That familiar feeling...excitement, overwhelmed, anxious, and small. It happens whenever I delve deeper into technology integration. It's a love/hate type of relationship. Old teacher says: "if it isn't broken don't fix it", in other words, these new technological teaching tools are just the old ones dressed up digitally, expensive, and fleeting.
HA!! Somewhere in that old dogma there lies a challenge. I think it is, "how can we keep up?" That is the fear part. Every time I learn something new, get to a comfortable level with it, integrate into a lesson or unit....maybe even teach it once or twice...maybe even put it into my Curriculum Map....it's OLD NEWS! I get excited about the next....
Let me give you an example....I believe it was during the Jurassic period when I took a tech integration class at Granite (very Jurassic sounding!) State College. We made digital storybooks and played with making Power Point (UHGGG!) more interesting using the actions, sounds, and hyperlinking. Cool, since I had pretty much BANNED (highly discouraged) Power Points from my classroom (2005). I was so tired of boring, text filled PP presentations read in monotone with ridiculous transitions!. Yippee...Now we will make them fun, interactive, etc...I targeted my 8th graders. They make Wellness Models, previously out of cardboard, paper, whatever. They went digital with action buttons linking back and forth, it was cool and surprisingly, I knew more than they did so I felt I was contributing to the tech learning across the curriculum. Two years later, feeling pretty settled in the project (red flag #!), a small voice said, "can't I just do a Prezi?"....A what? Shoot, behind again. Fast forward...2012...Prezi's are banned (highly discouraged)...they got so overdone and boring. Next!!
I would LOVE to just focus on integrating technology into my classroom, I truly would, it's fun!! However, my next Curriculum Map is due this year, we are in our NEASC review, and we just switched from block to period scheduling....OMMMMM....OMMMMMM....achieving BALANCE is proving difficult. it's only September...perhaps it will get better...and this class may just help me pick and choose what I want to work on.
Reality is...I understand and support the 21st Century Learning Objectives. It is exciting to be integrating these into our school-wide expectations. It's not really new thinking...public school has always aimed to educate our students to become productive members of society....it's just that what society requires now, is very different than what we have traditionally taught, and not all stakeholders are on board yet.
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ReplyDeleteHi Lori - This is such an insightful post. These changing expectations can be overwhelming. I can also relate to the whole question about the difficulty in finding the time and energy to get everything done. I've struggled/am struggling with this as well. But after 10 years of teaching adults, I've realized that, when I teach, I may not be the expert in the room. I've learned to accept that and run with it. I learn from my students constantly. So my point is: why does it matter if kids know about prezy before you do? Maybe your students can know more than you do and that's all right. It doesn't make you less of a teacher. Maybe they would love knowing more than you do on a topic like technology. Maybe you could use them to teach you. I don't teach kids, so I may be totally wrong here, but in adult education, everyone, including the teacher, gets to be a learner, and I think that would work with kids too.
ReplyDeleteHi Lori - I really relate to what you are saying, and didn't mean to minimize it my comments. I agree with you - there are a lot of stakeholders, and lots of change right now, and it makes teaching particularly challenging. I want to add that your visuals and title are great!
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I am totally fine and accept that students should, and will be, a bit ahead of the curve on technology. I love learning from them. My job is to be sure they keep learning. they have a tendency to find one application, and get stuck with it. Getting them to try, to take risks, to put forth the effort can be challenging.
ReplyDeleteLori! Great blog! Captivating. I have to say that your words are encouraging. I feel that I am alone on an island sometimes and the students are all swimming away from me. Partly, because they are middle school students and well, they are middle school students, and partly because the are so connected outside of the classroom at home and in public. The students in my classes USED to be WAY ahead of me and I now feel that I have caught them somewhat. The goal now would be for me to get more connected in the classroom as I battle district policy, and the aforementioned NEASC, curriculum, and staff meetings, as I try to make it possible.
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