Continual learners and being a team player

We had some trouble today in our group discussions on ISTE standards and the idea of Connectivism, but I think we really came away with some good ideas. In particular, we looked at the ISTE Standards through the educators lens. There were two in particular that stood out to me, the learner and the collaborator. The learner is an educator who continually seeks to improve their understanding and is able to learn from others in such ways that enables the teacher to utilize technology. The end goal of course, is to provide the students with the best ability to succeed using materials that they will encounter in the real world. The best we can provide for them, the better they will be. Someone in our cohort said that it's crazy how much technology has really changed even since we were in high school. I think that this is the truest statement we have heard yet. Technology is ever-changing and has no indication of plateauing any time soon, so we need to be continual learners to stay up to date to not be the catalysts for why our students fall behind in the technological world. The other ISTE Standard that really stood out to me, but possibly for a different reason is "Collaborator." This is a particular area that I think I struggle in. For a long time I have had the independence to create ideas and run with them with very little input from others. Since this cohort began, we have been thrust into the idea that Collaborating is the best way to teach our students, and slowly but surely I am coming around to that. Yes, I think some activities would be easier if I did them by myself, but that doesn't mean that it would better. The key is to provide the students with the best possible education, and even my stubbornness knows that I am not the best teacher in the world, and there are content areas or strategies that I will absolutely need help on to provide the best education. I need to continue reshaping my mind on collaboration and instead of coming up with reasons why it's harder, come up with reasons why it's better for the students.