Comments on: Possibility vs. Probability

By: Blossoming and Burgeoning | Ideas and Thoughts

Blossoming and Burgeoning | Ideas and Thoughts — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 17:05:57 +0000

[...] has enabled me to witness some exciting changes and developments in our classrooms. Although I’m not overly optimistic about the idea of mass changes, the small groups that I’ve been able to work with and support are truly examples of [...]

By: miecze-repliki

miecze-repliki — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:16:05 +0000

Ciekawa strona, bede ja odwiedzal czesciej, pozdro

By: pete reilly

pete reilly — Thu, 31 May 2007 16:09:01 +0000

Dean,

“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. ”

Time and money are code words for “value”. If people truly value something they will find the time and the money. I once had someone tell me that they couldn’t afford to attend a PD session that cost $99. The person was an administrator in a school district with a $150 million dollar budget. It wasn’t the money. There was something about the session the person didn’t value…or… (more likely) I wasn’t communicating the value very well.

In general, people spend money on things they value and find time for the things they value.
pete

By: Tarmo Toikkanen

Tarmo Toikkanen — Thu, 31 May 2007 10:04:24 +0000

In discussions on time, it would help if someone would point out that changing the pedagogical approach from a teacher-centered method to a collaborative method, such as PBL or progressive inquiry, actually lessens the time that the teacher must spend in preparing the courses, thus giving them more time to investigate new tools to use in their teaching. We're building LeMill as a free repository to provide teachers pointers to new tools and methods, and we think having a repository like this could assist in the transition to new pedagogies and tools.

By: Barbara Bray

Barbara Bray — Mon, 28 May 2007 01:16:45 +0000

Saw Barbara’s post – I am also a Google Certified Teacher -first session. Love the Google tools. But I believe it’s not the tools; it’s the teacher, their working conditions, and the support they have from their administrator and school community.

Teachers and administrators in the US are held accountable for raising test scores. Many use the textbook because they are mandated to do that. I do know schools where innovation and creativity is happening with support from great leaders who seek extra funding for engaging projects. They give their teachers time to plan and collaborate beyond the required professional development. Teachers are part of the planning team and help develop the shared vision and goals. They map the curriculum, invite in community partners, set up coaching and mentoring programs that are embedded during the school day and allow ongoing online support and collaboration.

Time is a concern. Fear is another. In some urban schools, teachers have to be on p. 262 of their textbook on Thursday or…. Scary! We already have students and parents in K-5 who only know this type of teaching. Kids will use the tools, create their own 3D worlds, txt msg and learn the way they want to even if school is boring. Schools will have to change. I’m going to keep fighting to keep our good teachers and leaders in the profession – showcase their work – encourage them to blog, comment, share. Yes – like Stephen said, schools change slowly but before this testing movement, there were some cool things happening and that wasn’t that long ago. It’s going to take some work to persuade school board members and school communities on the importance of teaching how to think on your own instead of learning facts.

By: Barbara

Barbara — Sun, 27 May 2007 15:50:13 +0000

Ever hopeful and optimistic…
I read about this conversation on Patrick’s blog where I also left a comment. Supporting each other and thinking “aloud” I want to believe we will find a path that assures students have an opportunity to embrace the learning they need for today (and tomorrow).
TIME- okay, it is finite so what is the solution? I’ve tried a few solutions the primary one being to build sandbox and learning time into our regular weekly faculty meetings, and secondly to try to remove some traditional tasks recognizing teachers like all of us can not undertake something new without loosing something old (we can’t just stack on more things). I abbreviated many of my requirements on teachers and because I could I even said during implementation they could cut back on “coverage” of standards and focus on power standards.
My question after all of this..Is it really time or is it that it is easier to simply fall back on what we have always done? Is it fear of not getting it right? Is it fear?
The second thing that struck me (and this was part of my comment on Patrick’s blog). We, meaning those of us on the blogosphere, are always looking for and trying new things. We have a certain “geek” component, but for most people transparent transformative tools are key. That is to say that I think if we want to encourage more rapid change we need to look for those tools that are simplest to use and have the greatest impact. It has to do with overcoming inertia. I am just back from the Google Academy and I am thinking at this moment that Google docs and google notebook are two such tools. They actively support collaboration and ease teacher workloads. I am going to try a wholesale implementation in our school. We will see how it goes.
Dean, sorry if this rambled …I was motivated by your conversation and just sort of started thinking out loud. I look forward to seeing you in Boston.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Sun, 27 May 2007 10:44:53 +0000

Depending on where you are, as Stephen said above, the ratio of innovative teachers to traditional teachers will fall in favor of transformation. For districts that lie in the suburbs and are truly committed to having their schools remain centers of community outside of athletics and arts, the shift is essential and the acquisition and support of “shifted” teachers will bely their success at being involved in the real learning process of their students.

This thought process that you had, Dean, is one that I have been struggling with as I attempt to penetrate(I hope that word doesn’t sound to pugnacious) classrooms that don’t necessarily see the need for change. My biggest issue is with the technology not being as transparent as it should yet. I have several teachers dieing to use “technology” in their classroom, and several Professional Improvement Plans submitted by teachers that use that terminology “integrate technology” but what for? It’s apparent that they are taking that step just for the sake of using technology. What about making it transparent, so that it’s just another tool, like heterogeneous grouping, that they they use to accomplish the goal of learning? That is where my biggest disconnect is: the technology sticks out too much.

By: Stephen Downes

Stephen Downes — Sat, 26 May 2007 12:54:14 +0000

Well there’s no easy answer to that. Schools change very slowly, so although there will be increased penetration for tech (usually sanitized to separate students from society) things will look much like they will today. There will be increased pressure – especially from the U.S. – for alternatives, but it will be difficult to separate educational ventures from commercial ventures.

Meanwhile, online media will have gradually become more pervasive and more immersive. It will occupy an increasing amount of students’ time. Online will be – indeed, is already – be thought of as ‘normal’ and most students will be in constant communication with their friends (watch out for loners shut out of this network, as they will be more isolated than ever).

Mostly, school will be about socializing and learning pushed to the back burner (at least, for students). There will be an ongoing (and losing) battle by teachers to prevent students from using their technology. The number of schools breaking down and accepting the online world will increase. Adoption will be uneven, with urban schools being at the forefront, rural schools late adopters.

The students’ real learning environment – their online world – will penetrate the school environment one class at a time. Innovative teachers will attempt to actually remove students from the school grounds much more frequently than in the old field-trip days (this allowing for 100 percent use of online techs). The amount of school time actually spent ins school, as an average, will constantly decrease (in five years it should be roughly 80 percent, give or take a lot; in ten years it could be down to 50 percent, give or take a lot).

By: Dean Shareski

Dean Shareski — Fri, 25 May 2007 20:41:30 +0000

Stephen,

Jump ahead 5 years…what might that look like?

By: Stephen Downes

Stephen Downes — Fri, 25 May 2007 20:36:02 +0000

> And there you have it. The will to change is not there.

And that’s why my emphasis in the last few years has shifted to personal learning that takes place outside the school environment.

Because the students want to learn. Just not the way they lean in school. And not what they learn in school. And they should have that opportunity.