Making my Classroom a Second Home

It is usually a house before it can become a home. The love, care and support makes the house a home, but some houses do not even become homes.

As a 23-year-old teacher my students in my classroom is my first experience of parenthood. This means I admire them as if they are my own. Thus, will our classroom be our home. Of course some learners will be more fortunate than others, but that is where I come in. My job is to make everyone feel equally in our classroom.

Not every high school learner will treat me with the necessary respect, because of my age and that is why they will most probably firmly believe that I am a challenge for them. But, what they do not know is that they are more of a challenge for me than I will ever be to them. There will be many young teachers after me, but will they maybe be my last set of learners or will they be my dream class?

To ensure that they become my dream class, I will bring all the things that they like and adore to my classroom. Let’s bring Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to their classroom. Grade 10 learners will be thrilled to hear that. Every social network will have its own wall in the classroom. On a Friday every learner will get the chance to express themselves on a social network in the classroom. There will be magazines available for them in the classroom if they want to use pictures and be more creative. The reason why I decided to use the Friday, is because it’s a perfect day to reflect on the previous four days of school. Friday is also ideal if you want to plan for the following school week. The post, tweet or picture will also remind the learner to think twice before they act during the weekend. For some high school learner’s weekends can be very challenging.

Every learner will be able to see what each one of them posts on the classrooms social networks and they can comment on each other’s posts. Through this act the learners in my class communicate and everyone has the chance to say something without needing to talk. I can also regulate their posts and comments and advise them on how to approach situations properly. By doing this I also teach my learners to manage their feelings and emotions while being active on a social network outside the classroom.

Our weekly blog posts were a marvellous form of digital pedagogy. The above mentioned is just another variation of it. Digital is the fun and modern side of, pedagogy is about how teaching is practiced. So let’s do it with learning, creative love!

The Fliptech Classroom just got real

I believe every learner dreams of the day he or she will get to teach their teachers. Well, this day arrived sooner than the world thought.

Technology made digital pedagogy possible. Although there are many political and cultural obstacles, new technology still manages the find the gap in the market. Technology grows beyond any obstacles. This is what everyone wants for a school learner as well. To excel beyond their circumstances and everyone’s expectations of them. So let’s bring technology and the learner closer to each other.

Let’s look at a cultural obstacle of technology. Due to rural and urban areas, children do not have the same privileges. And at the end of the day this can also be because of education. People with a good education can afford to live the lives they dream of. Thus, is it clear that there is still a pothole in the education system, because the gap between poor and rich keeps on rising. It is time for the real world to join the party, because education is key.

Not every teacher is in favour of digital pedagogy, because they are too conservative and use to traditional ways of teaching. On the other hand, is technology improving by the day and learners are getting smarter than their teachers all because of it. So technology allows the learner to teach and the teacher to learn. For those old-fashioned teachers their job will remain dictated. But, the more modernized teacher will become more socially engaged with the learners and the technology.

Technology today is mostly social media. Everything can be controlled by an application on a smart- or android phone. Students take social media as a part of their everyday lives. Which, education is too. With technology and digital pedagogy these two priorities can be merged into one. Instead of the learners taking time from their school work to spend time on social media.

Let’s flip the classroom, exchange the roles and built a better future. Some of the world’s famous entrepreneurs became famous because the thought of school frustrated them and they are the same ones that invented and developed the most breath-taking technology. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are only a few too mention.

So let’s stop irritating the learners and give them what they are good at and enjoying. Let’s teach that 4-year old with an IPad throughout his or her journey of learning.       

Social Media in the Classroom?? YES, Please!!

Social Media the new real medium in classrooms:

So many teachers get away with unplanned lessons every day. A textbook makes it so easy for any teacher to teach a lesson. These days in South-Africa you don’t even need an education to be an educator. The required textbook for that specific grade and subject can ease any given situation the teacher finds him- or herself in.

Nowadays inclusivity and diversity are the two very important dimensions of education. With social media it is possible to connect these two dimensions to the classroom. Social media is the medium with which students interact in today’s world. The average student has got a Facebook profile, Twitter or Instagram account, even the nerd in the class. Without social media a student would not know what is trending and happening in and around the world. Social media has also become the News 24 and Sunday Times for some people. So how can one still ignore it?

Teaching is such an extremely active and social career. It is also very unpredictable. Social media can thus close the gap between the teacher and the learner. A social interaction between the teacher and the learner collaborate as soon as both accept each other on a social network. That interaction will be informal and so engaging. The learner will experience and explore more about the teacher outside the classroom and visa versa. Not only will the relationship between the two parties grow, but the learner shall also start to appreciate the education system more. The leaner will realise the confiding aspect from the teacher’s side and shall therefore also be willing to do more than expected.

Social media can be used by the teacher to verify assignments due dates or simply just to make an announcement. Every school nowadays has a Facebook page. It is actually a very good starting point for any school if their management should allow social media as medium. Social media thus, does not need to be the only medium of teaching. Some schools are still very conservative and one should take that in consideration. So the new, more modern teacher should rather not consider a position at a school like that. A school that is more technological stable should therefore maybe consider social media as the only medium of teaching and appoint the newlyweds. Social media today is no longer a luxury, but rather an asset and resource that any individual can have by the click of a button.

So many people still wants to ignore the fact that social media is expanding, but if it is able to educate people, it cannot be ignored. So step up, get to the table and take a seat, because social media is here to stay ma’am and sir!