This week I have begun broadening my connected self. Up to this point I have primarily communicated through email and face to face. That’s it. Blogging is a very new concept for me. What stands out for me this week is that I am moving my way around in this connected space (blog) I am trying to express my understanding and learning with many people and it is very scary. It has been a long time since I have shared with teachers what I am learning in a writing format for all to see! It is clear to me that I need to try some new ways to communicate with my students. This is where I would like to start. I am not sure if Im ready for a conversation to take place but I would like to share ways to enrich what they are learning in the classroom and have a place to visit to share their learning in ways that don’t involve teacher direction. Sometimes I feel that I have to make big changes but what I really need to do is start with something manageable, something I can practice every day so that I can continue growing and making myself more connected. Once I can master this, and I don’t think it will take long, I would like to expand outwards to my colleagues in music and in the north van teacher librarians.
Why School: I like how Richardson asks us to take charge and begin making change. Our school has had administrators come and go over the past 12 years. Unfortunately many come to work at 8 and leave at 3. We have learned as a staff that it is up to us to develop a technology plan for our school, to lead the charge on professional development. We spent an entire year bringing various people in from around the district to do lunch and learn seminars in various technology applications: iphoto, imovie, inspirations, kidspirations, smartboard applications, digital photography, word,excel, website building (now completely out of date) Teaching staffs need to work together older teachers have a ton to offer even if they are scared of all the changes in technology and communication. Younger teachers bring an energy and new expertise in their digital literacy. If both groups can work together to be respectful and learn from one another a school will move together to embrace change.
Janet LIBE 477B Summer 2013
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Hi Janet,
Your reflection is so honest and heartfelt. You talk about starting with something manageable and I really connect with that. So many tools, websites, philosophies, ideas etc. is very overwhelming. I suggest you try to implement one small thing, e.g. I’ll post homework online or I’ll use one online technology tool per week with students. If it works, you’ll feel more confident to try another. If it doesn’t, you won’t feel a huge ‘rejection’ or disappointment.
I also really connected with your feeling of fear when I read, “What stands out for me this week is that I am moving my way around in this connected space (blog) I am trying to express my understanding and learning with many people and it is very scary.” I feel the same way. I love to collaborate and share ‘in person’ at my school, but online, I suffer from, “Why would anyone want to read what I have to say?” – partly I guess because I don’t think I’m that interesting, but also partly because I read a lot of, frankly, boring blogs (no one here at UBC, of course!) where I think “why do you think you need to tell anyone this”. Sometimes I think people should just write a diary (online or not) — enough sharing… or maybe it’s just I’ve had enough with reading them. Oh dear! Do you think you’ll continue to blog after the course ends? Don’t feel you have to. Sometimes the pressure can be daunting.
I think there is a very potent source for change and productivity in the field of education. If new teachers came into the field with strong ICT skills and knowledge, and they were able to connect with experienced teachers in the field with a broad depth of knowledge about teaching, there could be a rich collaboration for enabling, enriching and enhancing learning while ensuring the content of the learning is also rich and deep. Unfortunately, as it stands, new teachers are not being well prepared to use ICT in teacher education, and, when they enter the field, what little ICT exposure they have had has not given them the confidence to bring ICT leadership into practice. When their older, more experienced colleagues say, “The Internet is unreliable, we don’t use it.” The younger teacher does not say, “Well, let’s figure out what we need to do to get adequate Internet access in our school. It is our student’s human right to have access to information.” Rather, the new teacher is more likely to shrug their shoulders and do what they can to fit into their new teaching culture. We need respectful, collaborative culture sfor professional learning between seasoned and new teachers.