The feedback from yesterday's conference has been pouring in via old (hallway conversations) and new (blog, email, etc.) avenues. My conversations with people have ranged from the "I can't wait to get started" to the "I'm overwhelmed, there's so much out there, where do I begin?"
We all have quite a bit to think about including how we are going to incorporate these tools into our classrooms and the kinds of support we need from the district to make it happen. Describe the support that would you like to receive (within reason) if we lived and worked in an ideal world.
6 comments:
I'm excited and eager to be a part of the process. It will take time. Most importantly it will take a commitment to educate teachers, as well as a willingness to use and appoint technology leaders, by department, to investigate what teachers are doing in their classes and train them to use the internet tools most appropriate for the task.
I started using the web with my photography in a bigger way this year and I love it! Just having the conversations like we did yesterday creates an awareness to what is out there. For example, watching Will use his toolbar instead of bookmarks was something I never considered.
Take a look at this article, folks:
http://rhondda.wordpress.com/2008/11/05/digital-literacy-and-the-classroom/
What do you think?
Thoughts from joint department/6th grade teachers meeting/6th on Superintendent’s conference day:
Need to be more proactive regarding working equipment;
Training, training, training: blogs, wikis, etc.;
Department laptop carts in both buildings;
Learn the appropriate ways to use technology to enhance curriculum and pedagogy;
Remember balance: don’t throw baby out with bathwater;
How do we determine what is or is not a valid source and how do we teach kids?
Feeling that Pink film contradicted speaker;
How can we easily join networks with other educators?
How do we teach kids to protect themselves; safety issues are scary?
Drop filters;
Because there is so much out there, we need help making it less intimidating;
Suggestion: As a department, we try to be successful at one small “something” in technology over the next year.
Parent issues: filters again, safety, kids having the same equipment, censorship of sites, etc.
There are 3 major challenges that we must face if we will all be integrating technology into the curriculum: availability, access, and maintenance. Availabilty: We need to have enough of the tools that we need to actively involve our students in the process. Access: We need to have access to the computer rooms. Sometimes class schedules interfere with availability. Maintenance: Many of our computers need to be regularly upgraded and maintained. We don't have enough staff to do so.
I believe that in order to prepare our students for today's fast paced, ever changing, technologically charged world, we have to be well versed in the cutting edge communication technology that we are fortunate to have available for our use. We as educators have to take a proactive position to insure that we will have the skills necessary to instruct our students in the safe use of all the internet tools now available. To this end, we as a district should strive to set up regularly scheduled training sessions in order for teachers to become proficient in the use of these tools.
Post a Comment