Resources

One of the most challenging but rewarding aspects of my student teaching experience was learning to teach in a completely virtual environment. Having never held a position of leadership in a classroom prior, I began my student teaching placement worried that I would not learn what being in a classroom as a teacher looks and feels like. Much of my anxiety centered around building connections with my cooperating teacher and students and learning the active role of educating while separated by a computer screen. I was concerned that I would not have the opportunity to engage in an authentic and generative student teaching experience. In their study on technology educaiton, Jillianne Code, Rachel Ralph, and Kieran Forde portray many educators' worry that hands-on learning and teacher personality would diminish at the onset of virutal learning during the pandemic (2020). Educators in this study expressed the worry that unmotivated students would fall behind, equity and access to resources would be halted, and effective curriculum would disappear (2020). At the start of my student teaching, I agreed with these concerns. However, in planning and teaching in a virtual environment, I have learned an immense amount about effective teaching. I gained experience with digital resources that I may not have encountered in a conventional classroom. I was introduced to platforms such as Google Classroom, Kahoot, Zoom, Google Meet, and OVEE streaming services. These are all platforms that I had never personally used before my student teaching, and I am grateful that the virtual environment gave me the opportunity to familiarize myself with digital resources that may not have been prevalent in a traditional classroom.

I have also come to understand the value that digital literacy hold in learning and teaching. Knowing how to research, analyze digital mediums, and navigate technology is an increasingly important skill to have in education and beyond (November 2009). This year, more than ever before, we turned to technology to help us continue our learning when everything else seemed to come to a halt. Relying on technology to teach and learn forced me to reevaluate the ways in which I connect and interact with others, establish expectations for students, and structure learning activities. In having to rethink what I have learned about teaching and creating an effective learning environment, I began to understand learning as something that can occur in any context with the right planning and preparation. For instance, my cooperating teacher and I conducted shared class reading through read alouds -- a practice my cooperating teacher told me she never utilized prior but one that now seemed necessary given the limited access to resources and longing for connection with classes. In conjunction with our daily reading sessions, I often assigned students reflection questions to answer using a live Jamboard (shown below). Jamboard allows students to write or draw on a shared, live slideshow. Usually, students would leave at least one digital sticky note on the Jamboard, answering questions I left at the top of each slide. In a conventional physical classroom, I would never rely on digital resources for this kind of reflection; rather, I would use poster paper or dry-erase boards. However, Jamboard offered me an alternative to shared reflective work in a digital environment. Additionally, I've observed that students feel more comfortable writing more comprehensive and thought-provoking responses when on their computer. I believe that the virtual board offers students a level of privacy in their writing process that is not possible when writing on poster paper or a board in a classroom. There is also the benefit of time, as many students can write more quickly and consisely through typing. Jamboard reflections are one example of a digital resource that I will carry with me into future classrooms, whether virtual or physical.