Module 9 - Activity 1

In my opinion, a good school leader is a person who is inspiring, influential and is willing to learn. This person should be able to inspire teachers and students alike to aspire towards lifelong learning. He/she should be able to influence teachers to incorporate new and innovative strategies that inspire learning. This person should model openness to learning by providing opportunities for members of his/her staff to share and implement their new and creative ideas.

A good school leader in this digital age should exhibit excellent management skills, resilience, creativity, flexibility, creativity, and the ability to integrate.

All in all, I believe that a good school leader should be able to maintain an excellent plant, while being relevant to the times: digital/21st century era.

Utica

Module 7 - Activity 9

The realization has hit that true collaboration is not merely placing students in groups, but providing activities where ALL members are actively involved in the activity. In this way, students will be actively engaged, building their knowledge, enhancing their critical thinking skills, and become more independent learners. I see this method as directly connected to the 21st century learning system. I will try as much as possible to incorporate more of the true collaboration within my classroom.

Utica Christian

Module 7 - Activity 8

Communication tools, if nothing else, help to ensure students' engagement in the connected classroom. I have a renewed perspective of tools, such as Twitter, that help to enhance how students learn within the classroom. It also eliminates the age-old role of the teacher as the dispenser of knowledge, and now as a facilitator of knowledge. With time, I can see my students  using such technologies within the classroom to help their peers and themselves. I especially liked the CNN news article with the use of Twitter to aid shy students. This eliminates the notion that not because a child says nothing means that he has nothing to say. I observed that the right outlet would change the child's perspective of himself and other students' perspective of him. This activity was definitely an eye-opener.

Utica Christian

Module 7 - Activity 7

This activity helped to eliminate some notions I had about social media and learning. It helped to see that once monitored correctly students can enhance their learning experience as social beings.  Through social media such as Face book, Myspace, Twitter and other social media created by the teacher and otherwise, they can

1. communicate with peers and experts
2. source information
3. build knowledge
4. develop meta-cognition.

I believe that once I incorporate such media within the students' experience, their knowledge would be built and they will develop into more social and independent learners.

Utica Christian

Module 7 - Activity 6

Collaboration is a MUST in 21st century learning. This activity has enlightened me to this fact. Hence, I should have students collaborate through

• brainstorming
• sharing ideas
• formulating projects
• publishing 
• assessing 

In doing so, I am convinced that my students would be more creative learners and more engaged in the learning process.

Utica Christian

Module 7 - Activity 5

The readings, videos and activities of this section of the module have caused me to review critically how I engage students in the classroom. I already embarked on the following activities in students' engagement by:

1. winning the trust of the students.
2. engaging them in discussions and activities that build their critical thinking skills.
3. taking curriculum and convert it into meaningful learning activities and experiences for the students.
4. breaking up large projects into smaller, more manageable projects.

However, I do believe that student engagement can be improved if I

1. Empower students to ask questions as well.
2. Teach students new technical skills using content that they already understand.
3. Engage students in real-life processes.
4. Invite experts to share in the learning process.
5. Publish students' work in the community, where persons outside the immediate classroom environment can share in that culminating experience.

This is beginning to get exciting!

Utica Christian

Module 7 - Activity 4

Project-based learning definitely supports knowledge building within the classroom. As such, it is my endeavour to create such a learning experience for my students where

• learning is derived from construction and discovery
• it is learner-centred
• learners are taught how to learn
• lifelong is modelled and perpetuated
• there is customized learning
• the teacher is the facilitator of learning
• the teacher is flexible and creative
• learning is FUN!!

As a result, I will seek to merge real-life 'problems' with the curriculum goals of my subject area.

This is an interesting and exciting stage of my career.

Utica Christian