Ideas and Thoughts from an EdTech

Wes Fryer has me guest blogging for the weekend.  Trying to come close to his prolific writing will be a challenge. I may cross post but I may not. At any rate, it’s nice to go to new places.

Today I was putting gas in my van and as painful as it was to pay $1.19 per litre, I did enjoy the convenience of paying at the pump. I watched the many patrons pump their gas and then march over to the tiny store to wait in line and pay for their fuel.

Jeff Utecht’s post today on Creating a Paradigm Shift brought my gas pumping experience to my mind. Jeff questions the optional use of technology in our schools:

…there use for many teachers and in many schools is still optional. The reasons range from lack of training, to poor connection, to not having the time to learn how to use it. It doesn’t matter what the reason is…the fact is in the majority of schools today…using technology tools is optional teaching.

Paying at the pump is optional at the station I was at. I know there are stations where it’s mandatory. The reason that many chose to stand in line and pay inside is fear, and TTWADI. When gas stations realize that it’s way more efficient and better to pay at the pump, users will have no choice. I can’t imagine ever wanting to pay inside short of a need for a coffee or snack but even then, there’s much better places for that.

The discussions around whether or not teachers can choose whether or not they use technology in their classrooms is beginning to lean towards no choice. For a while I was using this on my email signature, “Is a teacher who doesn’t use technology with students doing their job?” I got into a bit of trouble from some teachers who were offended by this saying that technology is not necessary to do their job. If by their job, they mean continuing do the same things they’ve always done, I agree. But if they want to provide students with the educational experience they need, they no, they aren’t doing their job.

[tags]paradigms,education,automation,utecht,ttwadi[/tags]

I’ve changed theme for the first time in over a year. Rob’s new Mandingo theme looked good to me but it did require some customizing that I hadn’t got to till now. I not only liked the clean look but also it was more accommodating for larger screen resolutions. My previous template was best suited for 800×600 which would seem to fit the lowest common denominator approach. Being a hack of a designer, I know I don’t always take accessibility issues into consideration when designing but feel like I should be moving to a larger size site.

I had to configure the header to allow for my random header script. This was easy enough and now there are many options for this. I’m a big fan because it allows me to share and reuse my favourite photos. (Sorry D’arcy no Maui pictures, but if you like golf…) Okay, so it looks like I completely cloned D’arcy’s site, honest I didn’t mean to and I’ll try and figure out a way to make it different. In fairness,  although D’arcy’s been lamenting his switch between Drupal and Wordpress for a while, I was reading it in my reader and never did visit his site. Likely many reading this in their aggregator may never pop by for a visit and this entire post will seem useless.

My header fonts changes from image to image, does that count as being different? (This is beginning to sound more like a twitter post) Maybe this is how women feel when someone shows up at a party wearing the same dress? I may have to go home and change.

[tags]wordpress,themes,dnorman,shareski,mandingo[/tags]

My wife is big fan of reality tv. I know, I can hear it already: “It’s not reality”, “I don’t watch a lot of tv”, “blah, blah, blah”….. I actually like a few as well.

This summer Fox has unveiled, On The Lot, a Mark Burnett production to give aspiring filmmakers a chance to strut their stuff and have a chance to earn a 1 million dollar development deal with Dreamworks.

There are great lessons to be learned for digital storytelling. In Monday’s episode, 18 contestants had to produce 1 minute comedies. Each was critiqued and contestants were provided feedback on their work. The show helps you see the challenge behind good storytelling. As an observer, you get insight into the qualities of good film making. Viewers can also submit videos for review.

Here’s one great example:

With summer coming and the television lineup dwindling, this might be something worth checking out.

My job is mostly about change. Helping teachers understand what’s different, what’s possible and what’s necessary in order to change/improve teaching and learning. There would be still be a few who question why we need to change but at least that battle is seeing fewer participants.

That said, I’m still torn between what I know to be right, good and important and the reality of today’s classrooms and schools. Kids in rows, eyes up front, closed mouths still is an appealing image for many, plus it’s cheap, easy to maintain and highly scalable. I do get very excited about the good work and change that many of our classrooms are involved with. The work of these teachers is exciting and has taken a great deal of time and hard work but with amazing results. Those who would read this blog regularly already get it.

I was talking with a couple of my colleagues from our department of learning and they told me an interesting story. A director of education had been considering implementing one to one computing. Harmed with research and common sense, he was convinced that this would have the potential to make a difference in achievement and engagement, which is why he said he couldn’t go ahead. He couldn’t go ahead because it was not affordable long term to do for all kids and thus he would be cheating many out of a great education.

And there you have it. The will to change is not there. In today’s political climate, it’s not likely to happen. I just received a report on our teacher’s use and beliefs about technology. Can you guess the main barrier they cited? I’ll give you a hint: It’s a four letter word beginning with T and ending with IME. The change that needs to happen is going to be expensive and it’s got little to do with hardware or infrastructure. Most of that’s already in place. It’s got to do with time which has to do with money. We already suffer from public outcry when monies are spent on technology or heaven forbid professional learning. How do we help taxpayers understand the urgency and importance of it all?

So mine, and likely your struggle continues: trying to build a house with toothpicks. I suppose it can be done but?? Until then I’ll go on cheering on and supporting the good work of a few, knowing that many kids are getting less than they deserve. To be clear, I’m not blaming anyone, just pointing out a big obvious issue to which I’m not sure of the answer….isn’t that what the blogosphere is for?

Image: Toothpicks 2
http://flickr.com/photos/eringobraugh/338169490/

[tags]change,professionaldevelopment[/tags]

A year ago I spent four podcasts talking with Kathy, Clarence and Darren about their classrooms and the new story of teaching and learning. The model these three present continues to inspire teachers locally and internationally. So how have things changed in a year? The following 65 minutes answers those questions and has them look ahead to what their classrooms might look like in the future.

Here are a few show notes:

• Kathy’s class blog
• Darren’s blog
• Yak Pak
• Answer Tips
• John Seely Brown
• Clarence’s blog
• Clarence’s class blog
• Darren’s AP blog
• International Teen Project
• 1000 name wiki
• Science 90 blog

Alec and Rob chat. Have a listen.

Today I had my informal evaluation with my superintendent. She was more than gracious in her appreciation of not only the work I do within our division but truly gets the importance of my connectivity and what this means for teaching and learning. We talked about the growth of many of our classrooms in terms of their move to a more relevant learning experience and more self-directed learning.

I cited one example that to me exemplifies the work and change that I’ve had a hand in.

Sophie has always been a teacher who put the needs of her students up front. This year we met several times to look at the idea of Web 2.0 and what that means for the classroom. She began with a blog. A few months ago we had Darren talk to a group of teachers via Skype to share his work. Sophie made the leap from a classroom blog where she was posting assignments to getting students to not only blog but post their daily labs and learning via video. This semester, they’ve uploaded 38 videos of their work. She’s not the one posting or uploading, it’s the kids. I’ve talked to her about it and she continues to be excited for the work of her students. The growth and improvement of their work over time has been clearly evident. She not only gets this, but is now “evangelizing” in her school and beyond. This is what it’s supposed to look like. So what are you waiting around for, head over to her blog and encourage her and her kids!

[tags]shareski,darrenkuropatwa,sophierosso,skype,youtube[/tags]