“We already live in a time of disconnect - where the classroom has stopped reflecting the world outside its walls”
Although one would be hard pressed to find a school where all teachers lecture at students who are expected to keep silent, not required to investigate, explore, discover, create and connect with the material, there are some “stragglers” who have not moved ahead with the times. It is these individuals that stick out from our own experiences in schools (either as a student, parent, or staff member) and hold the public opinion of the teachers as irrelevant. But this is at the expense of acknowledging of all those teachers that are already using wikis, podcasts, blogs, etc. effectively in their classrooms.
They always say “it takes one bad apple to ruin a bunch.” We can finger-point at those that are not on board with using technology in the classroom or we can show them its relevance, connect the world inside the classroom and out. It has been my experience that a good number of these “stragglers” are in fact stuck in the mud; they have never received or sought out the training that is essential for mastering technology use in the classroom. Some of them are scared of what will be lost if all classrooms move away from the pencil –paper, lecture style because that is what was “successful” for them in the past (as either students themselves or as teachers). It has been said that it is human nature to avoid change and not all that difficult to find yourself “stuck in a rut.”
“I have to ask myself, do I create lifelong learners? Am I preparing students for my age or for theirs?”
However, I know that taking the time to demonstrate the ways that technology can greatly enhance the classroom experience is one way that administrators, staff members, and even parents can raise awareness and pique interest in the “stragglers.” Teachers are usually involved in the profession because they love learning; this provides an opportunity for them to learn also, demonstrating to students the importance of being lifelong learners. I would be shocked if a good majority of the lecture-style teachers had ever been approached by someone who wanted to teach them about using technology without a judging eye, rather than lecturing them, blaming them, and forcing them to change.
“In Education, the use it or lose it rule may mean that if you don’t use technology for learning, you may lose relevance. An educator, must be relevant.”
I have spent time viewing a lot of these videos and all of them were very powerful. The proof is in the pudding; the numbers don’t lie. The world outside of the classroom is full of facebook, youtube, and text messages. Pioneers of the profession who work on technology advocacy can and should positively impact the current situation. As the number of technology users continues to sky-rocket, technology will be even more avoidable by the staunchest educational critics. We must work to engage our students, melding the world outside and inside the classroom, working together harmoniously towards student engagement and achievement. Classes like this one help to do just that; as young educators we must stay abreast of the times and do our part to assist others in adopting it in their classrooms, too. After all, our main goal is preparing students for the world, and in this day and age it looks more and more “digitized.”
1 comment:
I agree with you that providing non-judgmental mentoring for teachers who want to become more comfortable using tech tools is what many teachers need. I think, sometimes, the key is mentoring, since a one-shot professional development day won't do it.
To become comfortable with any new way of doing things, people need practice and feedback over a period of time. I think that if such mentoring were provided, more teachers would be motivated to try to fit such activities into their always busy schedules!
Post a Comment