Creating a classroom environment to be as authentic as possible, educators will begin to recognize the cohesion between the current design of the curriculum and the demands of students’ 21st Century learning goals.

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     As George Siemens (2014) elaborates in his work about Connectivism, the world of education has "been slow to recognize both the impact of new learning tools and the environmental changes in what it means to learn...and as knowledge continues to grow and evolve, access to what is needed is more important than what the learner currently possesses."(p.7). This can be related to so many learning events which I have personally come across with my students. I have had to personally seek extra instructional tools and materials because there is still not enough being given to educators to continue along this wave of technology in the classroom. Because none of our curricular documents give us any indication as to what strategies have been found to be most effective in modern day learning settings, it is up to educators to make this happen (which is quite a large favour to ask !).

   

     The challenge that I am finding with this is that the Ontario Ministry of Education (2015) is asking educators to become more knowledgeable about how technology can support learner needs and to remain focused on the learner instead of the technology (p. 7). If this is so, how do we change the habits which students bring into our classrooms? If our students believe they have already acquired the necessary skills to use the technology before allowing us to show them, then how can we bring them back to the basics to teach them appropriate digital citizenship (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2015, p.6) ? Perhaps there needs to be a province-wide initiative that connects the Ministry's expectations about the use of technology in our classrooms with our curricular and academic responsibilities.

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     One way that I have begun to reach out to families is by using an application to connect their student's progress and learning experiences in one central location. Parents and families need to simply download the free application onto any mobile device or desktop computer, and search for their student’s name under my class profile. The Ministry has also recognized the trend of educators who are becoming familiar with blogs to document learning alongside students by sharing important information, links, resources and assignments with all students and their families (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2015, p.5).