Update: 8/27/08 8:24am
I had the pleasure of participating in the writing of a technology grant for my school last year.
We were awarded $98,000 which we promptly spent on Promothean boards, laptops, and all sorts of lovely tech goodies for the classroom/school. There is still plenty of money left over though…which I’m sure will be spent on PD.
This morning we are attending a conference that is supposed to show the non-tech friendly educators among us how to use web 2.0 technologies in the classroom ( blogging, twitter, podcasting, etc)
As always, I am cautiously optimistic.
I’m cautious because many educators are notoriously wary of technology.
I’m optimistic because if we can get our collective stuff together we can really do some amazing things in the classroom.
I’ll post updates with time and date stamps throughout the day.
9:04am
We watched an interesting film that somewhat summarizes my future post The 21st Century Learner. Essentially, old school teaching is dead. Technology, used properly, can engage and promote higher levels of student learning and achievement.
Robbie Reisner is here from the GADOE. She is the program manager for the grant. Jane Henson, an ed-tech specialist with the GADOE, is here as well.
Since the feds have given us the money we are subject to state monitoring, surveys, and drop ins from state big wigs to ensure that we’re using the money effectively.
I can’t help but notice the lack of young people in leadership positions within the ed-tech sphere as well as here at the training.
When I first started teaching my mentor told me that teachers had to be equal parts academic, performance artist, and psychologist. I think that in the 21st century we can add tech guru to the long list of skill sets that teachers must have in order to create really engaging lessons and content for their students.
Unfortunately we have too many teachers who have either retired on the job or are stuck in the “good old days” ( which by the way, weren’t so good ). I think nowhere is this more true than in very urban or very rural school districts.
Sure, these districts may have access to smart boards or Promethean boards. Heck, they may even have access to a computer bank in each classroom but without continued education for the instructor as well as a natural curiosity and a propensity toward being an autodidact on the part of the instructor our students are being short changed.
Perhaps teacher education programs should require aspiring teachers to minor in something “techy” or “artsy” so then can bring much more to the classroom than the stuff they were taught when they were kids.
Too often, ill prepared teachers use technology as a distraction rather than as a tool to truly create rich and engaging lessons much the same way ill prepared math teachers can use manipulatives to make math fun without actually increasing the learning that goes on within their classes.
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