I am currently teaching a course, working with a group of teachers on some class projects and just came back from a MassCUE leadership meeting. In all of these setting the running theme has been, it is just not about the technology anymore. This is something that I have felt quite strongly about for a long time, but it is nice to see the classroom teachers realize that as well. I am not asked as often how to use the…
A few days ago Pete Rilley wrote a great post on Education’s Hidden Message. It really struck a cord with me. I have pretty much felt this way about education since I was a student, and that is one of the reasons I entered the field. One of the many messages my parents gave me while growing up was in essence “if you don’t like something you can walk away or you can change it.” Some times I feel overwhelmed,…
Will Richardson made a recent post on kids becoming producers. He was reflecting on his daughter’s use of youtube and future video creations. My 13 year old daughter recently produced a youtube video clip and is now excited about future projects. Her 9 year old brother is soon to follow in her foot steps. Will writes… How cool is it going to be for her growing up with the ability to create and publish whatever floats her boat (as long…
The December 8th eSchoolNews article, Ruling: Schools must archive eMail: New rules make eMail, instant messages subject to legal review suggests that provision of student email accounts by schools may become even rarer in the United States. Many free web-based email services are already blocked by school district IT folks, in an ostensible effort to force teachers to use their district-provided (and trackable) email accounts, and encourage students to remain on task with district-assigned computer tasks which DO NOT include…
We no longer live in an agrarian or industrial society. Our commodity is information these days. We also understand that each child develops at a different rate, influenced by genetics and environment, yet the structure we use still makes assumptions about learners that simply are not true anymore. This is the root ailment of our failing national education system. The problem is not qualified teachers or a decaying facilities. Instead, our organization or structure no longer applies to our world….
I was having a discussion over lunch the other day with a colleague of mind Becky. She is a life long learner and making the move into education, specifically instructional/information technology. We were reflecting on the recent comments from some of the blogs we read and a new one I have recently come across, by Miguel Guhlin. The question was what is holding teachers back from integrating technology and using these tools in their teaching? We came up with a…
In David Warlick’s recent post he is reflecting on a misunderstanding of his view that we must stop integrating technology. He continues to add: Many people say that, technology is only a tool and this is correct. I would continue by saying that information is also a tool, used to construct knowledge. My question is what should teachers be thinking of as they are working through ways to modernize their classrooms. Should they be thinking of the machines? Or is…