I appreciated the topic of knowledge curation tools in class. To me, this is something that has been overlooked as an important aspect of teaching and taking this program. If we aren’t organizing what we’re learning in a way that is easy to access, so much of it will be lost and we’ll be forced to learn it all over again (or not bother).

I also think that we as teachers need to explore and share the wonderful resources that already exist online for free. There are so many organizations that work with experts to develop fantastic units and lesson plans that are available for free. For instance, I think the material at “Facing History and Ourselves”, “Zinn Education Project”, “CIVIX CTRL-F,” “The Critical Thinking Consortium,” “Composer Education,” “Teaching Tolerance,” and “Common Sense Media,” are all incredibly helpful for a social studies classroom. Often they include built out activities with profiles and details that teachers would not normally have the time (and often the expertise) to create. I like the creative aspect of creating units so I probably wouldn’t take anything completely without tweaking it to meet the specific needs of my students, but they are a fantastic place to start.

Personally, I use OneNote to organize all the notes and resources I find. I was introduced to the software at my last work place, and it was there that I grew to appreciate how powerful it is. I can have all my notes, information, links, etc. available just a couple of clicks away, in an easy to organize fashion. Rather than having to peruse through layers and layers of folders in order to open up separate documents, everything is at my finger tips. If I’m typing notes for my PSYCH class and she shares a strategy that resonates with me that I would want to do in my future class, I can quickly add it to my “Class Planning” notebook.

Regarding the future of education, I hope it continues to move in the direction it has been moving since I was in high school. I hope that it becomes less rigid and grades become less important. I hope that students are cared for first and foremost as human beings. I hope that they learn to explore what they are interested in, but also are inspired by their teachers and classmates. I hope that technology is leveraged carefully and selectively to enhance the experience, but nature and the outdoors is done so just as often.. And I hope that teachers work together to bridge disciplines and learn and grow from one another. This is the future that is worth working towards.