I always remember that feeling of excitement and joy when I entered the school yard and the sad

feeling I
got when I missed one day of school. I think school for me was a way to escape (the school yard to play,
the people classmates I know) my chores at home. Do not get me wrong, I also went for the lessons and
was delighted to learn. Well, at least the lessons I was good at. Responsibility was no stranger to me as I
am the first of six children, which meant my evenings where spent doing house chores, preparing my
sibling for the next day and of course cannot forget the homework. This was my life from a young child
through adolescent.

Even with all of this I loved school. However, my grades did not reflect well and of course I felt the belt
more times than I can remember. The lesson will be thought at school and I understood them but there
was never enough time to get in the practice at home and there was no one to clear up my doubts or help
with the school work at home. But I must say; within myself there was something that kept me going.
Today I call it a passion for education. I have always had that drive for success in everything I do and
usually do not stop until I have achieved my objectives. Although I consider myself a slow-average
learner, life has thought me that nothing comes easy and giving up is not an option. Thanks to committed
teachers and that inner drive I got through that sensitive period of my life and now not only do I have a
love for school but a love for teaching as well. Just like all the educators I have meet and read about, I too
am willing and dedicated to bring hope and meaning to our nations children.

At the moment not being active in the teaching profession poses a few challenges, one of
which is reflecting on teaching in the classroom. However, I can easily return on my life as a
student in the classroom, and reflect on both my past and present teaching influences. Some of
them were enforcers of the curriculum; lecturing all day to students who receiving the
information passively while the true essence of education and teaching forgotten. Then there
were the few who were open to criticism as they encouraged critical thinking in the classroom.
As a professional soldier I live in an environment where teaching and learning takes place every
minute of every day so transformation into the education realm should be a smooth one.

As teachers we play an important role in the learning process, guiding students to independently
discover meaning within the subject area and also teaching things that they cannot learn on their
own. I was thought like any structure; how you lay your foundation determines its life stability. I
strongly believe that education is the source of life that evolves a human being and helps us
analyse logic while, decipher the illogical and to provide this is a duty we owed to our children.
They need an environment that is stimulating, caring and secure which enables emotional,
intellectual, physical and social growth and maturity. As an aspiring educator, I welcome the
opportunity to provide that foundation. One that inspires empowers and nurture young minds.

As I deliver to my students I will encourage them to practise self-mastering and allow natural
experiences to inform their minds. They will come to appreciate that understanding comes from
constructing meaning by relating what youve learnt to what you already know; while pooling
knowledge and skills and receiving social support from group work as I promote meaningful
team-work and deep collaboration. According to Bandura theory, people learn from one another
whether through observation, imitation or modelling which bridges behaviour and cognitive
learning (J L, 2015). Like I do, my students must be convinced that they can achieve anything
they set out to achieve and together we will master what they can do, so we can focus on what to
do next in the hope of meeting every childs need.

One of the most influential persons in a childs (student) life is their teacher and we
should take good advantage of their observant nature, so, I aspire to be a facilitator of learning as
appose to using the chalk and talk approach; making available to students information and tools
necessary for mastering learning and dealing with life challenges by modelling new concepts and
skills. It is through expressing my passion for learning will I engage and encourage learners.
Most human behaviour is learned observationally through modelling: from observing others,
one forms an idea of how new behaviours are performed, and on later occasions this coded
information serves as a guide for action Bandura (J L, 2015). As I see through my daughter
eyes I believe greater development of children learning is emerged through communicating that
is why one of my teaching strategies will definitely be student-teacher conferencing. This
promotes positive feedback and interaction which is important between teacher and child, it
shows that learning is taking place, oral language supports all learning and it promotes an active
classroom rather than a reactive/passive classroom. I also find it necessary to include the parent
as it increases parent involvement in the classroom and enhances student growth. Put all this
together with a physical environment conducive for learning will impact my students learning
and breathe learning success in my classroom.

Another major factor that contributes to students learning and a teacher achieving his or her
objectives is assessment. For reliability and validity, I intent to use the Triangulation approach as
it allow evidence of learning to be gathered from a variety of sources in the form of observation,
collection of products and evaluation. In my classroom students will be asked to demonstrate
their learning as well as reflect on their learning but more importantly students will be
responsible for their learning. Peter Elbow in Davis, Anne Ph. D (2011, p.73) believes, students
knows more than the teacher about what and how he has learn even if he knows less about
what was taught, as a student myself I can relate to this statement. Students apart from knowing
exactly what is expected of them from me (the educator), will be engaged in both group and self-
assessment as well as collecting, organising and presenting their evidence of learning. This now
permits my students to be accountable for what they are learning while they are kept motivated.

"The principal goal of education in the schools should be creating men and women who
are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done Jean
Piaget. The past is behind and we now live in a technology-driven age where the use of
technology has grown into a natural fit for students as most of them are surrounded by
technology at home. I plan to use this to my advantage and tailor my efforts to effectively
guiding them as they use these digital tools for learning. The use of technology will bring life to
my lessons and introduce new interesting materials to complement that lesson already thought
adding to my presentation sound effects, music, video clips, photographs and so much more. In
the educational realm, technology has become a great convenience communication made easier
and quicker while changing the role of both student and teacher in the classroom. With
technology integration we can now move away from direct instruction. No more standing in
front the class giving long lectures, now with the use of computers and other tools students are
guided and encouraged to independently grasp new concept. Teachers are able to work closely
with small groups of children at a time, giving way for more dialogue and critical thinking as
they question these new concepts and challenges they face along the way. It is also a gateway to
teachers networking; sharing ideas, experiences, lessons across the globe within seconds of
touching a button. Technology integration keeps educators always in the know with up to date
policies and practices, which support transformation in your teaching style while improving
educational strategies providing the best way to deliver the material to students. It gives support
to my philosophy of becoming a facilitator of learning, helping students discover and use on their
own knowledge in and out the classroom.

Students role changes from passively participating to becoming actively involved in their
learning. Lessons can be re-enforced and students collaboration continue outside the classroom
through class blogs, type written assignments, power point presentations, science projects
supported by the use of video recordings or pictures etc. When learning with technology,
students are much more engaged in subject matters; they have greater access to research
materials and at any they can continue enhancing their literacy skills by accessing reading
materials digitally. Through technology integration I can reach all styles of learners in my
audience. Students continue knowledge enhancement learning outside the classroom through
game-based learning, visual manipulative and video learning which expands rational growths
and encourages critical thinking skills. Instructional software like Khan Academy provides
activities that stimulate learning through demonstrations, examples, explanations or problem
solving (Roblyer &Doering 2014) and encourages the practice of self-mastering while the
student is having fun drawing out their competitive nature.

But as valuable as integrating technology into the classroom is, there are a number of
barriers that exist. One of which is the many social issues potential treats that it poses on users
personal privacy. Others may include;

1. Educational Issues lack of funding taking the shape of inadequate technology resources,
restricted access, scarce time, or poor technical support as well as teachers inadequate
knowledge and skills of how to use and apply this tool in the classroom.
2. Institutional barriers unsupportive administration, inflexible scheduling of school time-
table, not up-to-date on best practices, not allowing exploration of different types of tools.
3. Cultural and Gender equity Issues culture, attitudes and beliefs which can be difficult to
change, facilitating students with special needs are other barriers that can inhibit
educators from creating a fully integrated technological program.
4. Legal Issues hacking, practicing safe online procedures, plagiarism and piracy law.

However, in spite the challenges. As educators there are a few but valuable things we can do
help break these barriers and reduce the treats. One such thing is to overcome the fear of using
technology, increase our competency and adapt to the changes to enhance our professional
growth and that of our students. Secondly we need to make the time ourselves and demand that
time be given otherwise to ensure integration into the classroom (into the curriculum) takes
place. Thirdly and most important communicate-communicate-communicate, educate both
students and parents of the laws, ill and treats the use of the internet poses to keep our children
from breaking any laws and out of the hands of predators. I see the many benefits of technology
integration however it should not replace the teacher and the role of the thereof.

References

Davies, Anne (2011). Making classroom assessment work. Canada, Connections Publishing.

J L, "Social Learning Theory (Bandura)," in Learning Theories, June 19, 2015. Retrieved from https://www.learning-
theories.com/social-learning-theory-bandura.html

ProCon.org. (2013, July 23). Critical Thinking Quote: Jean Piaget. Retrieved from
http://www.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=005370

Roblyer, M. D. & Doering, A. H. (2014). Integrating education technology into teaching. Essex, Pearson Education Ltd.