vi·sion
/ˈviZHən/
noun
1.
the faculty or state of being able to see.
"she had defective vision"
synonyms: eyesight, sight, power of sight, faculty of sight, ability to see, power of seeing, powers of observation, observation, perception, visual perception; More
2.
the ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom.
"the organization had lost its vision and direction"
synonyms: imagination, creativity, creative power, inventiveness, innovation, inspiration, intuition, perceptiveness, perception, breadth of view, foresight, insight, far-sightedness, prescience, discernment, awareness, penetration, shrewdness, sharpness, cleverness
"his conference speech was a little lacking in vision"
Vision: "The ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom." Planning for the future with wisdom seems an impossible task, as I feel neither experienced enough nor old enough to claim wisdom. But planning for the future with imagination is something within my reach. For me, this means being creative and finding innovative ways to address an issue.
This final assignment requires "my vision of the future" for what the 21st century classroom will look like. Strangely, I've also taken on a new position in which having a vision for the future is essential. I'll soon be moving out of the classroom and into a district leadership position, and I'll need to clearly express my vision of a district where all Aboriginal learners experience success and the gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal graduation rates is so thin it is almost indistinguishable. I'm curious if I can merge these two visions- I have a feeling that I can.
What I've learned in the course so far is that the development and nurturing of 21st century learning skills is essential for the future success of all students. One aspect of 21st century learning is digital literacy and proficiency with technology. And yet, even in a developed nation such as Canada, both print literacy and digital literacy is hampered by socio-economic inequalities. My own childhood growing up on a reserve means that I am familiar with the difficulties that some families have in providing the books necessary for early literacy development, and my previous teaching position in an inner-city school means that I am aware that not all of our students have the access to technology they may need to feel fluent with digital literacy.
Our course's exploration of libraries and digital literacy in developing nations has got me thinking about creative ways that organizations are working to provide "have not" children with technology to improve the quality of education. If this can happen in far away developing nations, why not in our own backyard? How can I use these ideas and initiatives to work toward making sure Indigenous children in my own community can still develop the literacy and digital literacy skills they need to be successful in the 21st century world?
I realize that some Aboriginal children do not have the benefit of a print-rich home environment- I recall that many of my friends growing up had few books in the home. I think that technology can help in this area. When my son was in kindergarten, his teacher set up a class account for Raz- Kids, which is an online library of levelled books that can be read on a phone or tablet. Rather than sending home copies of levelled readers with students each week selected by the teacher, this online account allowed the teacher to give up control of selecting student reading. My son loved to choose a new book to read that was at his level, and he loved the "reward" aspect of it. I suspect that many Aboriginal children in my community would love to read from the this online library as well, though it may be that their teachers are already using this tool. If this is the case, perhaps an area of focus would then shift to how to support parents to become more involved in early reading efforts.
Another area I'm interested in exploring further, both as a district leader and future teacher-librarian, is the importance of culturally relevant material. I can still remember the first time I encountered a text with someone who looked like me. It was a story about an Ojibway girl who was embarrassed to wear her moccasins, but who won a race when wearing them. I was in Grade 3 and I remember the story vividly- she had brown skin and black hair and an Indigenous grandma, just like me. I know that because it had such an impact on me, that this is important for many of our students whose cultural and social backgrounds haven't always been reflected in school materials. A part of my vision is providing all students with books and stories that reflect different cultures, and supporting the integration of Aboriginal culture in particular.
I am not sure yet what the "final product" will look like yet, but I think that my audience will be elementary school administrators and teachers. While I'm sure they already understand the importance early literacy and digital literacy, I'm hoping that they will also be aware of the issue of how socio-economic inequities impact access and development of these literacies, and how we as educators can look for creative ways to lessen that impact. I also hope to increase awareness of the importance of culturally relevant reading material, particularly for those of Indigenous heritage.
Vision definition. Dictionary.com
Raz-Kids. Raz-kids.com.
Vision- Tablet dictionary image. Thebluediamondgallery.com
noun
1.
the faculty or state of being able to see.
"she had defective vision"
synonyms: eyesight, sight, power of sight, faculty of sight, ability to see, power of seeing, powers of observation, observation, perception, visual perception; More
2.
the ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom.
"the organization had lost its vision and direction"
synonyms: imagination, creativity, creative power, inventiveness, innovation, inspiration, intuition, perceptiveness, perception, breadth of view, foresight, insight, far-sightedness, prescience, discernment, awareness, penetration, shrewdness, sharpness, cleverness
"his conference speech was a little lacking in vision"
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| http://thebluediamondgallery.com/tablet-dictionary/v/vision.html |
Vision: "The ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom." Planning for the future with wisdom seems an impossible task, as I feel neither experienced enough nor old enough to claim wisdom. But planning for the future with imagination is something within my reach. For me, this means being creative and finding innovative ways to address an issue.
This final assignment requires "my vision of the future" for what the 21st century classroom will look like. Strangely, I've also taken on a new position in which having a vision for the future is essential. I'll soon be moving out of the classroom and into a district leadership position, and I'll need to clearly express my vision of a district where all Aboriginal learners experience success and the gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal graduation rates is so thin it is almost indistinguishable. I'm curious if I can merge these two visions- I have a feeling that I can.
What I've learned in the course so far is that the development and nurturing of 21st century learning skills is essential for the future success of all students. One aspect of 21st century learning is digital literacy and proficiency with technology. And yet, even in a developed nation such as Canada, both print literacy and digital literacy is hampered by socio-economic inequalities. My own childhood growing up on a reserve means that I am familiar with the difficulties that some families have in providing the books necessary for early literacy development, and my previous teaching position in an inner-city school means that I am aware that not all of our students have the access to technology they may need to feel fluent with digital literacy.
Our course's exploration of libraries and digital literacy in developing nations has got me thinking about creative ways that organizations are working to provide "have not" children with technology to improve the quality of education. If this can happen in far away developing nations, why not in our own backyard? How can I use these ideas and initiatives to work toward making sure Indigenous children in my own community can still develop the literacy and digital literacy skills they need to be successful in the 21st century world?
I realize that some Aboriginal children do not have the benefit of a print-rich home environment- I recall that many of my friends growing up had few books in the home. I think that technology can help in this area. When my son was in kindergarten, his teacher set up a class account for Raz- Kids, which is an online library of levelled books that can be read on a phone or tablet. Rather than sending home copies of levelled readers with students each week selected by the teacher, this online account allowed the teacher to give up control of selecting student reading. My son loved to choose a new book to read that was at his level, and he loved the "reward" aspect of it. I suspect that many Aboriginal children in my community would love to read from the this online library as well, though it may be that their teachers are already using this tool. If this is the case, perhaps an area of focus would then shift to how to support parents to become more involved in early reading efforts.
Another area I'm interested in exploring further, both as a district leader and future teacher-librarian, is the importance of culturally relevant material. I can still remember the first time I encountered a text with someone who looked like me. It was a story about an Ojibway girl who was embarrassed to wear her moccasins, but who won a race when wearing them. I was in Grade 3 and I remember the story vividly- she had brown skin and black hair and an Indigenous grandma, just like me. I know that because it had such an impact on me, that this is important for many of our students whose cultural and social backgrounds haven't always been reflected in school materials. A part of my vision is providing all students with books and stories that reflect different cultures, and supporting the integration of Aboriginal culture in particular.
I am not sure yet what the "final product" will look like yet, but I think that my audience will be elementary school administrators and teachers. While I'm sure they already understand the importance early literacy and digital literacy, I'm hoping that they will also be aware of the issue of how socio-economic inequities impact access and development of these literacies, and how we as educators can look for creative ways to lessen that impact. I also hope to increase awareness of the importance of culturally relevant reading material, particularly for those of Indigenous heritage.
Vision definition. Dictionary.com
Raz-Kids. Raz-kids.com.
Vision- Tablet dictionary image. Thebluediamondgallery.com
You have two strong ideas here for your final project. I appreciate the connections you are making between barriers to literacy locally and globally. I also appreciate your ideas about culturally relevant reading material. I feel you have a real opportunity with your new position to impact positive change. Hopefully this project will help you create something that will help you do so. I look forward to seeing what you create.
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