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First blog post- week 1

You as a Contemporary Teacher?

To what extent is it reasonable to conclude that if you are not experiencing positive or negative emotions about the materials and activities in any learning experience, that you are potentially disinterested or not motivated? DIscuss in relation to your first emotional response to the nature of this unit.

I believe that if no positive or negative emotions are triggered by activities within a learning topic or the topic itself there could be little eagerness, motivation and drive to excel within that topic. In relation to this topic, the timing of professional praxis 3 amongst the large workload that the final term presents I felt overwhelmed initially, however, the more I have delved into the content and the assessment tasks I feel excited about the information I can obtain from this unit and find I am eager to learn more.

Elaborate on your emotions on engaging further with this unit? Positive, negative. Indifferent?

The creativity and ideas that this unit could potentially provide to me before going into my teaching career has ignited excitement and motivation for the topic

To what extent do you have the commitment to actively interrogate your emotions, and your beliefs about creative pedagogy (that extends beyond the mere delivery of information to your learners)? How might you be challenged to engage as you enter this unit?

Having the skills to continually reflect and evaluate yourself professionally is the key to growth and development. This encourages me to take risks and chances in my teaching and pedagogical approaches and therefore step outside of my comfort zone and into my learning zone.

Identify your present values and beliefs about ICT in the classroom. Keep it brief and focused.

Technology is an important aspect of the classroom as it is embedded into every aspect of modern life. To completely leave ICT and technology out of learning would do students and teachers an injustice. Students will need ICT skills undoubtedly when they enter future careers and stages of their lives, however careful monitoring of ways in which ICT and technology is used within classroom needs to be taken to ensure privacy, and appropriateness is considered.

Identify your approach to teaching and learning - are you committed to the delivery of information, with yourself in control of all learning? Are you willing to let go of some control over what your learners learn, and how they learn it?

I currently favour the gradual release of responsibility model when teaching new concepts, it give a good balance of teacher led and student led learning with the opportunity to incorporate inquiry-based learning and critical enquiry. It also allows the freedom to cater to different learning styles to the preference of the students.

Identify any challenges to your values and beliefs as you enter this unit?

Although only in the 1st week of this unit it is much more than what I expected from the title “digital learning” it has opened my eyes to many possible ways to incorporate technology into teaching and I’m looking forward to the skills I develop. I initially considered technology a distraction to student learning but now I see the potential it holds as a fantastic learning tool.

What experience do you have with ICT in the classroom?

My experience with involving ICT into the classroom at current is very minimal. Praxis 1 and 2 I was able to use ipads daily with students with onenote and video feedback, in hindsight there was far more I could have incorporated into my teaching with these students. With my most recent praxis there was limited opportunity to incorporate ICT into the lessons I taught, I look forward to learning how to find opportunities within any classroom regardless of amenities.

Who is the contemporary learner?

How will the characteristics of our Gen Z learners depicted in the Meet GenZ video define their engagement in the traditional classroom snippet?
The traditional classroom seems worlds away from the way learning takes place today. The Gen Z learners learn better through fast paces activities, multitasking over multiple screens and with images and being more actively involved in their learning.

Referring to the ideas presented by Willis and Robinson, is this level of creativity in evidence in the schools you have attended, both as a student, and as a preservice teacher? Furthermore, is this level of creativity in evidence in your University units? As secondary pre-service teaching students, you will experience a variety of approaches to teaching, learning and course design in your discipline studies. Why were your previous studies presented in that particular way? How could they have been presented?
Creativity should be a strong focus for all teachers despite the age of the students. I agree with the comment about growing out of creativity as we age, with a young child at home i see the creativity that comes instinctively and naturally to her and often wonder where that disappears to as we grow older. This leads me to consider the power of play-based learning and the role it holds in our lessons. My personal education I have rarely experienced activities that promoted my creativity and during placements I experienced a lack of creative inspiring activities, this leads me to believe there is much work to be done on improving creativity in teaching.

How can ICTs help you in the development of a professional learning network? How are you feeling about this?
ICT is a vital part of teaching due to the demands of the curriculum and Australia Professional standards for teachers and therefore has a substantial effect on the profession. In terms of professional learning network it opens pathways for various communication avenues whilst providing professional development and further opportunities for students to learn in a variety of methods, environments, and contexts.
I feel positive about this as i begin a career in teaching, i am able to use ICT to access further learning from anywhere in the world whilst having the opportunity to communicate and be supported by many people across the globe.