Welcome to our blog!
Up until now, we have looked at the "reading" part of the web. In this view we will be looking at the "new" learner and the world in which they are learning. Watch the video.
and then watch one of the following:
Did You Know by Karl Fisch
Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us
Pay Attention
Read Standards for the 21st Century Learner by AASL.
How can these resources help you and your program in the school library? Make your comments on this blog. Please sign your name to your post. Thanks everyone!
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I was really resisting being first but my sense of urgency to stay on top of things won out!Hope I've done this right as this is a first for me.
ReplyDeleteThese videos are fascinating and frightening all at the same time. We (the adults), have a lot to learn. While the children of this generation have grown up with this technology we are still working in an era of teachers who resist this. This, I suppose will always be the case until the current generation enters the education workplace, which I believe is beginning to happen. Unless you are involved in courses like this or have some other reason to learn about the technology that is available, I think it is easiest for most to carry on teaching the way they know how within their comfort zone. Of course this is happening at the expense of the student. I have three children at two different schools (K-8). I see a huge difference in the degree to which technology is addressed. On one hand, I am blown away by what my daughter in Grade 7 is exposed to and is able to create. On the other hand I am disheartened by how little my son in Grade5 is exposed to (Link to Learning and All the Right Type is about the extent of it). My son is the one who needs to be motivated as he tends to be disinterested in school while my daughter is internally motivated. What a shame! By Linda Cannon
Great videos! I've seen the one by Karl Fisch before and remember sitting absolutely stunned at what I had just read. It was at that point that I had to really think about how I was approaching what I was teaching my students since really, content wasn't going to count for much.
ReplyDeleteLike Linda I too have 2 boys (gr 2 and gr 4). I am shocked at how little they get to use computers at school but both have had 1 teacher in the past with their own smartboard that they used everyday. Technology is the way they think and we decided to take that approach in parenting them, that teaching them responsibility and flexibility with their technology was more important than banning them from the computer (they both have their own...actually, everyone in the family has at least 1 to use of their own!).
When I talk to the students in my class I try to stick to the school rules as they apply to technology but every so often I have to say, "I'm taking my teacher hat off for a second" and then proceed to ask who can take a picture of something on their cell and email it to a class mate or who can find out where so&so is to see if they are planning on showing up for their presentation today. They think that it is funny that I try to be strict about the rules but even I see the value of having access to technology.
I am thinking that I might be posting these links to my Head's conference to add onto the conversation at our last meeting regarding the use of cell phones and why they can't use them inside the school at all (even before and after school or at lunch!). I may be stirring the pot but they do support the opinions I express that never seem to go over very well. LOL
I've only watched the video. I'll save the reading for another day. But bitterly (I work in an older school) I ask, wouldn't it be nice to have access to the technology to accomplish these things? Here are some stats to consider...1450 students, 1 cross-curricular lab. And yet somehow I'm made to feel that I'M the one who is failing them???
ReplyDeleteNot sure how to post this with my name. I'm experimenting, so if it doesn't work right, sorry!
ReplyDeleteSo true ... sometimes we are made to feel as we're failing them as teachers when we don't incorporate digital learning into our lessons and units. At my school we suffer from the same problem. It is almost impossible to access the computers. We are a large school and although we have 2 labs, they are in such high demand that it's very hard to get in. Within the first week of school, the computer labs are booked up for the year (believe it or not). I think many teachers are very willing and happy to incorporate technology into their teaching, but they (1) either lack the PD and knowledge to do so or (2) try to but can't get in the computer labs! We really need to advocate for more funding to get more PD and more computers.
Also, I find it disheartening that so often student failure and /or disengagement is automatically blamed on teachers. There are soooo many factors to attribute to this, often which, have little to do with the teaching methods. Of course, great practice, methodology and planning works to only better engage students, but so many times teachers are absolutely excellent at what they do, yet still have a few students failing their class.
Lillian Hung
Okay, first of all I can't get the link to the article to open. Next, I always think I am computer saavy, but that seems to be only true in comparison to my peers - I am actually still at the start of my learning about so many of the things that I know many of the kids at my school can already do. Perhaps I should call one of them for help!? I wrote a response once already, went to send it, and lost it when I didn't know what profile to select. Oh well! I'm learning...
ReplyDeleteI must say, the videos were terrific, and I couldn't resist watching all of them. I also couldn't resist reading fact after fact to my husband, whether he wanted to know or not! I REALLY want to share them with my staff, but they are absolutely like the teachers in the stats. Few of them even read their emails, never mind know how to access YouTube. I expect I will find a way to share at a staff meeting or PD session. Meanwhile, once they see the video how will teachers be able to successfully work with technology in the ways suggested? We only have one computer in every classroom, and those in our lab are slow and aften as much as one third of the lab is not working at any given time. Even sharing a board website with a group of staff on the last day of school was a challenge since it took about 15 minutes before everyone was even logged in.
As a Teacher-Librarian, I obviously need to think about how I can draw kids in by using the technology they have, too. Many kids have internet access on their phones, and have ipods that they might enjoy using to listen to ibooks. Maybe a start would be figuring how to help kids access digital books through the school library (and maybe the hard copy to follow along with). Lots of new things to think about.
At a Teacher-Leader/Consultant meeting at the Board Office in June, we were brainstorming ways to get PD to a wider audience due to the major budget cutbacks. I suggested moderated online chats with experts as an option. The idea was well-received, but no-one knew how to do it. They were hoping to bring the idea to the tech guys, and I am waiting with baited breath. If we can model this format with staff, perhaps it will open doors to new ways to teach our kids.
My oldest son is entering grade 2 next year and my other son is entering JK, and I do want him learning in the ways that keep him engaged and a part of learning about our evolving technology.
I just watched "Pay Attention". Wow! There's so much food for thought here!
ReplyDelete"How do students learn?" the video asks. Digitally! The video points out that digital learning caters to every single multiple intelligence. It's no wonder that so many students are successful when using computers. When IEP students at my school require accomodations in order to be successful with their learning, AR most often provides them with a laptop (this same accomodation was available for the EQAO as well). Imagine the results if every student had full and regular access to computers for their learning. I think it's true that most schools are not addressing this relatively new style of learning and therefore not engaging students they way they could. Funding of course is a huge obstacle, but I think it's more than that. I think we need to educate the decision makers and public about the need to equip our schools and teachers with the tools they need to be able to teach and learn effectively in this digital age.
As TL's we are in charge of getting info out there and helping students and teachers access and use it effectively. We need to pave the way and advocate for more digital resources, computer labs and teaching tools to really reach our students in the mode they learn best.
HOWEVER, there is a flip side to this.
The video asserts, "If you can't beat them, joing them. If you can't reach your students by speaking directly to them, teach them via podcasts."
I agree that we need to adapt our teaching methods to reflect our students' strengths in the way they learn (which has become digitally based), however, I think we need to make sure that they also benefit from the richness of human interaction and print text. Our students go home and interact with their friends throught text messaging, instant messaging, emails and facebook more than ever, yet when I was their age we simply 'hung out'. Although I love the convenience of modern communication (I myself have reconnected with 250 friends on facebook), there is nothing as valuable as real human interaction. I think that in today's digital age, our role as educators in nurturing oral language skills, people skills, group skills, and teamwork through our classroom interactions and activites is moe important than ever.
I believe that we should use these digital tools to reach our students, but should never use them to replace the type of amazing learning that can only happen through creative interactive activites such as literature circles, seminars, role plays, debates and classroom discussions. We need to use the power of technology to reach our students, but we also need to make sure they get what they won't get on their own -- the type of real life learning that they won't get from sitting in front of a screen. What students gain from real human and social interactions is irreplaceable.
Let me tell you a story. Two years ago, our vice-principal showed the Karl Fisch video and a similar video produced by Apple Education at a start-up pd session in September. Then we were invited to discuss how we could use this information in our teaching practices. The videos moved me to start re-thinking my teaching practice but as far as I remember, at least half the teachers were somewhat resistant and even borderline resentful. The resistance and resentment took several forms:
ReplyDeletea. I’m working too hard already. How do you expect me to learn all these things when I have no time? I have a hard enough time keeping up with my planning, marking, committee work and coaching. Oh ... and by the way ... I have a family.
b. If students are using all these things already, why should we be sacrificing valuable classroom time on showing students how to use them even more? Shouldn’t we focus on what students don’t know? (And they really don’t know the content of my subject area so I’m going to focus on that).
c. We have comm.tech and media studies courses. If students are interested in digital technologies, they can learn about them there.
d. I share a computer with 9 other teachers in the workroom and we have one computer at home (which I share with my spouse and my kids). Maybe when the board ponies up some money for computers or when the government lets me deduct computer expenses I’ll be more motivated and more able to look at using some of these things.
e. It’s all too much. I don’t even know what a wiki or a blog is. In fact, I’ve never sent a text message or used a Smartboard or even tried out the LCD projector. I’m just going to keep my head low and maybe nobody will notice.
f. Students can learn how to learn and to think critically without using wikis, blogs, digital storytelling, text messaging and cell phones. We don’t need to use technology to teach them these things and, in fact, the technology can become a barrier to learning because they focus on the technology rather than the learning and the thinking.
g. Both the board and the union discourage us from even using e-mail with our students. What kinds of risks are associated with the use of these tools?
I think it’s useful both to show such videos and to note the types of resistance that surface after. I believe that most teachers want to be good teachers but that the definitions of “good teacher” are likely to vary widely among staff members. Nevertheless, it is important to know how individual teachers define good teaching and why they might resist taking on more practices associated with informational literacy so that we can invite them to become better in their own terms. For example, a teacher whose practice lives in the relationships he/she builds with students, who coaches three teams and who is the staff advisor for student council will respond to a different approach than a teacher whose practice lives in expertise in the curriculum, who prides him/herself on curriculum leadership in his/her department and who is a little afraid of computers.
The “Standards for the 21st century learner” might be of significant assistance because most teachers would be able to recognize a good part of their existing practice in several of the expectations. The videos are more confrontational and, to be honest, would leave a good number of teachers on my staff feeling helpless, hopeless, attacked or defensive. This doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be used, but I think they need to be used in combination with the Standards because the Standards allow teachers to see that they are already doing a number of things well. The Standards might also be used to develop school-wide priorities that could then lead to the division of labour, so that individual teachers would not feel that they need to learn it all and do it all by themselves.
All in all, when presenting these kinds of things to staff, we need to make improvements seem desirable and achievable.
David Wilson
In response to Lillian and Ali re:computer access being limited.
ReplyDeleteYour concern over lack of access to implement these ideas really resonated with me. Our Board presently has a 7:1 computer to student ratio for the secondary level. Sounds great but with the increase in the Ministry documents of what needs to be delivered through technology, it definitely comes up short. Through my sub. association I wrote and sent a letter lobbying the trustees to change the ratio for the exact reasons we are learning about in our course. I even had 6 other sub. associations take that letter, sign it themselves and sent them as well. Since the money for computers is allotted by trustees, not the Board, it is them who has to say we need more. As of yet, no response.
Yes I do feel defeated some days but just because I can not do everything that I should be doing with my class using technology, that does not make us bad teachers. Even if we infuse one small area of our curriculum with technology that didn't exist before, it is a step in the right direction. Perhaps articles and videos such as this will inspire parents to do lobbying as well to strengthen our voice.
I agree with what Lillian said earlier, and am also concerned that students have the opportunity to experience, as she so aptly put it,"The richness of human interaction." In the Standards for the 21st Century document, it states that: "Learning has a social context.
ReplyDeleteLearning is enhanced by opportunities to share
and learn with others. Students need to develop
skills in sharing knowledge and learning with
others, both in face-to-face situations and
through technology." I am hapy to see that this document acknowledges that as a key value.
After my first post last night, I began talking to my husband about the videos in more depth. The more we talked, the more wary I became about my original whole-hearted acceptance of their message. Not that I disagree with them either, but I think that we do have to be careful to combine the use of technology with the use of more traditional means of interacting. What is great about technology is its potential to make learning more interactive and a whole lot less static. What is problematic is that it is changing so rapidly that we often don't have the chance to see the potential problems (who foresaw cyber-bullying?) until we are in the middle of them.
In terms of David's response, which described exactly the sort of reactions that staff at my school have had to my encouragement to try the SmartBoard and our school's Moodle, I think he was bang-on. We need to consider where people are, and build on that just as we would with our students.
Finally, I can see myself using the second page of the Standards for the 21st Century Learner as an anchor chart on the wall in the library to support me in collaborative planning with staff. Maybe it will keep the ideals "out there" for us to aspire to.
Cindy
My post is on parts because it is too long to post at once.
ReplyDeletePart 1
Like David, my first exposure to these videos came at a staff meeting at the beginning of this year. I have also seem them at workshops I’ve attended on how to improve student achievement to technology in the classroom and media literacy. These are very powerful and well-produced videos that inspire some and frighten others. They are obviously produced to convey a certain message, are targeted to a specific audience and are meant to evoke strong feelings like those I have mentioned.
I like technology, I think it is great and I would love to use all of these things in my teaching. But what is our ultimate goal and what are these videos saying we should do? So I decided to break apart the video a little and examine each part on it’s own.
The first slide A Vision of K-12 Students Today says that we should “…use technology’s power to assist them in transforming knowledge and skills… “ I bolded the word assist because that is what I feel we really aught to be doing with all this technology. We shouldn’t be teaching this technology because, apparently, the students already know it. Our job then becomes how to use this technology within the context of our teaching to assist the education of our students. I believe the buzzword these days for this is engagement. With dropout rates rising in high school and the level of apathy rising in middle and elementary schools how and/or what can we do to engage the students in the learning process?
We must also realize that we can use this technology to assist ourselves. Imagine having to teach the following subjects: history, geography, science, math media literacy, language, health and physical education, drama, dance, visual arts, computers and your own library period, to a grade 7 class. Now imagine you have to do this in a split grade. You want to talk about time planning marking writing report cards for a class of anywhere from 26 -36 or more. And on top of that having to learn and use these technologies to help engage students. And yes some of us do have families on top of that, and that, not my job, is my top priority. As hard as it may seem, I think that in a case like this technology can be used to aid the teacher. And by-the-way the scenario I describe above is very real in elementary schools that are K-6 or K-8. It may be hard in the beginning but once learned and set up the technologies, I found, run themselves. The technology also allows us to access and share vast amounts of information so that we don’t have to do all the work ourselves.
Part 2
ReplyDeleteWhen the video A Vision of K-12 Students Today started listing statistics, I got very interested. Having taken statistics in university I know that you can use statistics to say whatever you want them to. So I’d like to discuss a couple of the stats they presented a little more critically.
76% of teachers have never used wikis, blogs, and podcasts. That may be true but has anyone asked the students what percentage of them has used these technologies? Just out of curiosity, before I started my wiki assignment, I asked the kids if they knew what a wiki was. After the crickets stopped chirping. I talked about Wikipedia as the example they all know. How many have used a wiki? Even more crickets. I’m sure if I asked the some question about RSS feeds and Blogs the response wouldn’t be much better. Podcasts, maybe slightly higher. I know that if you ask kids to create a resume on word and 9 out of 10 press the space bar to centre a line. Point being that we assume that students know a lot about technology but in my experiences that is not the case. Unless you are talking about MSN and Facebook.
61% on my reading teachers never use digital technology. That may be true but why? Is it because they don’t what you too or could it be a question of access to, or availability of the technology?
14% of my teachers let me create something with technology at least once a week 63% do not. I gave one class a book talk assignment with the option of creating a podcast, PowerPoint or handing in a written piece. 4% did a podcast (1/26), 8% chose to do a PowerPoint (2/26). The rest were had written.
I will end my rant soon. My apologies.
One set of images says, “Teach me to think, create, analyse, evaluate, apply. Teach me to think. Engage me”. Do we need technology to do this? I know of some great teachers who can do this with out a wiki, blog podcast or interactive white board. However, the reality of the situation is we are deal with kids who are used to getting their information fast, who are used to teaching themselves how to do things on the internet and to keep them “engaged” we must move to their way of seeing the world.
I think that David's summary of the reactions of many teachers after watching the Karl Fisch video is 100% accurate. These kind of videos can often frustrate teachers and build resentment as teachers are overworked as it is and doing everything they can. Teacher may resent a video (and their admin) suggesting that teachers are failing in some respect (while admin takes even more of their precious time to sit in a PD session when they are waist high in marking). David's summary of teacher reaction is a good remind to us as TL's that we need to tread carefully and be very sensitive when it comes to how we go about offering PD and inviting teachers to collaborate.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, Cindy - thanks for quoting the Standards of the 21st Century. Learning indeed have a social context and in the midst of digital hype, we should never forget the importance of this.
Yikes -- just read my last blog and there are a lot of typos which I didn't catch before I posted. I can't find a way to go back and edit. Is there a way to edit using this program or is this the nature of blogging -- once it's posted, it's posted?
ReplyDeleteNot that I know of Lillian. Unfortunately, I think the only one that can edit your comments is the owner of the blog, and of that I'm not sure.
ReplyDeleteI'm of the opinion that what you have to say is more important than perfect spelling and grammar in a 2.0 environment. I know that many disagree though.
In response to Lisa: You used the quote “Teach me to think, create, analyse, evaluate, apply. Teach me to think. Engage me” and asked do we need technology to do this? I think you are right that we can do this without the use of technology for many of the students (there are those with IEP's that do require it) and some are better at it than others, but I also think that students are becoming reliant and used to technology. In a way I see this as part of my job. Students seem so used to jumping all over the place to seek as many sources of information as possible that when I ask them what they have found I often hear, "Lots of stuff" but they can't tell me where they saw it or exactly what it said. I think that really this is the piece of the puzzle that TL's need to deal with, how to use the technology wisely when not just "surfing" and how to accurately decipher what they see.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that we need to tread carefully when presenting these various technologies to teachers but I do think we need to "tread". I started taking my qualifications for library originally when I started looking around at teachers older than me who approached teaching art by saying, "Paint" then they would sit and do their own art and say they were modeling. It seemed to me that they didn't really teach the students how and that the kids who couldn't intuitively do were left to their own devices. I hope that I will never get to the point in my career where the teaching part seems too cumbersome. Because I loved being in the library and learning all the new things that they were doing, I decided that I would get qualifications so that if I became ineffective in one area, I could start something new and have a fresh start. I see technology use as one of these situations. I understand the weight of the marking and how taxed for time we are, but I also think it is necessary to see what the future holds and try to prepare for it. Both for ourselves and our students.
Lisa B saie "One set of images says, 'Teach me to think, create, analyse, evaluate, apply. Teach me to think. Engage me'. Do we need technology to do this? I know of some great teachers who can do this with out a wiki, blog podcast or interactive white board."
ReplyDeleteThis section grabbed me too, and I had to fight my instinct to be defensive and ask myself what the core message was. Yes, there are lots of ways to teach these skills, and technologies may or may not be the best media to do it with, but the point is that the technologies are the media NOT the message (my apologies to Marshall McLuhan)--the fact of the matter is a GOOD Socratic lesson will always be superior to a POOR technological one. That said, doing our best to engage students in the area of interest is just part of what we do... none of us here is going to revert back to a daily routine of "read these pages, do these questions, your mid-term will be worth 50%, go!"
The second thing we need to be careful of, is identifying all of our students as digital natives. Many are not! Students may be new to the country and have come from difficult circumstances, they may come from homes and neightbourhoods with little or no access to computers, they may have Luddite parents who restrict or prohibit the use of technologies, or (could it be???) they may not LIKE computers and other technologies!!! While admittedly, these would be the "few" so are all of the other types of learners that we're meant to be teaching too on a daily basis. Which leads me back to my Mantra...EVERYTHING IN MODERATION. Learn as many technologies as we are comfortable with, incorporate as many as are appropriate, but God forbid we should end up teaching all of our students in online environments such as these! UGH!
One of the criticisms of education is a lack of consitency... what Janey learns in classroom A may not be what Jaleel is learning in classroom B. I think that's the real beauty of education. A wide variety of personalities means there is a wider possibility that students will find a teacher along the way that best suits and supports their needs. And, in the meantime, they can work on their adaptive skills.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAli just wrote: "One of the criticisms of education is a lack of consitency... what Janey learns in classroom A may not be what Jaleel is learning in classroom B. I think that's the real beauty of education. A wide variety of personalities means there is a wider possibility that students will find a teacher along the way that best suits and supports their needs. And, in the meantime, they can work on their adaptive skills." I love that. You are absolutely right Ali, and in my experience this year as Literacy Coach I had the opportunity to see the differences between, and amazing strengths of, teachers both on my staff and at various other schools in my board. "Wow!" is all I can say. Each one is different. Each one has something to offer, and each one is amazing in their own right. There IS beauty in that. At the ame time, what is amazing today and works for our students now may not always be what is best for them. We need to find ways to build our teachers up, to acknowledge their incredible strengths, and the gift that each child receives who encounters vastly different teachers. At the same time, we need to help teachers see that change is good too. If they don't see this, then in their struggle to keep up with the job, and put family first (I'm there right now too, Lisa B., and it is TOUGH), they will hold onto what "works", whether it is what is best for kids or not...
ReplyDeleteCindy
In the article "Standards for the 21st Century Learner" I found that many of the points made echo what we have already been discussing in our course. One that caught my attention is "Ethical behaviour in the use of information must be taught. In this increasingly global world of information, students must be taught to seek diverse perspectives, gather and use information ethically, and use social tools responsibly and safely."
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely connected to the upcoming Ministry directive of **Digital Citizenship**. We already teach our students to cite sources and give credit where it is due but many students never engage in the critical analysis of what they themselves are posting on line. Many still believe that what they see on line is real. One of my favourite sites for teaching them these issues is //Media Awareness Network// at http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/teachers/education_resources/index.cfm. This type of education doesn't really fall in the category of creating art through media but it does teach them the ethics involved.
The other piece that needs to come from more than us as teacher librarians (and needs to be taught to children and adults alike) is using social tools responsibly and safely. We have started to see this in the laws that prohibit talking on a cell phone while driving but as a society we haven't made the leap to responsible use in other areas. For example, at the last PD session that I attended that was Board mandated and Board wide, we had to sit for an entire day and listen to someone talk about school safety. Was it boring...Yes. Was all the material presented applicable to everyone...No. Did I tune out too?...Ok, you got me...I did. But what struck me was that about an hour in (with only about 4 more hours to go) was the change in the listeners. Because I was sitting in a balcony and could see below, I could see how many teachers were down there texting, playing games on their iPods, surfing the net, etc... At that moment I would have given anything for an iPhone so I could do something too! But, when I thought about it later, I realized that we as teachers say students can not bring their technology into class because they might use it in a distracting manner but didn't that day show that this is a society issue, not a teen issue?
When I went to a SMARTBoard training sessions a few years back, they showed us the same video “A Vision of K-12 Students Today”. I distinctly remember saying to the other 6 teachers that were there (and yes, there were only 6 of us), they’re “preaching to the converted” by showing us this. We voluntarily chose to attend the training session and knew the importance of learning and incorporating new technologies in our classrooms.
ReplyDeleteSo many of you mention your frustration with the technology we have available (or lack thereof) at our schools. There is nothing more frustrating than planning your lessons around websites or computer-based programs, only to find out (after bringing your students to the lab) that the network is down or “experiencing temporary problems”. I am TL at an elementary school (K-8) and we’re one of the lucky ones – we have a very supportive parent council who has purchased 4 SMARTBoards and the laptops and projectors to go with them. There aren’t many other elementary schools that have access to these very-coveted technologies like we do, yet, at any given time, there are 2 SMARTBoard sitting in the lab collecting dust! It is so frustrating to try and convince other teachers to use them because when I take the floor at a staff meeting to encourage their use, I feel like I felt that day in the SMARTBoard workshop – the only ones listening to me are the “converted”. So as TL, I am going to try and work with what I have – I will continue to encourage those who haven’t used them before to give them a try (I’ve even offered to come to their classrooms and give them sample lessons only to be met with the response, “I have too much curriculum to cover, I don’t have time for computers”) and focus my efforts in supporting those who are willing to learn. Cindy you mentioned that “we need to help teachers see that change is good” and by extension, make these technology and change-reluctant teachers see that the computer and all that comes along with it, are a means the help them cover all that curriculum in a way that is meaningful and significant to students in the 21st century.
The “Did You Know” clip by Karl Fisch left me speechless! It’s definitely one that I’m going to encourage my Principal to show at our first staff meeting in September. What was most intriguing and worrisome is the speed at which the world we live in is changing. We’re preparing our students (and kids for those who have them) to be successful in a society that we don’t know much about and this is why it is so important that teachers and the curriculum try and keep pace with this change – Fisch says, “we are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist using technologies that haven’t yet been invented in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet”. I guess I was sort of surprised at the ending, how quickly technology changes and how we can’t make predictions about technology 15 years in advance (I’m being reminded of a conversation I had with my younger brother when he was 10 or so, who had no idea what a type-writer was!). The Standards for the 21st Century Learner also highlights the importance of teaching technology skills and the need for students to develop these skills appropriately for future employment.
Sara
Our Board holds symposiums for Network Managers and I have attended the past three years - they have always kicked off the day with one of these videos. After each symposium, I excitedly showed our staff at a meeting and while it does make us rethink the way we teach, it makes us think more about the type of clients we service. At my school, it's easier to sell this notion since we have 280 fully supported, up-to-date PCs for 420 students (6 labs and the rest scattered in pods throughout the classrooms), as well as SMART boards, document cameras, microscope cameras, digital cameras, HD video recorders, a digital editing studio, etc. This is only possible because we host the International Business and Technology program, as I've mentioned before, where parents pay a Technology fee. I know I do not want to transfer because this situation does not exist elsewhere – which is a huge issue in terms of equity (mentioned as key in the Standards for the 21st Century).
ReplyDeleteBecause of the huge focus on computers, we already do a lot of hands-on technology work, but only to a certain extent. Our hands are tied when we even come close to wanting to teach something current in technology - like using youtube or even something as benign google docs – since our board blocks so much web content that COULD be misused. That leads directly to the whole “rethinking” issues raised in the Web 2.0 video (which was new to me). Like a previous poster mentioned, ethics become intertwined, but without access to what students access at home, those crucial teachable moments may not occur. We all know that teaching in a context is far better than alluding to a situation that we’ve heard about. Also, rethinking “copyright”…what is copyright anymore, really? Will the issue of plagiarism even exist in 10 years? But I digress!
Although I’m all for technology-based learning, one area that I think needs to be addressed, and soon, is the assessment for and of learning when it comes to technology. With so much collaboration involved in computer-based learning projects, it becomes very difficult to assess an individual’s efforts, which we are dictated to do by our Assessment and Evaluation Handbook (at least in the elementary panel in PDSB). At our school, students submit circle graphs and lists to show their contributions and of course, teachers keep a close watch, but I think there is far more opportunity for sitting back and letting it come rather than taking a more active role. It seems to be a vicious circle – technology can “engage” some students while for others, it can serve as the easy way out, where they don’t really have to push themselves very much.
I could go on and on about this topic...maybe more later!! :)
MJ
This is an issue with blogs I find - for me personally, I get caught up in rambling and forgot to include important points!! Oops! :)
ReplyDeleteSome of the points I noticed I forgot after reading my post:
- As for engaging students, I notice that for some unengaged students, no matter what you do it sometimes is not enough, even when it comes to technology. We use Flash on a regular basis in all of our classes and students frequently complain that the version we have is soooooo outdated.
I really like the document by the ALA. I think it speaks volumes about the type of society in which we live. It really reminds me of the guiding document we use for our IBT Program: The Conference Board of Canada's Employability Skills 2000+:
http://www.conferenceboard.ca/Libraries/EDUC_PUBLIC/esp2000.sflb
We like to create continuums at our school, so I will definitely be including some of the points from the ALA document.
This is really Susan Dykstra.
ReplyDeleteI love technology. I record music and promote concerts and have so many digital sites that I just found this one after being lost for so long.
That being said, we are perhaps to quick to point out that there are many ways of learning and that digital media talks to kids.Then we have our school's grade 7 teacher who rips computers out of his room.
If I had a grade 7 aged kid, I put take tantrums until I got my kid in his class. The writing and the speeches and the drama and the music that he gets out of those kids is amazing. Oh, and he civilizes them. We can do the digital part in computer lab.
That being said, I would like it if our IT department made that easier in TDSB. To log in, kids need their 9 digit school # and and 8+number digit combo for a password that changes every 45 days. Of course that means the teacher has to run things for most. That's going to get them going in grade school, eh.
I'm off my soapbox for a while now.
Susan Constance Radcliffe Lyndon Dykstra --
Cococoa LaRocque was a stripper I played in Guys and Dolls.
David Says:
ReplyDeleteI'm really enjoying this discussion because it captures the complexity that is teaching. Lisa reminds us that nothing can replace the connection that is built with face-to-face, one-on-one teaching. Ali observes that a good Socratic lesson beats a weak digital one, hands down. Several of us note that the kids themselves are unaware of or puzzled by the technologies mentioned in several of the videos. Kara argues that we also need to encourage kids to take responsibility for their own learning (regardless of how they are invited to learn) and to empower them to be able to learn in a variety of contexts (including non-digital ones).
Mark Prensky is an advocate of using digital applications to teach kids. He makes a useful distinction between different types of content and maintains that we need to teach BOTH. Legacy content largely the traditional curriculum. Future content is digital and technological. It includes software, hardware, robotics, nanotechnology, genomics, etc. as well as the ethics, politics, sociology, languages and other things that go with them. I think we might extend Prensky's ideas to teaching practices. There are "legacy" techniques and strategies that reflect best practices. There are also "future" techniques that reflect best practices. Maybe we can simplify our challenge as teachers by making a concerted effort to balance "legacy" content and teaching strategies with "future" content and teaching strategies.
My Board has started trying to help with the spread of technology by creating a group for both elementary and secondary called CATC Connection. These are positions that a teacher applies for and needs to show their interest and efforts in technology to date as well as what they would like to explore. When I was accepted last year I was given a laptop to use and was given to special icons for collaboration on line with other teachers in the group about technology. They try to have members at each school and at least one representative in each subject area. Our job is to explore what's out there, within limits of course. I have to say that the computer they gave me to use will not run the graphics and video editing software that I have been trying (I use my own PC and MacBook Pro laptops) but they have paid for me to take special PD so that I can share it in my school and with others in my subject area. Is it ideal? No but it is a start. Since I started last year word has gotten around that, "If you have a question or want to do something, ask Lisa. She won't laugh at you." I think that is the key, the approachability factor. So far I have managed to sway 2 other departments to use the Smartboard and I build the Smartboard lessons for my own department and give them to present. I'm hoping that this year my department will feel comfortable enough to try it on their own (I just managed to get one to use a data projector for the first time last year so I think I'm making progress :).
ReplyDeleteAs a build on to this, I also sit on the CATC Committee for my school and have found the challenge of access is sometimes due to use. We had 4 Smartboards on wheels to sign out at the beginning of the year. By the middle of the year two of the departments had "claimed" 2 of the boards since they said that they were the only ones using them. I argued that the whole goal was to try and encourage everyone to use technology and that this limited access. Their response was that it wasn't used everyday as a sign out and they would use it everyday. In the end I lost the battle since some of the others in the group had never tried it and didn't know if it was worth the battle. I guess there is merit to their argument, I just tend to think of the good for all, not one area.
Hi All, this is Shauna.
ReplyDeleteFirst - thank you David for your summary of the dialogue to date.
I too have seen the videos before and end up in the tug of war about the use of technology. I find myself formulating a bunch of "If the kids are..." "then I as a teacher"... kind of statements. So far my goal has been to balance my approches and to continue to learn about the potential of web 2.0.
Part of the opening line of the first video caught my attention: students will use engaging technologies in collaborative, inquiry based learning environments with teachers who are willing and able to use technology's power to assist them in transforming knowledge..." For me, this is the heart of the matter. As a T-L how do I help teachers in this process?
In Pay Attention there was mention to the revision of Bloom's 1956 taxonomy - maybe this is the start . If we can encourage teachers to embrace a new "vision" of the taxonomy, then maybe the technology will be seen as a useful tool to support that style of education.
I did a few quick searches for this revision (presented in 2001). I'm going to play around with how to post a link in my next comment.
You bring up an excellent point Shawna, helping teachers become, "willing and able to use technology's power". This hits on the two main areas of our discussion so far, 1) trying to help teachers learn and be comfortable with the technology and 2) actually having access to this technology to use it.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many schools set aside time that teachers can even be introduced to the various types of technology available? I know that I have this knowledge through my experiences with library courses and workshops and by furthering the information with other teacher librarians. I'm not sure many others do other than the ones who actually work with the TL's in the school.
Shauna Again
ReplyDeleteHaven't figured out how to add a link to a comment. Any suggestions?
Sorry Shauna,
ReplyDeleteI've been looking for a way (I even went into my other Blog) but I can't see a way to do it here. Perhaps if you posted the site address people could copy and paste into another tab?
David:
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of trying to balance the legacy practice with the future practice. I think approaching the problem with this in mind might be a way to help more resistant teachers to ease into the use of technology. Nothing says it has to be an all or nothing approach. I think that's where the video messages can be confrontational to some. When I watch them I see a strong message from students saying that we need to start moving in that direction, others may watch and see them as a criticism of traditional techniques or as a message that everything should be technology based.
Linda Cannon writes,
ReplyDeleteI think the principal has a big influence on how much technology is valued/available at a school. In the case of my school I was quite impressed when my pricipal ( a great guy and very old school) actually set up a presentation on the use of LCD projectors and document cameras in the classroom. In my daughters school every classroom (K-8) has an LCD projector (pilot project school) which from what I have observed are very well utilized. I was excited at the thought of our school purchasing a few at least. My principal couldn't get past the cost of the technology and more or less squashed the whole idea after the presenter left. I clearly and strongly voiced my enthusiasm and I teach primary. I had a few supporters but mostly the room was flat. Technology can be a tough sell to the "unconverted" who "already have enough on their plates".
What a shame that there wasn't even a discussion as to the pros and cons! Technology is something that makes such a big impact on children, especially at the elementary level. I was talking about my course after supper tonight and my oldest son (going into gr. 3) said he really liked being in one specific teacher's class in the past because, He showed us how to do cool things with the Smartboard and by 1/2 way through the year we got to do lots of writing on the computers". He is hoping that he will get another such teacher but with such limited resources I don't know how realistic that is.
ReplyDelete“Did You Know; Shift Happens” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHWTLA8WecI by Karl Fisk is a well thought out piece of persuasive video. He seems to be telling US educators to smarten up and plug in. There is a lot of angst-producing warnings against foreigners -- which really plays to the Bush-era US. Parents tend to be more anxious about their kids' futures these days, so something like this may get more support for better tech in libraries. It would make a very resource for kids to critically analyze persuasive media. There is much to criticize.
ReplyDeleteFisk is not one for history, not in any depth. He points out that England was the primary economy in 1900 and it was. After the expense of World War I and the devastating debt produced by defending itself in World War II, England essentially went bankrupt. Debt produced by wars? Hmmmm. The USA may be in trouble.
There has already been a major group that was trained for yesterday's jobs but had to compete for the jobs of tomorrow. These were the boomers.
Fisk also ignores some big principles that attract investment, research and development. The first is Rule of Law. On Earthtrends' Rule of Law index, China is in negative territory and its trend line is getting worse. India is on the plus side, but just barely.
http://earthtrends.wri.org/text/environmental-governance/variable-1280.html
Rule of Law means that we can get a building permit without bribing somebody, it means that we can sit on our porch and be reasonably sure that we will not be robbed in broad daylight. To companies, it means that they do not have to put a bunch of government potentates – and their entire families – on the payroll to get anything done. It means that our government, police system and army are reasonably free of corruption. It assumes basic freedoms.
In other indicators, China and India both have horrible pollution and infrastructures.
Will China give up communism and a totalitarians rule? It didn't during the Cultural Revolution, when millions of its citizens starved. In Canada, we seem much more able than just about anybody to withstand the Recession. China is still in big trouble here.
Personally, if I were to derive any wisdom from this video, it is to try to set up our own business or to expand one currently owned by one's family.
Yes, this would make a great resource for Media analysis.
Sue Dykstra (Cocoa)
Whoa! The idea of using your cell phone and having a "phone a friend" is something that would be a tough sell at my school! I agree with the idea that assessments that let student use the internet to find information shows skills that they will need in the future but I'm uncomfortable with the idea that they really don't have to know any content. Don't get me wrong, as someone who had to sit and memorize facts and up to 250 pictures for monthly tests at university, I still do not see the value of knowing exactly what gallery a painting hangs in. Really, if I needed to know I would look it up. But, I have also really enjoyed some discussions (perhaps more of an argument in some situations) with friends on who was the more skilled neo-classicist painter (I vote David) or why I think a particular moment in history was pivotal to our present society. While the technology skills are something I feel strongly about, I question the value of educating students only in the how and not the what of a subject. Part of having this knowledge is so they can have something to talk about and learn social skills.
ReplyDeletePart of the Ministry document on Media Arts requires that they complete a digital portfolio and this has always been part of our summative. However, we also always have a content driven component (eg: final test, exam) as well. I hope that my students would be able to discuss fluently with others IN PERSON about the topics covered in class and not have to say, "Wait...let me find out something to say...".
Thoughts from a Digital Immigrant ...
ReplyDelete(Let me begin by apologizing for posting this on our wiki ... this is my blog response. I'll see if I can take it off our wiki.)
While reading Standards for the 21st-Century Learner and watching the suggested videos, I jotted down some of the “ah ha” facts and my musings.
I, too, have seen a variation of these videos and thought about sharing them with my colleagues. To be honest, what held me back was the fact that I didn’t know how to use the technologies that were mentioned, i.e., wikis, podcasts, blogs, etc. so I didn’t want to introduce the idea of teaching with them if I couldn’t model their use for our staff and students. (Lisa, you mentioned the “76% of teachers who never used wikis, blogs, or podcasts” and I originally wrote that I was embarrassed to admit that I am one of them! However, Lisa, your comment made me think of our godson who is taking business at Western and didn’t know about RSS feeds. He’s excited about subscribing to newspapers’ financial sections. You’re right! Our ‘kids’ don’t know everything!)
Posted by David-
ReplyDeleteLinda's comments about how we will always be playing catch-up in education really hit home. Maybe our role as teacher-librarians includes fostering the skills and attitudes among teachers to make them both more capable and more tolerant of playing catch-up with technology for their entire career.
What a huge responsibility! This is where I wonder if our staff really knows how much our TL does for them.
ReplyDeleteThis year, my goal was to incorporate the use of the Smartboard into my lessons and learn how to create my own Smart Notebook lessons. However, because of this course, I think that I am ready to introduce these technologies to our staff. Although I won’t be at school in the fall, Michelle (who is going to be the T-L) is taking Part I from OISE so we’ve been going into the school together. We’re planning for next year as we complete our assignments and I think, as you do, Sara, it’s time for showing one of these videos as a ‘jumping off point’ for incorporating new technology into our program.
ReplyDeleteSome of my younger colleagues use technology regularly, but I have been thinking about the fact that “all children deserve equitable access to books and reading, to information, and to information technology in an environment that is safe and conducive to learning” (Standards for the 21st-Century Learner). If a student isn’t in Ms. or Mr. so and so’s class, he/she may never learn about podcasts. (Linda and Lisa are experiencing this with their own children and, Ali, you reiterated this!) The T-L is the one common denominator for all the students in our school!
In our role as a collaborator, we just need to find one teacher who is willing and able to use any or all of these technologies. For example, our DC teachers (they’re Active Learning teachers at our school) and the French department bought Flip Video cameras. I had never used it until our Virtual Booktalk assignment. Michelle taped me and we literally plugged it into the USB port and saved the videos in “My music” file and then uploaded them. Wow! What have I missed by not teaming up with these colleagues?
“63% (of teachers) don’t let students use technology to create something”. Instead of steering kids away from Wikipedia, I need to be teaching them how to be critical thinkers and “participate and collaborate as members of a social and intellectual network of learners” (Standards for the 21st-Century Learner) ... think wikis, blogs. “Engage them, don’t enrage them.”
Okay, I am editing this as I read each of your postings. I am excited about the new technologies because I really believe the stats about today’s kids having jobs in the future that don’t exist today, but those of you who have questioned if technology is the only way to engage our students reminded me of one of our grade 7 students who was a reluctant reader last year who told me this year that “he was lucky because he had a librarian who knew what he liked to read”.
I liked the new definition of the 3 R’s ... “Rigor, Relevance, Relationships”! That works for technology and print in the 21st-Century.
“Shift Happens”
Our new principal may not have a library background, but she is a die-hard “techie”(Linda, you are right! The principal makes a BIG difference!) In the fall, if a classroom doesn’t have a Smartboard, it will have a data projector. We’ll have two labs and a laptop lab! So, if we aren’t using technology, we don’t have any excuse not to!! So many of you (especially in high school) are struggling for quality, computer time.
ipods in class? (“ipod + podcasts = anytime learning”) Cellphones to teach? Kara, are our “stale” boards ready for this?
I know we have to be open minded about all this stuff but I'm still not sold on the cell phone issue. With all the technologies that exists within the phone itself keeps me hesitant. I attended a workshop put on by the TDSB with a major focus being how to use cell phones in the class. There were some good ideas. I still worry about privacy issues though. How hard is it for a student to take a picture of someone and out it online somewhere and use it inappropriately. We have this issue all the time with kids bringing digital cameras to school. I've bought into a lot of these new technologies but I think it will be a while before I buy into this one.
ReplyDeleteLinda wrote "My principal couldn't get past the cost of the technology". Linda I guess your job in the fall is to convince him that the cost of not investing in the technology is far greater.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way Lisa. When I read the material on using technology to create electronic portfolios I see definite value. Already many of my friends are creating electronic portfolios to apply for jobs and I help my students do them to apply for college/university. For some reason the cell phone issue still makes me squirm. Now, however, I have an increasing number of students who use their phone for their calculator, flash drive, etc... The line is really blurred by the technology that has multiple functions.
ReplyDeleteI just finished reading/watching the Assessment articles in the blog! Oh no! Just when I thought I'd heard it all ... ePortfolios!
ReplyDelete(Lisa, I know that cellphones won't fly in elementary schools in Thames Valley, but was wondering what the policy is in high schools.)
I'll need some time to absorb all the information that was available about assessment, but I did like the idea of "reflection being the heart and soul" of the portfolio NOT technology. That made me think about David's comment about face-to-face interaction. Are we going to be able to combine the technology and inter-personal skills effectively?
When I read, "to assess technology skills you must integrate technology across the curriculum", I thought, we're back to the haves/have nots again!
It was comforting to read the Forms and Purposes of Assessment slide because I did recognize the terminology ... Formative/Summative ... assessment FOR and OF learning.
Maybe after this course, I should think about my own ePortfolio?
I don't know what the response would be if I walked in and said that I wanted to use cell phones in my class. I think that ultimately they leave the decision on cell phone use to each school but I think that I would have the other Dept. Heads revolting against me if I tried it. Our school tries really hard to have continuity in expectations from class to class in regards to this type of technology use. I even had to really plead my case to have the line included in the rules that it is up to individual teachers if a student can use an MP3 player in their class. The general feeling was, students didn't need them. My point was that it is actually helpful for some students to be able to block out distractions so they can focus and there is evidence to prove that music can actually improve artistic performance. I won in the end but the topic comes up every year because of the issues of students trying to use them in classes where they are not allowed. I think the cell phone debate would be even worse. I am still with where I sit on that issue myself. I understand the cool things and information that can be acquired through using a cell phone but what about students who don't have one? And what defense do you have when students start accepting calls and text messages in class? (they already sneak the phones in and get text messages... a lot of the time it is parents texting them!).
ReplyDeleteAs for an ePortfolio, it is something that I have started before we took this course. Part of it is in anticipation of needing it if I were to apply for a library position but it also is a very convenient way to keep all of your professional documentation and experience organized.
I feel that the implications of Web 2.0 for the library program are numerous. What is significant about its adoption is that it builds on students’ existing interests and competencies. If students are already using the technology on a daily basis, it seems logical enough that they be allowed to incorporate or utilize it in their classroom activities. It also seems to open a world of possibilities in terms of assessment and evaluation and how information is disseminated in the classroom. Of course, a few concerns do spring to mind when considering how feasible it is within my particular school. Using Web 2.0 assumes that students have the necessary technological tools in order to participate in these sorts of activities. Unfortunately, not all students have computers in their homes, nor can they afford an internet connection. Thus, an issue of equity exists with the adoption of Web 2.0 as it has the potential to glaringly separate the haves from the have-nots. Of course, one may argue that they may use the computer facilities at their school but, in all honesty, the labs at many schools are lacking. At my school, we haven’t had our ram increased so the computers are painfully slow. It can take students up to 10 minutes just to log on to the system which leads me to question how we could ever possibly implement Web 2.0 technologies when we have trouble even accessing MS Word? Shamefully, I must admit that I rarely teach lessons involving technology as I find that I can never rely on the board’s servers. They can go down at any given moment, ruining the best laid plans. I should not have to make a backup lesson every time I want to use the computer lab but I have to. Another thought concerning the implications of Web 2.0 for teaching and learning is that the “old-fashioned” methods of gathering and presenting information are valid and should not be pushed aside in the face of new technology. It is from these basics that students can move forward to the more sophisticated forms that are being promoted in Web 2.0. Just because something is old does not mean it is worthless nor does it mean that its updated version is an improvement. Each method should be given equal value in the classroom setting.
ReplyDeleteI think the implications for Teacher Librarians include their ability to successfully navigate this new technology as well as to lobby for the financial support necessary to implement it. I also think they must also walk a fine line between supporting Web 2.0 while also at the same time promoting the importance of using older forms of technology such as encyclopaedias, books, or any other form of the written word.
Sue Jackson
It's interesting that we as teacher-librarians seem to always be the people lobbying for the financial support for technology. Many other departments rely on this technology as well. Perhaps organizing a united approach so that many voice could be heard would make more of an impact?
ReplyDeleteIt's Sue Dykstra.
ReplyDeleteI have been thinking about the cellphone issue. I dunno. Maybe it is because I am a teacher in Scarborough, but the cellphone idea is naive. The phones are used by many as a marketing tool for drugs. There are codes for where to go and who to see and who to let in the school. They may hide the trading in benign texting and words, but they are selling drugs.
The pro-side is because kids are doing it anyway, we might as well teach it. Have I got that right?
I think the idea is that we need to teach them the way to responsibly use them (when and where, what is suitable use for certain situations, etc..) if you are thinking the digital citizenship. The other take is to help them to think of them as a learning tool as well as an entertainment device because they are capable of collecting information. At least that is the way I interpreted the readings.
ReplyDeleteAs for the drug issue...I am so glad I was not the only one thinking of that! I was avoiding the topic thinking that maybe I would sound pessimistic. That definitely crossed my mind too. But really, students stick their cell phones in their pockets on vibrate and when they go off they just ask to go to the bathroom to retrieve their message of when and where to go. I'm not sure teaching with cell phones in class would stop them, it would just mean they could cut the bathroom break out of the equation. I guess that would mean less missed class time?
It's Sue J.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that I just don't buy into the use of cell phones in the class. As someone mentioned previously, the privacy concerns are problematic while issues with equity must be taken into consideration as well.
Lisa and Sue, I hate to sound like a rookie but I had no idea that kids used cell phones to broker drug deals! I have heard of it being used to cheat on exams or take pictures of tests/exams so that absent students can cheat. Also, students sometimes goad their teachers into acting out of frustration and then post it on YouTube. Of course, they also post their fights on YouTube as well...
I think at the end of the day, we need to teach kids that there is a time and a place for everything. Sometimes cell phones are inappropriate for a given situation. The classroom is one of them.
I definitely see your point Sue and for the most part I agree. My struggle is that I can see the use it could have and wonder if I might actually be able to reach some of the more "tuned out" kids if I bought in.
ReplyDeleteAs for cell phone use, it never fails to amaze me. This year I found out that since some teachers look for cell phone shaped bumps in the students' pockets and watch for them to use phones out of knapsacks, girls now hide their cell phones in their bra to bring it into class. When that one came out I actually had to raise my hand to clarify because I could not believe what I was hearing. To me this just supports the premise that teaching students the ettiquette for using technology needs to a focus. I have had many discussions with my students about why they can not access Facebook or game sites at school. Sooner or later one always comes out with, "If people used it resposibly and respected other people's use of it, we wouldn't be having this discussion. Just show that you will do your work and maybe they'll listen." They get it in theory but really don't seem to have the restraint to stop. I tell them that I too have a cell phone. I text, I use Facebook too but I keep all my electronics locked away so I am not tempted during the work day. It's about using the technology appropriately.
Re: the cell phone debate and how technology is changing our future.
ReplyDeleteSue J., you said, "...we need to teach our kids that there is a time and a place for everything." I totally agree. Just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you should. That is true of so many things in life. For example, we could, in this society where everything you want is available whenever you want it, eat junk food all day and never eat anything else. A theory I have about the childhood obesity epidemic is that I think it has as much to do with the fact that we have a culture of instant gratification as anything else. If a kid wants a "treat" they can access it - any time. Similarly, if you want to talk to or text someone instantly, you can. But do you really need to? Just like having fries or a candy bar, just because you are able to do it/eat it, that doesn't mean you really need to. Kids don't really know the difference between need and want. Try this analogy: on a hot day at school, the principal comes in wearing shorts and a mid-rif baring tank top. There's no air conditioning in most elementary schools, and this is what she would wear on the weekend. Plus, she would be comfortable. It's what she wants to wear. Is this okay? Why not? Because there is a time and a place for everything. A principal has to wear certain clothes at certain times. Kids could see that pretty clearly. If we teach our kids how to use cell phones properly, just as we teach them about eating properly, or wearing appropriate clothing in appropriate settings, then I think we are helping them a lot more than if we always say, "Well, it's a different world with technology in it. I know so much less about that than kids these days do, so I need to learn to be more open and let them guide me." But we are the adults...
If we do not take the responsibility to act as adults and teach kids that there is a time and a place for everything, then I think we are doing our kids - and their future - a great dis-service. As I see the world change, more and more, into a world of instant gratification and self-service, I get sadder and sadder about the future. What will the world be like? Will people be appreciative of what they've got? Will people know how to show caring for others? Will the text communication or cell phone call, or whatever is next, be more important than the person beside you? I think we need to teach kids about time and place now, so that the advantages of technology remain advantages. Maybe allowing cell phones in the classroom, for specific purposes only, is a starting point for this. Maybe...
Cindy
Cindy,
ReplyDeleteYou bring up the idea of "students guiding" us. I have noticed more and more teachers using the site Maureen posted above Survey Monkey with their classes. Most appear to be using it to gather feedback at the end of the course. Our own Board uses it for exactly this purpose.
Although this is a great way to have students guide us as to what we may want to think about for the next time, I could see using this site to gather information to use in class for discussion. For example, I know in health class they talk about relationships and sexual health. These are topics that some students may be uncomfortable discussing in class at first because they are unsure of what people will think. This free tool would allow teachers to create a basic survey that could gather the data anonymously and then that could be used to start discussions in a non-personal way. It could also be used in business classes to talk about consumerism. Oh so many possibilities...
L. Carson
ReplyDeleteI guess the fact that I have never posted a comment on a blog means that I am in the group of 76% of teachers. On a personal level, I did not grow up playing video games or using the Internet for anything other than research or hotmail. I JUST created a Facebook account about a year ago, which was a major step forward. My brother, who is just 6 years my junior, spent his entire childhood glued to a computer. He now has a great job in creative services at a high profile company, but I know there were a few years where my parents were worried.
Although I do not have a lot of experience with technology, I do have a willingness to learn and to use it in the classroom. My biggest problem is that I constantly run into technical glitches or roadblocks that prevent me from using technology in the classroom. The computers in our school are old and very, very slow. If you try to do anything that requires downloading, it is next to impossible. Also, many, many programs are not allowed on the school computers or are blocked by the firewall. We have a formal policy that prohibits YouTube. So, as you can see, bringing technology into the classroom is not as easy as it seems.
That being said, I was struck by the content of the video Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us. It made me think about how much students can do with computers already. I am sure that if I left their assignments more open, they would be able to amaze me with their ability. I was thinking about designing a research project where I left the format of presentation open. In other words, students could present their research in the form of a video, blog, webpage, etc. The purpose would be to gather research, but also to teach the other kids in the class about a new technology. The videos that I watched made me think it is possible.
I was also interested by the Standards of the 21st Century learners. I think this is an important document to keep on hand when designing any projects or activities for students. The individual expectations were a bit overwhelming, but the overall principles have made me think about how I will design my program next year.
You are not alone in your battle against roadblocks with technology Lindsay. We too are blocked from uTube at school. I had a plan to download what I wanted to show my class from uTube and then show it on a data projector but then found out that, in that format I would be breaking copyright laws since that is considered a public performance.
ReplyDeleteYou should check and see if your school blocks TeacherTube. We can access that and it has some great educational stuff!
I have some very mixed opinions on digital education, and on the first video. I'll make it clear that I am not against digital and multi-media education. It allows the students greater creativity than my generation had, winder access to education, and allows less literate students other avenues to gain and share knowledge.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, it's fallacious to think that it replaces proper text-literacy. Not only are we saddled with several thousand years of valuable text, but it is still required in the present. Moreover, text has stood the 'test of time', because it is durable, portable, and far more dense with information. Think of it this way, if you have an hour to learn about Global Warming you're time is best spent reading, second best spent listening to a radio show or podcast, and worst spent watching video.
Other important points are that it does not help our students learn any concentration skills, which having lived in Japan for three years, I can tell you is the main reason their students score far higher in Science and Maths. Incidentally, there is far less digitization fo their schooling than ours. I do not have the resource at hand, but I have read that E. Asian students will concentrate on a math problem four times as long as our students, before giving up. Wouldn't it be nice not to hear 'I don't get it!' in the first thirty seconds?
I think some of the statistics in the video, as statistics often are, are misleading. For one thing, the stats on how electronically out of touch the older generation is both reflect normal generational differences in taste, and that the technology students use today will also soon be obselete. As others have noted too, much of the lack of access at schools is the fault of budgets, and the demands of the curriculum, rather than the teacher or TL. Finally, I think it is worth noting that most of what students are doing electronically is not education and no more instructive than if they had been watching TV.
Hmm... Call me cynical, but after watching Fisch's video I have had an unavoidable thought: if we are educating students for a future where the education they will need for unforseen careers, using unimagined technology, is unknowable, why are we obsessing about not showing them enough of today's soon to be obsolete technology? Reminds me of programming the Commodore 64, in '82.
ReplyDeleteTeaching students analytical skills, and teaching them the literacy of our culture, will never be wasted: reading, and speaking and writing to a high standard.
It is a little overwhelming to think that we are supposed to be preparing our students for 14 career changes in a workforce that is evolving so quickly that it is yet to be defined.
ReplyDeleteWe are like dinosaurs teaching off the antiquated media of paper with antiquated skills and content - to a generation that has a technical imprint on their brain synopses that we can barely keep up with. What a great time to be teacher!
The Standards hold the key to our effectiveness at teaching these new super tech-based learners. We must let go of the familiar and antiquated teaching and learning practices to become informed and skilled at teaching our students to utilize the exploding and evolving world of information literacy. That means learning to teach in our students new technology based language. We can still teach conventions and content and Shakespeare - but maybe it is more relevant and useful for students to write a text between characters or podcast a sonnet.
If we don't know what the jobs of our students will be in the future, then the skills we must teach must be geared towards critical thinking and problem solving. It is nolonger effective teaching practice to get bogged down in curriculum content. Kids can literally "goggle" the information. As educators, we need to teach students how to access quality information and use it effectively and ethically. This is the only way we can keep ahead of a curve that we can't even begin to comprehend - and sadly won't be around to :(
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteYou make some excellent points. I think that one thing to think about is that, as teachers, our primary goal will always be to instil critical literacy skills and a lifelong love of learning. It is just that the presentation format or medium used to communicate knowledge has changed. I don't think that we are necessary responsible for teaching kids how to use these programs. The fact that we try to integrate them into our lessons and projects will provide them with exposure to a different way of thinking and learning. It is just another tool in our repertoire to use to engage students in learning.
I think your point about accessing quality information and use it effectively and ethically is excellent.
Great attitude Lisa, "What a great time to be a teacher!" I like the way you touch on relevancy. To me, part of advocating and marketing a school means that it has to be relevant to the consumers, in this case, the students.
ReplyDeletei'm sorry everyone,
ReplyDeletei've never used a blog before and it took me a while to figure out what to do on this page i had to ask maureen. then i couldn't find the comment area.... :S
i was blown away by the content slides of this video. but i'm looking at the state of my school board, and the schools that i teach at, and i can't possibly think they can catch up to this kind of trend - and this trend seems like its here to stay (so i guess it's not really a trend haha).
are we to assume that students will only get to exercise their knowledge and enthusiasm for using this kind of technology in the library?
one of my libraries does not even have a proper computer lab - they have 8 computers and 1 scanner even though the intermediate classes are bursting at the seams. i've been told, since this happened before my time, that the computer lab was disbanded b/c someone in the powers that be either in the school board or the ministry said computers did nothing to improve literacy and we're an OFIP school so we need to get rid of the computers. i'm sorry, but for lack of a better more eloquent phrase, WTF?!?!?!!
so how would i as a TL or even a homeroom teacher arrange a lesson that will appeal to students if we don't have the proper materials, or enough of the materials, or a TL who is not full time? who benefits from this kind of set up?
can someone tell me - do i just have the runt of the litter or are there other schools like mine? it's all very frustrating to have all these great ideas and theories we are ready to put into practice but then i see the reality of my situation and i sigh. :)
Nicolangela
Aidan and Lisa,
ReplyDeleteYou are both so right! What we are really teaching our students is about problem solving, literacy skills and the ability to ask quaetions that facilitate their lifelong learning. The ethical use of information does certainly need to be a part of that.
In addition, I just want to say that Lisa is right, this is a great time to be a teacher. We have so many opportunities to learn and it means so much that we have the chance to teach our students less about the specific facts and finite details of education past and more about the skills they will need to be contributing members of a rapidly evolving global society.
Cindy
Lisa & Cindy,
ReplyDeleteIt's Sue Dykstra.
It IS a great time to be a teacher. It always has been a great time to be a teacher and the technology of the time, or even the time before, is just a tool.
My grandmother apprenticed as a teacher in the far north, wrote a mail-in exam and taught for years in a log hut with no windows. Her school was in the BC interior at the turn of the century, just south of what would be the Yukon border. My great Aunt Florence taught in Grand Forks, Yukon, a goldrush town that no longer exists. Her school had 2 classrooms and the interior walls were made of thick paper.
Imagine the world-shaking change these women saw in their lives by contrast. Airplanes, radio, penicillin, elevators, movies, automobiles -- many of the inventors or developers of these technologies came from very primitive classrooms.
I often remind myself of them when I look at those boat-anchor 256K used Dells in my lab.
I also try, if the above doesn't work, to remind myself that my audio recording software is almost obsolete 6 months after I take it out of the box. That doesn't mean I can't record on it.
In these broken times, urban boards' abilities to catch up to technology will be limited. It will take many different types of teachers to prevail.
Oh, and when I first saw the "What if I was your son" video, the soundtrack in my brain was Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit."
ReplyDeleteHere we are now, entertain us . . . .
Anybody else have a soundtrack in their mind's ear?
Sorry everyone, I've been 'wiki obsessed' and missed out on the dialogue that has been going on here. Inequality of access to technology reared its ugly head again and the 'age old' laments of outdated/old computers and programs as well as not enough RAM are just a few of the very real obstacles we face every day. And ... we're back to the haves and have nots. What does Nicolangela's 'runt' school (that's a very descriptive term!!) do when they need resources, IT support? Do you think that we'll be able to come up with some recommendations by the end of next week?
ReplyDeleteAs for the 'nettiquette', I struggle with this regularly. I shared some cyber safety sites on our wiki because I have been working with our school support counsellor to develop some "Things to think about before you hit send" workshops for our Intermediate students. I have finally come to terms with the fact that this technology is here to stay ... and will change at the blink of an eye. However, our board says IT is responisible for cyber safety, but I'm told by IT that Safe Schools is responsible. No one wants to tackle this topic and implement some quidelines for our board. Hence, the cellphone/ipod 'gray area' that many of you mentioned. Where do you see the direction for the use of these technologies coming from?
Most of the encouragement that I have had to use cell phones and iPod's for teaching has come from PD sessions put on by outside people through out Board. When the people in charge at the Board are asked about it we are usually told that it is up to individual schools.
ReplyDeleteInternet and multi-media access is something that libraries should do, but is almost uniformly available to Canadian students outside of the school.
ReplyDeleteCanada is one of the most Internet connected nations in the world already, so most of our students are connected at home (more on that later). The reasons for this are interesting:
- wealth, in order to buy the hardware
- flat-rate cable, telephone, and server charges encourage more time online, unlike Japan for example
- English as a main language, since something like 70% of all webpages are in English
Nearly all Canadian households are connected to the Internet, including a surprisingly high number of lower income households. It seems that the only demographic that is poorly connected does not have children in the home, and I would assume they are elderly from some of the indications on this: www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/040708/dq040708a-eng.htm
How can so many lower income households be connected? It shouldn't be a surprise, since people will pay for TV cable at any income, and its less than $50 extra to add Internet. The hardware can be bought second hand or borrowed. I think that many families realise that it is educationally useful for their children, or at least something that all of their peers have and want.
Sure there is always going to be a proportion of students who do not have the access that their peers have, but our primary role should be education, rather than access. The exceptions to this would be certain low-income areas, where an after-school programme to address this should be the norm. In most areas, the few students without access in their own home have dozens of friends with whom they can do projects, etc.
Aiden,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that our focus needs to be education but without the technology access in the schools, it is very difficult for some schools to educate. I guess that this is where my concern comes in. I am quite blessed at my school and have advocated for technology so when I ask for access to something, at least they listen even if they can't give it to me. I do know of other teachers who are not as lucky as I am. What worries me is that many of these schools would do more to educate their students if only they had the means to do so.
I just wanted to leave one more comment here before we are cut off. I found the use of this blog far less interactive than KF or the wiki. The fact that all of the comments are linear and not threaded made it really difficult to figure out what was going on and who was talking to whom?
ReplyDeleteI think if blogs are to be used in the classroom, it should be in the other direction - not teacher to student but student to teacher/classmates. There would be much more value in this.