May 21 2011
Week Two Musings
Maybe it’s the time of year – nearly the end of the school year – at least we know that once the May long weekend is over, we blink our eyes and the summer break is here, but I am finding myself wondering if I am making any progress at all in moving our schools forward into the 21st century.
I’ve been collecting reports from every subject department in our secondary schools – reports that tell me what progress they feel they have made towards meeting their goals of improving student achievement. I was heartened to see back in September that many of the departments chose “increasing the use of technology in our classrooms” as a goal to engage students and meet the needs of those who learn best through the use of a variety of tools. Maybe I forget how fast the semester flies by, maybe I forget how busy a class of nearly 30 students can be…and maybe I have really forgotten how frustrated the teachers can become with technology that doesn’t cooperate or is restricted to the point that they give up. I just know that in reading their reports, we didn’t make much progress at all. Results just aren’t there.
I just know that maybe I should be satisfied with baby steps – but in reading Chickering and Ehrmann’s Seven Principles for Implementing Technology – maybe I haven’t provided the teachers with a more focused direction in setting their goals – stating that they are just going to use the Smartboard more often can’t be enough.
Back to the drawing board!