Whats in a Name?If you have time, go to Jeff Utecht's blog The Thinking Stick, Jeff nails what I believe may be the biggest challenge educators face in changing the view of technology and instruction within our schools.
"Where technology just replaces the things that we do. This isn’t a new school, this is an updated school. A new school starts with a new pedagogy a new theory and even a new taxonomy of learning. School 2.0 is not an upgrade to School 1.0…it’s a whole new school. An upgrade to School 1.0 is word processing instead of hand writing or PowerPoints instead of posters. These are upgrades to an old system. School 2.0 needs to be new from the ground up…starting with the foundation in which we build our teaching practices on. . . "
I often times find myself having a conversation in my head. I am taking part in a discussion with a group of teachers about the ideas being developed in the district's Technology Action Planning Committee, when without fail, I am being bombarded by a statement (not even a question), "this sounds like the next flavor-of-the-month," or "how does this differ from anything else we have been told is the future? "
The cultural change within education cannot overlook the importance of bringing awareness to the staff within a district. Easy for any card carrying techno-geek, to recognize how technology has created an unprecedented access to a global community, and how that global community has changed the learning environment. However, individuals who have limited exposure to technology in their individual or professional life, may not actually comprehend the educational potential of the global community. Presenting the idea of educational change in the form of technology, may actually create a major distraction to the goals of educational change in the 21st century. Maybe, our districts committee name, the Technology Action Planning Committee, should look to re-design itself into a 21st Century Action Planning Committee.
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2 comments:
Mr. Aroune,
I like your ideas on the new educational system. I feel that your ideas impact a lot of people and can actually help people understand a little more about life. As the course and semester draw to a close, I would like to appreciate all of the hard work that you have done in teaching and educating us students. As a student I feel that you have done a great job. I enjoyed blogging a little bit, because it helps us put out all of our ideas and helped us learn more. Thank you for being my teacher for the past twenty weeks. Thank You
Hey,
I think you're dead on about changing your wording. Not only would I get rid of "technology," I would also get rid of "planning" and "committtee."
To plan implies knowing without experiencing; what I'd argue you want to communicate is the idea of implementation, doing it, action. It's not like starting to use Bloglines to get students reading costs anything. Do it today and keep records of observations; tweak as you go.
As for "committee"? "A group that leads good ideas into a quiet, sterile room, and slowly strangles them to death."
I'm in a similar boat at my school, and just posted on my blog my own announcement of our "21st Century Literacies Cadre". Notice the absence of the word "tech"? Tech is a given; it shouldn't be the focus; literacy and learning should, I'd argue. And pedagogical change.
Good luck, keep writing.
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