Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!
Whenever I read comments or have a discussion about the impact technology is having on our world, in particular education, I cannot help but sing to myself the 1975 David Bowie song lyrics, Changes.
I watch the ripples change their sizeThe problem is, lately this melody and chorus is beginning to repeat itself like a scratch in a cd. You know this sensation, that tune you hear someone sing and cannot get out of your mind. It can actually keep you up at nights.
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence and
So the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
Honestly, it's not that bad yet. The problem I am having is that any form of change within an established institution like education can be an awfully daunting task. The reason is the culture of the very institution. There exists a long held tradition in education that change occurs in the form of structure, order, or some framework. Education has numerous well established features that do not look kindly upon change.
My question of the day is what features exist in our educational environment that inhibits change. (look at the entire educational community, from students to teachers, from administrators to the community).
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23 comments:
technolog such as the internet, and computers. The internet is a big mix of information. you can find anything you want on it. this benefits educaton by opening up oppertunities to lean by research, videos, and blogs. Todays education continues to improve thanks to technology.
O.K., first off I have to say I really enjoyed reading your style of writing. It reminds me of the writing of Rick Mercer and Garrison Keillor. Both of whom are great writing inspirations for me. I could picture you speaking when I read your posts and I hope by the end of this year we can all learn to write that way.
To get to your question of the day, I see both the internet and the books we have access to as ways for us to stimulate change. Both the things we learn and the new ways we can communicate has already changed our education outlook, which I see as very good now. Just the blogs and wikis alone have opened up our eyes to all of the new things technology has to teach us. I look forward to all the new things we will be learning about and the new ways we can learn them.
Change is a very important aspect to education. When teachers take risks and try change up the routine, the students become intrigued. Things such as; the internet, creative teaching, and other unique technologies, provoke educational change. I comend you Mr.Aroune because you have put forth so much time and energy to change how we as students view education.Doing these online blogs really motivates people to get involved in learning in and outside of the classroom.
Question: What features exist in our educational environment that inhibits change?
Today we have so many learning tools that we didn't have a hundred years ago. Things like wikkis, blogs, podcasts, and even the internet in general really help students to learn better. I think that the internet is the main thing that inhibits change, because new information is always being found out and posted. we have learned new ways of thinking and communicating with the internet and it has helped us better understand.
Question: What features exist in our educational environment that inhibits change?
Today we have so many learning tools that we didn't have a hundred years ago. Things like wikkis, blogs, podcasts, and even the internet in general really help students to learn better. I think that the internet is the main thing that inhibits change, because new information is always being found out and posted. we have learned new ways of thinking and communicating with the internet and it has helped us better understand.
I think that the biggest factor in our education system that inhibits change is the same factor that inhibits change of any kind - and that is fear. The administration, the teachers, the students, and probably lastly the parents must change to evolve and keep up with the lastest technology. You are doing a incredible job of trying to show us that change is nothing to be afraid of. Keep up the great work!
Elizabeth's Mom
I would have to agree with Elizabeth's mother. There is so much new technology and ideas, it is a lot to take in. Many people are afraid of so much change. In the Buffalo News this past Sunday was an article about Blogs and Spam. It showed how careful we have to be. There are many new things going on out there and we have to learn how to embrace them, yet stay safe at the same time.
Whenever change is introduced into any structured environment, be it institutional, industry, or even family, it is met with apprehension. It is human nature to fear change.
Change threatens to upset the applecart. It is only when the recipients can embrace the benefits will the change be accepted. For example, when personal computers made it into the consumer marketplace how many of us feared this technological marvel? Only when the benefits were realized did the pc become an important home appliance.
So goes the educational system – until it’s demonstrated to those in charge that the advancements in information technology can broaden a student’s knowledge by exposure to global viewpoints, there will be resistance to its implementation.
Industry has embraced the “global workforce”. Not only do you work on a project with people in your office, you collaborate with others that work for the same company, assigned the same project, but geographically are in located in different states and countries. Cannot the same be attained in education? Can we not have global education?
Demonstrating class projects that require interaction of students from different states or countries, collaborating together, I feel, would be a good example to the educators what could be accomplished.
So what are those things that inhibit change? In moments of personal frustration, I liken it to the witches of Salem. If it's not understood, it must be bad. The solution? Avoid it, protect others from finding out about it or in the case of "the witches", kill them. Cynical? Perhaps.
In a conversation explaining a Skype experience Mr. Aroune engaged 3 students in last night, I was first looked at with a "what's the big deal?" kind of look. The next was a comment...."And so, you could do that over a telephone". I wanted to scream! Now things changed a bit when I described the teacher facilitating the lesson with graphic organizers on the computer screen and adding notes as students interacted. This exact example illustrates the answer to the question.
First, fear...maybe...to an extent. Fear is easily overcome with exposure and training. I've found that if teachers are given the time, opportunity, skills and support, they are more than capable and willing in most cases to make change that will benefit students.
I believe that the same will hold true for parents. Most parents have lived through changes in a technological era. From huge data processing rooms to desktop computers. From DOS to microsoft. We've seen vinyl records become extinct only to view 8 tracks and cassettes as a thing of the past. Parents need to be shown........not told. If they were to see the possibilities...The vehicle from which their child could develop critical thinking skills beyond their imagination. They would say, "what are we waiting for"?
Friedman's book "The World is Flat" is an awakening to what we have become, how fast we have changed as a society in a global world and what the future has in store. We don't have to believe that all of our children will be recruited to live in India in order to find a job and compete in a global economy. We would however be foolish to ignore that these changes will happen in our own country. We will have to make some of these changes in order to survive. What parent doesn't want their child to be successful as an adult?
It may come as a surprise to many but from my perspective, the obstacle to change, at least rapid change related to this new frontier are the very students we teach. O.K. kids, calm down. Your superintendent has not lost his mind and no, he's not dissin' you. We are all a product of our collective experiences. Unfortunately, the field is slow in coming to grips with the fact that learning is more than "sit 'n' get". More than rote memorization. True learning takes place when you take the information and can synthesize it, analyze it and make some sense of it.
DBQ's is the closest education in New York has come to have students demonstrate this kind of learning. Even DBQ's have their limitation. It is still taking information already provided to you and writing a "position paper". How much do you learn from it. Do you think about how your position and the process you used to formulate it could apply to a totally unrelated topic or field? For most, I'm going to hypothesize that the answer is no. Why should you? Has anyone every asked you to do so?
What I observe and see from students is students waiting for teachers to do the learning for them and then they(students)learn what the teacher knows. Teachers give the vocabulary. Teachers provide a list of resources that students will want to use when doing research. Perhaps it is a time factor but many teachers are unable or feel they can't take the time away from content instruction to say "hey kids, today you're going to find 50 resources that will provide you with current, accurate information pertaining to human development that you will use this year to assist you in your own learning". Just researching the resources alone will teach you more than a teacher could teach in a week.
We need to "reteach" students how to learn. Have them take charge of their own learning (with parameters of course!). Last summer at High School's New Face we discussed a change in our role as teachers. Some of us would like to see teachers take on an entirely new role. Teachers viewed not as "instructors" but "facilitators of learning". That mind shift is HUGE
for a lot of people.
There is one more obstacle. Unfortunately one that frustrates many in education and which we seem to have very little control over. To those in the field, it is known by 3 letters: S-E-D or the State Education Department. With all the advances made in schools under the new standards and accountability system, we are losing the ability to be creative in how we educate students. It is a one-size fits all system. And they do mean all. Students that excel, students that struggle, students with disabilities...everyone must meet "the standard". In meeting the standards, teachers feel the obligation and yes pressure to 'teach the content'. So can you have it all? Can you teach what New York State says you need to know while at the same time teach in a way that uses the incredible tools that technology can provide as a strategy for learning? Is there a way for SED to provide schools the flexibility to teach in a different way?
Teachers could be ready. Parents can be educated. Students need to be taught that there is a different way to learn. All of which I believe can be done. The next question? Will "the system allow it"?
Interestingly, just this month the NYS Board of Regents is making investigation of technology a priority. They want to know what is out there. Who is using it and does it result in higher student achievement? I think that Iroquois could be a model for the possibilities that exist. I for one think this is an exciting time in education. There are times in history when conditions are right for change. I propose we react differently than those in Salem during the "trials". Lets embrace the opportunity and see where it takes us.
Mr. Rochelle
I believe that the new technology itself inhibits change. People who have no knowledge of computers and the Internet are likely to be in the dark. This may discourage people, from attempting to learn about something completely different.
To solve this, people need to be patient and willing to educate themselves on new concepts. This way, they will advance with the technology, instead of holding on to methods that were used in the past.
You are doing a fantastic job in your teachings. David Bowie has great lyrics for that one song.
I think that they leave an important impression.
Having just read an article in the Buffalo News regarding curriculum changes requiring a "cookie cutter" approach to education, technology may be more important than ever to stimulate creativity and allow students and teachers to go beyond a very rigid pre-programmed and stifling form of education. The article in today's paper entitled "New Reading Plan Faulted" written by Peter Simon is chilling. Non-teachers appear to have written a curriculum which requires every elementary school in the Buffalo district to teach the same lesson, the same way on the same day. There is no flexibility for struggling students with different learning styles, nor is there time alloted for creativity and enrichment. If this is indeed what is going to happen to our educational system then technology may be the only answer to academic freedom. They may try to lock the doors of the school house but they will never shut down the world wide web. Blog on Mr. Aroune! Thank you for introducing all of us to the power of consensus.
mdvoss' mom
Dear Mr. Aroune,
After sitting in class and participating in the activities which you assign, I finally felt that I should comment about my view of technology in school. I have to say that I honestly do not like all of these new programs that we are being told to use. Technology has never been one of my favorite subjects, and I am feeling very confused as to why we should use certain web pages and such. I realize that I am fairly new to these concepts, and I have been willing to work to try to understand your point of view. Blogs seem to come easier to me then they have in the past, and bloglines has also become a website which I can navigate around. I know this is something that you are passionate about, but I would much rather sit in a group and discuss a topic then to have momentary commentary left on blogs. It just seems unproductive in some ways. You seemed rather happy that we would not be using textbooks and lectures, but those methods have worked for me in years past and I would much rather keep those old ways then drastically switch to this new technology filled world. I know that the internet is a beneficial tool to today's society, and don't get me wrong I'm online almost everyday for one thing or another, but I would much rather learn economics through text books. I just don't feel like I'm understanding as much through this method. As ten weeks have passed while in this class, the only thing I seem to come away with is how to use a blog, but to me that is not economics.
Some people on this blog have said that we all must not want to participate because we are afriad... Well I am not afraid. I've tried to make the best of this situation because I realize that you are the teacher and decide what to do. However, I still feel that this method is drastically changing our purpose in this class.
I hope you did not misinterpret my intentions in this comment. You asked for honest feedback and I decided to respond. I don't mean to offend you in any way.
It seems to me that change in all areas involve risk and stepping out into the unknown. In eduaction there are so many people involved at all ages that a universal move forward can be daunting to some. I can see how a teacher of 20 years can see a big technololgy push as unnerving and difficult to adjust to. it seems to me that some of our staff development days could be focused on technology to help everyone move forward together. I am so impressed by what my children (Matthew & Rachael) are learning in your class especially with regards to research and communicating on the computer.
A Genders
It seems to me that change in all areas involve risk and stepping out into the unknown. In eduaction there are so many people involved at all ages that a universal move forward can be daunting to some. I can see how a teacher of 20 years can see a big technololgy push as unnerving and difficult to adjust to. it seems to me that some of our staff development days could be focused on technology to help everyone move forward together. I am so impressed by what my children (Matthew & Rachael) are learning in your class especially with regards to research and communicating on the computer.
It seems to me that change in all areas involve risk and stepping out into the unknown. In eduaction there are so many people involved at all ages that a universal move forward can be daunting to some. I can see how a teacher of 20 years can see a big technololgy push as unnerving and difficult to adjust to. it seems to me that some of our staff development days could be focused on technology to help everyone move forward together. I am so impressed by what my children (Matthew & Rachael) are learning in your class especially with regards to research and communicating on the computer.
This new technology that you're teaching us about seems complicated at first but I think it is growing on all of us as students. I am most excited about applying this to college, with the ability to highlight text on a webpage and make notes about it.. I find it amazing that technology has come to that. I am positive I will use it in college.
As a student in the 70's, I never dreamed that computers would have such an impact on our culture. I am continually amazed at the rapid advances in technology and the ease that our children learn these new ideas.
Change is inhibited when you have individuals that have lost their curiosity and no longer desire to seek and pass on new information. Learning something new requires desire and effort. Some people lack both. These are the folks that need to retire from the teaching profession so that the next generation can be inspired, not get tired before they have had their chance in the world! Today’s students are tomorrow’s future; our future.
Have you ever seen a young child in front of a computer? They are excited and not afraid to push any buttons. They push just to see what will happen on the screen. They don’t seem to care if they are pushing buttons that delete your files or reformat your hard drive!
I would like to see more adults with the excitement and curiosity innate in young children!
Thank you for being an inspiration for my child to care more about receiving an education than receiving an A for the course. Thank you for encouraging parental involvement. I am hopeful now!
Stephanie Zaporowski
You bring up some good points. In my opinion, the only thing inhibiting change is the thing that change will affect - us. People are too concerned and afraid of change and it will only come easily to those who accept it.
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