Kerry Whitehead

ETEC 524

Educational Technology Philosophy Statement

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.

--William Butler Yeats

Most of my teaching experience has come from teaching middle

school students. My subject of choice has been Reading. I have
always tried to incorporate technology into my lessons in the belief
that one goal of education should be to create well-rounded, articulate,
productive members of society. One key aspect of this goal is the
ability of the student to think critically and to think inferentially.
Another key aspect is the ability of the student to be able to apply
values that have been instilled in them throughout their lives, such as
being honest, reliable, respectful, open-minded, etc. The role of the
teacher is to teach content while instilling values and a love of
learning. It is a delicate balance between academics and the nurturing
and development of children.
I have many hopes for my students-past, present, and future.
First and foremost, I want my students to know that as soon as they
become my student, they become my child. It is my belief that if the
student knows you care and want the best for them, they will be more
open and trusting in the classroom. I want my students to leave my
classroom as better readers than when they came into my classroom.
I also want them to learn technology skills that will carry them through
the rest of their lives, including the ability to adapt, as technology
continues to move forward by leaps and bounds.
In regard to technology, I believe students need to be proficient
in the use of technology. Students need to be active and engaged
learners. Right now the students come to the middle school level
lacking technology skills. I have to with the students where they are
and bring them up to where I want them to be. Yes, our students can

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ETEC 524

download an app and play a game but they lack the general skills to
create an effective research paper or even how to create a
spreadsheet and enter formulas. The role of the teacher is to help the
student develop technology skills, such as online literacy, office suite
skills, and netiquette that can transfer as students learn to become
productive members of society. Our students need to be taught the
difference between texting language and more formal language.
They need to be taught when texting language is appropriate versus
formal language. Students should be able to search for information
and discern what is credible; they should be able to use documents,
spreadsheets, presentations, as well as other tools to effectively to get
their point across; and be able to figure out which tool would be best
for their desired outcome. For example, if students are conducting a
science experiment and need to record data, they will need to decide
how they will display that data. Students need to know that a
spreadsheet would be the best way to accomplish this. It is imperative
that they be able to use proper netiquette when communicating,
whether through responding to fellow students blog posts, emails, or
collaborative documents. If students are able to participate in lessons
where they are doing the exploring and learning, the teacher becomes
the facilitator. This is where the greatest amount of learning takes
place.
In the past, my teaching style has been one of a demonstrator. I
would allow the students to work on their own and find their answers
as they build their knowledge based on what they already knew. This
is known as the constructivist theory of learning, where students
construct their knowledge based on their experiences. I have used
many different technologies in my teaching career to help facilitate the
students learning, such as learning management systems like Edmodo
and eInstruction, Microsoft Office Suite, and SmartBoard. When I

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ETEC 524

planned my lessons, I made sure to build in activities that

encompassed the three learning styles-auditory, visual, and
kinesthetic. As a Reading teacher, we would read stories out of the
textbook or novels. To help the students connect to the stories, I would
build background knowledge. One way to build this background
knowledge is by using the students own life experiences and
connecting it to the story. For this strategy, I would use a learning
management system such as Edmodo. I would post the questions and
the students would respond. In furthering our discussions I would use
their responses in class. Using the students own background
knowledge allows them to feel valued within the lesson and allows the
teacher to see exactly what the student knows.
I also like to use the Classroom Performance System by
eInstruction, also known as clickers. This would allow me to assess the
students understanding very quickly and offer reteaching moments on
the spot. Additionally, the students were provided immediate
feedback. Another important skill I instilled in the students was the
ability to use the Internet as an effective research tool. The students
were given a project that required research and had to decide if the
information they found was credible and could be used within their
project. This lead to another important skill-citing sources. To succeed
in college and in life, students need to be able to give credit where
credit is due.
Why do I teach the way I teach? Simpleit works for me and it
works for my students. While I am always open to changes, I have
discovered that by incorporating technology into my classroom, I am
able to reach the students at their interest level. By doing so, they are
more willing to open up to me and allow me to teach them. Over time,
I learned that the teacher needs to be the facilitator: present the
lesson and let the students determine the outcome. I plan to

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ETEC 524

incorporate this awareness with future students by way of using blogs

and problem-based learning. This gives students more of a say in their
learning, allowing them to develop skills that will carry them into the
21st century classroom.