It was my full intent to post earlier today but alas, Twitter has sucked me in once again. Today’s Twitter discussion centred around what I like to call “Tech Shaming”. I define Tech Shaming to be the act of making other people feel inadequate for utilizing out dated technology and/or not using technology at all in their practices. If the goal is to have more educators utilize technology effectively and regularly, the act of Tech Shaming is unproductive and divisive, and hence, should be avoided.
If I were to be graded on the ISTE Standards, I would probably have at best a 3 on a 5 point scale. Or in elementary lingo, I would be “Approaching expectations”. The “7 Principles” made me feel less inadequate, as I feel that in incorporating a more traditional, teacher centred approach in my senior math and physics classes, I am engaging in all 7 Principles utilizing a combination of traditional and technological practices.
The most relevant criteria of technological competency to me is Principle 7, “Respecting Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning”. I feel like my classes, although predominantly teacher centred, do offer a variety of differentiated learning and evaluation opportunities. Preparing students for First Year Math and Physics courses, do not afford me a heap of time to allow for projects and group work. I do more labs than other senior science teachers but it comes at the cost of not finishing our last unit.
I plan to utilize Student Blogging in two classes in the new semester. An incredible amount of research has pointed to the merits of reflection and student critiquing of each other’s work. My research essay for ETEC511 centred on this topic, should you wish to tap into the research that I was able to muster up. To Blog or Not To Blog: Scholarly Essay ETEC 511
I know that I will never be a 100% “GAFEr”. I am not prepared to give up my stage. I am prepared to share the stage, however; on the “TechEd Spectrum”, I am presently planted dead centre! Effective teaching can come from so many different approaches and I think it is our responsibility to be true to ourselves, to be creative, to have passion for what we do and to evolve as we see fit. I will not paper shame, Interactive White Board shame, soap box shame, overhead projector shame, document camera shame, etc.my colleagues. All I ask is for people to do what the do but to do it to the best of their ability. Oh… one more request! It’s getting a little cliché, but also, folks shouldn’t be afraid to fail at something. I tried what I thought was student blogging this semester, and it was definitely a less than stellar first time out of the gates. Next semester will be better— I know it!
Dana