1. To make most effective use every student in our class needs to have a laptop at his/her disposal 24/7 at school and at home. I don't see my district moving in that direction. My greatest hope is that I can convince the powers that be to get a COW for the Special Education Department. I would love to have it for just my classes, but realistically ...
2. Students need to be taught from a very young age what "appropriate use of school technology and resources" means. I spend too much time policing my students' use of the few laptops I've borrowed. I would like to be able to spend my time coaching collaboration rather than continuing to redirect wayward youth. These are tools that can be used for either "good or evil." Let's teach them the difference.
3. A system for technology troubleshooting must be in place in every class/school so that when weird things happen, someone can fix it. I can handle most of the problems that erupt in my room, but the teacher next door doesn't have the knowledge or skills to handle it. (I just taught her how to attach a document to an email a couple of weeks ago.)
4. Schools need to rethink their policies on web filtering. Yes, some sites should be blocked forever more, but at least an intra-school social network should be developed to aid in communication/collaboration. (I want my Twitter!)
While we're at it, rethink cell-phone and iPod use too. (I want to be able to explore Second Life with my classes. The possibilities of taking virtual field trips to the Globe Theatre are mind boggling.)5. All teachers who actively use this stuff should have more PD on implementing these tools effectively.
6. We need TIME to process and develop quality lessons and use for these tools.
7. We all need smartboards, podcasting equipment, iPods, digital video camers, etc.
I'm clilmbingdown off of my soap box so that I can go to OfficeMax and have my inkjet cartridges refilled. (Only $10.00 for black!)
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5 comments:
Your observations and ideas are RIGHT ON! I think by connecting with others in the blogosphere you'll get some ideas for how to implement these technologies with your students. It's pretty amazing to think that although the teacher down the hall may not know how to send an attachment, you can instead collaborate with other teachers around the world. Colleges can't keep up with this stuff. By the time it's approved and added to the course catalog it's obsolete! I'm hoping our "class" will provide not only a safety net for those just starting out in web 2.0, but it will also provide an opportunity to make some real connections among Monroe county educators.
I'm hoping schools will be willing to pilot a 1:1 initiative, or allow students to bring their own computers (aka cell phones) to use in class. BTW, you should follow Liz Kolb in Twitter. She just published a book on cell phones in the classroom.
My concern is also with implementation, especially as I work with middle school students. their idea of "school appropriate" and mine are not always in sync.... I have started with a simple class blog, and began the implementation with letters home and an invitation for parents to become part of the experience. I'm hoping that, as I become more comfortable with the various aspects of Web 2.0, I can bring them in through the blog and expand from there, teaching my students AND their families to look to the future and begin taking ownership of their place in the world. As I become more knowledgable, I will try to get my administrators to remove the roadblocks as I can demonstrate sound educational values behind them. I guess that's the best way I know to start.
I agree we need to get some COW's in the district. I also agree with you that we all need to have professional development on how to go about implementing all of this new technology in a meaningful way.
Time is important. All this new tech has a high WOW factor, but without time to integrate it into a lesson and implement it properly,lessons will be all show and no substance.
I really enjoy your blog. I used to think that I was pretty up to date on technology, but after begining this course I feel slightly overwhelmed by everything that is out there. My greatest stumbling block when it comes to learning the new technology is I don't have enough time on my hands. When do you find the time to "play" with everything that is out there? With two small children, I don't seem to be able to get on the computer as much as I NEED to. By the way...what is a COW?
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