Running header: TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY TEACHING 1

Twenty-First Century Teaching

Alexandra Peterson

Azusa Pacific University

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History of Coursework

Course Term Instructor

EDUC 540: Essentials in Learning and Technology Fall II, 2017 Elizabeth Silver
Key Learning Reflections
• Address the digital literacy gap in my classroom by introducing students to digital tools that
are useful across content areas/for employment (Word Processing, e-mail)
• Everyone needs antivirus and antispyware protection on their digital devices
• Digital communication tools such as Zoom make collaboration between educators easier.
Course Term Instructor
EDUC 548: Emerging Trends in Technology Spring 1, 2018 Tom Holder
Key Learning Reflections
• Teachers must model empathy and sympathy as part of social-emotional learning.
• Project-Based Learning: students learn through collaborating to answer a research question.
• Game-Based Learning: using gaming to engage students and learn content.
• Even popular games, such as Minecraft, can be used by students to demonstrate learning
Course Term Instructor
EDUC 547: Special Topics in Educational Spring II, 2018 Jennifer Courduff
Technology: Learning and Technology in the 21st Century
Key Learning Reflections
• Address three-to-five intelligence types per lesson plan, and all intelligences for a unit plan.
• Numerous activities, such as virtual field trips, will channel several intelligence types.
• Short video clips of movies can engage students by connecting content to popular culture.
Course Term Instructor
EDUC 546: Digital Communications Fall I, 2018 Joe Bruzzese
Key Learning Reflections
• Flipped classroom: achieves differentiation due to individuals controlling pacing of content.
• Using screencast presentations reduces students’ nerves caused by public speaking.
• Websites need a simple and predictable layout on each page to allow for flow.
Course Term Instructor
EDUC 549: Capstone Experience in Fall II, 2018 Kathleen Bacer
Learning and Technology
Key Learning Reflections
• APA format requires specific heading formats, and only Level 1 is bolded and centered.
• My role as a beginning teacher is to enrich the learning experience through technology.
• Technology is to be used effectively to facilitate a deeper learning of the content and to
prepare students for higher education and employment opportunities.

Personal Growth

In working towards completing my Master of Arts in Education: Learning and

Technology (LRNT) at Azusa Pacific University (APU), my confidence has grown as a Christian
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and as a student. Spiritually I feel like I have been reborn, as I went from being unsure about

myself as a Christian to openly expressing my religious beliefs. Cognitively, I have learned how

to articulate an idea concisely in writing and orally. Due to these growths, I now focus on social

and emotional learning and in-person and digital collaborating in my classroom.

Spiritual. My faith in God has been strengthened through weekly religious forum

discussions. Prior to starting the LRNT program, I participated in what Arnada (2008) calls

private religious involvement. I would pray and study the Holy Bible by myself due to fear of

being judged. In participating in the weekly religious forum discussions, called “Faith

Integrations” or “Prayer Connections,” I would share about my faith in response to specific

scripture passages (Bacer, Bruzzese, Courduff & Holder, 2017 - 2018). This is because I felt

compassion, one of the key factors in spirituality and spiritual communities (Kumar Verma &

Misra, 2016). In opening myself up, I experienced the positive outcomes that Arnada (2008)

states are related to communal faith: reduced stress levels, decreased anxiety, and spiritual

awareness. Using my new openness, I now model vulnerability for my students.

Cognitive. Cognitively, I have improved in concisely articulating my thoughts and

proposed solutions. I am a loquacious person. However, I have learned to be more concise. In

EDUC 540: Essentials in Learning and Technology (Bacer, 2017), I learned that discussions

need to follow the K.I.S.S. principle, “Keep It Simple, Stupid” (Beuke, 2011, August 13), or

“Keep It Simple and Succinct” (Bacer, 2017). This means that effective communication should

be explicit and to the point. Now I can write informative papers that are one-page, such as

reflecting on using Twitter chats for professional growth (Bruzzese & Hernandez, 2018). I also

applied my communication skills in collaborative activities, such as weekly forum discussions

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(Bacer, Bruzzese, Hernandez & Holder, 2017 - 2018). I use my improved communication skills

to answer my students’ questions and to model formal writing, such as free response essays.

Having grown as a Christian and as a communicator, I believe that my students and I

have benefitted as a result. In learning how to share my faith with others, I gained confidence in

being vulnerable, which I model for my students and encourage during discussions. I also use my

new communication skills to articulate clear expectations or answers to my students, as well as to

provide sample work for my students to reference. Overall, my focus on social and emotional

learning and collaboration is due to these personal growths.

Professional Growth

As a student in the LRNT program, I have grown as a teacher and as a professional

collaboration. In my clinical practice, I know that I have shifted from a direct instruction, teacher-

centered approach to Project-Based Learning in my World History class. I have also positively

contributed to the professional growth of my master teachers, as I taught them how to use the

digital tool called Canva. With my professional growth, I firmly believe that I am prepared to be

an effective teacher and coworker at whatever middle school or high school site that I work at.

Growth as an educator I have grown to become a confident teacher who embraces

Project-Based Learning. Currently, I am completing my second term of clinical practice. In reading

over my notes from EDUC 548: Emerging Trends in Technology (Brown & Holder, 2018), I

recalled Project-Based Learning, a student-centered practice. According to Mahasneh and Alwan

(2018), Project-Based Learning (PBL) is a pedagogical method in which students “...are required

to work collaboratively to solve problems, and then to discuss and reflect on what they have

learned” (p. 511-512). In using PBL in my World History classroom, students have formed

friendships and learned on a deeper level. I am now confident in making learning student-centered.
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Professional accomplishments. Having attended APU, I am proud of myself for educating

expert teachers at my clinical practice site about Canva. I currently have two master teachers. In

creating lessons I have taught my master teachers the numerous ways to use Canva. Canva is a

free digital tool in which the creator can make a variety of visuals, such as posters, business cards,

brochures, or memes (Canva, 2017). Now my master teachers are planning on using Canva in their

classrooms. I am proud teaching veteran educators about Canva, as this shows that I am improving

pedagogical practices at my clinical practice site.

In gaining confidence as an educator, I see that student learning and relationships with my

master teachers have improved. My World History students excel with Project-Based Learning.

Their creativity in developing solutions and presenting their learning is impressive. I also believe

that I am making an impact on my clinical practice site, as I introduced my master teachers to

Canva as a resource. Overall, my growing confidence as an educator has transformed how I view

my role in my classroom and has led to more collaboration between expert teachers and myself.

Technical Growth

Considering that I used to struggle with Microsoft Word, my time in the LRNT program

taught me about flipped classrooms and Google Drive. As a result, I use my knowledge with

flipped classrooms to create screencasts to improve student learning. I also focus on my students

mastering Google Docs and Google Slides in my classroom. I am now able to use digital tools to

present content and have students demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.

Technical expertise. With my newfound expertise on screencast technology, I have

utilized the flipped classroom model in my clinical practice. According to Cabi (July 2018),

“...the flipped classroom as an alternative to the traditional learning environments has been

increasingly attracting the attention of researchers and educators” (p. 203). I achieve a flipped
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classroom through screencasts. A screencast is the partial or complete video recording of a

computer screen, along with a person’s audio recording. Screencast tools include Screencast-o-

Matic, Screencastify, and QuickTime (Bruzzese, 2018). I use Screencastify and Screencast-o-

Matic to model a skill to my students or to record a brief lecture, which students can replay for

understanding. Recently I created a screencast video to model how to make a screencast.

Screencasts are now used for certain formative or summative assessments in my classroom.

Learning to utilize Google Drive. As an educator, I am now able to use Google Drive

regularly in the classroom to improve my delivery of content and for students to create products

that demonstrate their learning. Prior to attending APU, I only used Microsoft Office. In EDUC

540: Essentials of Learning and Technology (Bacer, 2017), I learned about Google Docs and

Google Slides. In EDUC 548: Emerging Trends in Technology (Brown & Holder, 2018) I

participated in a collaborative writing piece, a short story. Similarly, in EDUC 546: Digital

Communications (Bruzzese, 2018) I created a shared slideshow presentation. Now I use Google

Slides to include text, videos, and images in my direct instruction segments. I also modeled for

my students Google Docs and Google Slides and have them use these tools daily.

With my newfound understanding of Google Drive and screencast recordings, my

classroom has become technology- and student-centered. In learning how to use the shared

feature on Google Docs and Google Drive, my students will digitally collaborate daily with these

tools. Similarly, by using screencast videos to model skills, assignment expectations, or present

content, my classroom time is spent more efficiently. Time is now utilized on engaging student-

centered activities and students practicing with the new skills or content, while I am a facilitator.

Life Long Learning Plan

• What will you keep learning and how?

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o Learning Topics: Online discussion tools (Socrative, Google Classroom, Padlet), creating

virtual reality tours, how to use Google Earth for learning geography

o Practice with these tools and ask veteran teachers who are familiar with these tools

• What is the strength of my personal learning networks?

o Use of social media for weekly community involvement: Twitter, Facebook

o Visit the Department of Education’s blog twice a week for insight on new trends

o Monthly lunches with veteran teacher friends to discuss pedagogy

• What are my aspirations and career goals?

o Secondary school social science and Advancement Via Individual Determination

(AVID) coordinator

o Join the school site’s educational technology professional learning community

o Teach a digital literacy or digital education course at Palomar College

• How will I keep up with new developments in educational technology?

o Weekly reading of EdWeek website and blog, Edutopia articles, and three Twitter chats

o Participate in professional growth training with technology during the summer breaks

Conclusion

Throughout my time at APU I have grown exponentially as a person and as an educator. I

went from doubting my faith to gaining confidence in expressing myself as a Christian through

weekly online religious discussions. Professionally I have learned how to utilize Canva, Google

Drive, and screencast tools to educate veteran teachers at my clinical practice site, as well as to

teach my own students how to master these tools. Although I need to improve my networking by

using face-to-face discussions with others and visiting blogs, I am now skilled in educational

technology and will continue to use digital tools to improve student learning in my classroom.
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References

Aranda, M. P. (2008). Relationship between religious involvement and psychological well-being:

A social justice perspective. Health & Social Work, 33(1), 9–21. Retrieved from

https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=aph&AN=3218

5554&site=ehost-live&scope=site&custid=azusa

Bacer, K. (2017). EDUC 540: Essentials in Learning and Technology. Master of Arts in

Education: Learning and Technology. School of Education, Azusa Pacific University.

Azusa, CA. Retrieved from https://sakai.apu.edu/portal/site/b0fd880c-3658-41e1-932c-

d8fe3ea07a9c

Bacer, K., Bruzzese, J., Hernandez, K., and Holder, T. (2017 - 2018). Master of Arts in

Education: Learning and Technology. School of Education, Azusa Pacific University.

Azusa, CA. Retrieved from http://sakai.apu.edu

Beuke, C. (2011, August 13). Keep it simple stupid. Retrieved from

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/youre-hired/201108/keep-it-simple-stupid

Brown, J. & Holder, T. (2018). EDUC 548: Emerging Trends in Technology. Master of Arts in

Education: Learning and Technology. School of Education, Azusa Pacific University.

Azusa, CA. Retrieved from https://sakai.apu.edu/portal/site/b51573b4-979c-4fe0-9504-

79e688a4ad9c/page/f27f9b83-295f-42e1-88c7-2b4be2fa89c4

Bruzzese, J., & Hernandez, K. (2018). EDUC 546: Digital Communications. Master of Arts in

Education: Learning and Technology. School of Education, Azusa Pacific University.

Azusa, CA. Retrieved from https://sakai.apu.edu/portal/site/a4edb09b-084b-440e-8628-

399ca28bb795/page/ebbd7210-6a9f-4385-8b23-be4b5009cf3c
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Cabi, E. (2018). The Impact of the flipped classroom model on students’ academic achievement.

International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 19(3), 202–221.

Retrieved from

https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=eric&AN=EJ1

185114&site=ehost-live&scope=site&custid=azusa

Canva. (2017). Canva. Retrieved from https://www.canva.com/

Education: Learning and Technology. School of Education, Azusa Pacific University.

Mahasneh, A. M., & Alwan, A. F. (2018). The Effect of Project-Based Learning on student

teacher self-efficacy and achievement. International Journal of Instruction, 11(3), 511–

524. Retrieved from

https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=eric&AN=EJ1

183424&site=ehost-live&scope=site&custid=azusa

Verma, N. K., & Misra, G. (2016). Impact of daily spiritual experiences and private religious

practices on social well-being among different religious community. Indian Journal of

Positive Psychology, 7(3), 318–324. Retrieved from

https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=aph&AN=1192

65704&site=ehost-live&scope=site&custid=azusa