I understand that creative pedagogy is not just black and white; that this unit will challenge knowledge, experience and how things have traditionally been done in the past.

I wholeheartedly believe that ICT is critical in the classroom and can be utilised across many different facets. The future of ICT will not slow down for the classroom and our pedagogy and as educators, we need to ensure that our learners receive the best possible outcome for their education, creativity, and growth. It is up to us to be informed, versatile and life-long learners.

When I'm not working or studying, I am a musical theatre nerd. I have performed for as many years of my life as I can remember. What I have learned from my professional practicum I am also performer as teacher. But not at the expense of the learner. I mean more like that I want to engage my audience. I try to achieve this by knowing my content and utilising any tools available to me that will help keep my students interested in the content that will inspire them to want to learn and create. For my students to be able to achieve this, I need to be informed and know how to integrate ICT into my classroom.

Thankfully again in my recent practicum, I have seen how using software as simple as Microsoft Office OneNote can influence how a unit of work is delivered and how students are positively or negatively impacted by this one simple style of pedagogy. 

With English as my major teaching area, I will not let my students forget to embrace the declining art of handwriting; however, this is not to say that I will not utilise ICT in the classroom. I like to utilise MS PowerPoint or Prezi to assist my teaching and students' learning knowing that we all have different learning styles. I have only touched the surface of how far I can take the use of SmartBoards in the classroom, and I realise that not all schools will offer such technology but I am excited by the thought of learning and utilising it more in my pedagogy where I can.

The Contemporary Learner

I'm a GenX/Millennial hybrid - according to Business Insider, I'm a "Xennial". Therefore, high school was a long time ago. Like, a quarter-of-a-century long time. Because I have the glory of this hindsight, I can connect memories and emotion to the traditional classrooms that I was taught in and can compare this with the contemporary classrooms where I have recently undertaken pre-service practicum.

Much the same as the image on the right, my classmates and I were lined up in neat little rows facing the teacher where we would listen [allegedly] and learn. We teenagers were renowned for our 20-minute attention spans and our teachers segmented their 40-minute lesson plans to accommodate this. They taught us with their amazing ability for recall, a blackboard, and occasionally an overhead projector and screen, or TV/VCR combo. ICT in the classroom was not a thing, so of course, we were none the wiser and any creation of new or original work was drafted and embellished in our tiny minds.

These days, a contemporary classroom may appear similar upon first impressions as far as seating plans go, but how ICT is embedded into pedagogy is very beneficial to both teacher and student. It may be as simple as a Microsoft PowerPoint to provide a visual aid for learners and prompt card for teachers, to developing new and original work with new technologies. Akin to the Xennial, GenZ (and soon to be GenAlpha) are not ones to sit and listen to a teacher’s endless, direct instruction; however, what distinguishes GenZ’s learning is that they already have instantaneous access to information.

QCAA claim that contemporary learners will become innovators, entrepreneurs, lifelong learners and responsible global citizens and for 21st Century students to achieve this they need to be given the best opportunity to learn in a contemporary, future-focused classroom. One where students' various learning styles are considered and ICT is embedded in their learning.

It is imperative that the Australian Curriculum is linear and progressive to achieve the best possible outcomes for both learners and society as a whole. The Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA, 2019) have considered the importance of ICT in education:

In the Australian Curriculum, students develop Information and Communication Technology (ICT) capability as they learn to use ICT effectively and appropriately to access, create and communicate information and ideas, solve problems and work collaboratively in all learning areas at school and in their lives beyond school. ICT capability involves students learning to make the most of the digital technologies available to them, adapting to new ways of doing things as technologies evolve and limiting the risks to themselves and others in a digital environment.

In a professional learning network, such as my current undergraduate degree, the incorporation of ICT in learning is imperative for future growth and development and will assist in maintaining and improving relevant pedagogical practice.