The Perfect Fit?

My new class this semester is a grade 12 Social class. One of the topics we are discussing is the idea of models and how they work, why we have them and reasons they change. In the class, we discussed the one model they are all familiar with and know very well; SCHOOL.

The present model in which we function has served us well for many generations and has served society. However, it has become apparent that the model is not doing as well as it once did. As a class, we began to discuss the model and examine it as being a model. We broke it down into different aspects of the model framework: patterns, people, perception and environment. As we went through these different aspects, we began to look at what things we could change to improve the model. I then assigned this to students, who were free to work together to discuss and then come up with their own model of learning.

It Wasn’t That Much Different

As I went through the assignments, what became very apparent was that these students are already shaped to think inside the model. Instead of exploding the model and looking at it from new perpsectives, students were still focused on classes, bells and the delivery of knowledge. They did discuss the environment and “rules” that they would like to see changed. However, they didn’t really expand beyond where we are presently. In fact, when I began to throw out some ideas of changes, some of the students were even resistant.

We’ve moved on from that discussion and those assignments but it really made me wonder why these students hadn’t tossed out the current model. So, my curiosity made me go further and I went back to ask why students hadn’t exploded the model. For their part, it was the idea of change, the idea of the unknown and the uncertain that really kept them in the present model. They didn’t know how a new model might work and are comfortable with this model with a few minor changes. In fact, when I suggested that we move the model away from the 2 month summer break idea, they rebelled. “How will I earn money to go to university?” “What will be able to keep up my car payments?” “Three weeks isn’t long enough to rest!” They had many more  reasons for sticking with the current model for just the holidays. 

How did we do this? We’ve a group of young people who, in the short time at school, have become so use to the model that the thought of changing it too much really made them uneasy. Now, I know this may not be a typical reaction by students but it does make me wonder if it is just the adults who would have trouble with a new model of school.

We’re All Learning

Learning is something we continue to do. Sometimes it small increments that we don’t really notice and sometimes it’s the “aha” moments. It doesn’t matter how old we are or our profession, our gender or race, religion or political thoughts, learning is something that we all do.

At a few different blogs  and other online places there has been a renewed discussion regarding the whole “immigrant/native” thing. I bring this up here because students, in the discussion, didn’t see the technology they use as adding to their learning. In fact, it was only by discussing the features of their cellphones and what they were capable of doing with them, that the whole matter became a serious part of the discussion. What was more important to them was the time at school, the quality of the teachers, the assignments and their being relevant, the school environment (no more hospital colours!), the furniture and access to better and newer texts and information. (I’m not making this up!) They wanted to be able to use their cellphones and such but not for learning but for communicating – keeping in touch with others. Yes, the students have the access to technology but, like many teachers, they don’t use it in the learning arena for learning. Their use is just as limited as many of the adults around them. They may have been born surrounded by it but, regardless of what the proponents say, they still need to learn how to use it to its greatest advantage. Like all things, there are those who are exceptions but my experience is not that students, growing up “immersed in the digital technologies” know any more about using it beyond simple communication than the adults around them.

Instead, I see this as a great opporutnity to actually crack the model of school and bring about learning changes as we introduce students to the power of these tools at the same time that teachers are learning how to move from being “knowledge holders” to being more of “knowledge enhancers”, assisting students to stretch and move beyond where they are at the moment. As educators grapple with inclusive classrooms and differentiated learning, they need to be moved out of the current paradigm of school but so do the students. Yes elearning is a great thing but, my experience, having been involved as a teacher and administrator for the past 5 years, is that you need to help the student learn how to learn using this method. You need to help them access their knowledge that is similar and then begin to transfer their skills. Yes they may be able to play videos for hours and be engaged but it isn’t the same as learning online and their are specific skill sets that students need to acquire to make their experience successful. In fact, I spend more time getting them to access their knowledge of online gaming, and getting them off the games, for the situation they are in than I do actually helping them with the learning they are suppose to be doing. And, yes, some students don’t have any trouble but they aren’t the majority. Many find it frustrating as they learn the technology whild trying to learn subject material.

A New Paradigm?

This experience has me wondering if we will indeed see changes in the present school systems as quickly as we think. I use to think that within 5 years we would begin to see significant changes. Now, I’m not so sure. My discussions are opening a whole new arena that, up until now, I was taking forgranted – they know about technology and will just slide right along. Yes, some of them will but some of them aren’t as tech savvy. For most, they know a great deal about very specific things, texting for example, but when it comes to using technology in a learning environment, in a new and different way, it doesn’t transfer. In fact, most of my students haven’t heard of twitter, plurk, slideshare, animoto, googledocs and many of the others tools that I use. They know very little about Facebook other than how to paste photos and add comments. Their understanding of online bookmarking and rss readers is nonexistant. Their ability to use Word or other software is very limited. In so many ways, they have so much to learn about technology and its uses that they are, ahem, immigrants themselves.

A Perfect Fit

If so many hadn’t bought into these notions, we would probably have a perfect fit. Teachers, unsure of the tools and students, unsure of the tools, both moving along a learning continuum. Sometimes the students would be ahead of the teachers with using the tools but the teacher, with the knowledge base they have, being able to guide and help the students to challenge themselves and expand their knowledge by asking them critical questions, probing and giving suggestions, helping the student to use the tools to further their understanding. It’s a perfect match!

So, back to the social class. We are using different tools but I am realizing that I have to teach the students how to use them as many find them frustrating since they are new and different from basic tools they use. I am toying with having them take part in a Flat Classroom Project but I feel they need to know a few more things. I know it would be a great experience but I am wondering if I have the time – as an administrator it is a very busy time of the year. (I really should be correcting instead of writing this post so I can work on administrative things tomorrow!) We are going to continue to explore this whole idea of “school” the rest of the semester, in different ways. Maybe, by then, I’ll have a more complete idea of how this transformation might be possible.

Being critical

My summer vacation is almost finished. 2 weeks and the school will be full of students, some excited to be here and some wishing they were anywhere else but here. It’s been an odd summer in that I spend most of my time working at a second job – painting – and doing some odd jobs around the house. No major get-away and nothing really exciting. As I pondered the upcoming year through the summer, caught up on some of my reader reading and became connected to my PLN in Plurk again, I noticed a few topics of discussion that caught my attention. So, in no particular order, here are some of the thoughts on these topics.

Tech leery administration

Administrators are the educational leaders of their schools/divisions/districts. Whether they embrace this or not it is something that has been demonstrated in a number of different books and articles about the subject. These people are the leaders of their respective institutions and set the direction and tone of what is going on. It baffles me that there seems to be so many of these people who, for various reasons, are leery of technology use in classrooms. 

Being an administrator, I know that many of these people are dedicated to creating the best possible learning environments that they can for the students. However, it has also been my observation that many of them are very leery of using web2.0 technologies in schools. Many of them, from what I understand, do not fully understand these technologies and don’t appreciate how they might fit into the learning environment. There is a fear of the “What if” that continues to be perpetuated by the media without a broader and more indepth discussion of what is actually happening. 

Administrators also need to begin using these tools themselves. The time when one could ignore advances in technology ended a while back. I’m not sure how an administrator can begin to make decisions regarding technology use and integration without having some working knowledge of the technology in question. I know you don’t have to know all about a car to drive it but it helps to know about how things work so that you can make decisions based on knowledge instead of the colour you like. 

21st Century Teaching

I’m going to take a leap here and go against much of the hype that I’ve been reading. Students are disengaged because they are, well, children and would like to be doing other things instead of being in school and it hasn’t changed. Don’t you think that Socrates had to deal with someone sitting in the class thinking “Man, I’d rather be out doing combat training than listening to all these dumb questions.” Really, to think that these are the first students to be disengaged is, well, absurd. We’re giving way too much power to the tools by discussing student disengagement because their teachers aren’t using these tools. To do so minimizes the great talent it takes to teach, to know content and to make students interested in what is being delivered. Technology is a tool in the same manner as a pen, book and a whiteboard. Yes they text, play video games and communicate via internet and have access to so much more information but it’s still the skill and art of the teacher that bridges the knowledge the student has to what is out there. Creating critical and creative thinkers doesn’t require technology.

The 21st Century Student

Again, I’m going to go against the stream but there seems to be way too much focus on a particular student type. I know that earlier this month there was some discussions about a well known student blogger who also was part of some educators twitter conversations. For me, that is just a no-no. Somewhere along the line there has been a confusion between asking students for their input and worshipping some of these students for their skills. I know that may offend many but as an administrator, I’ve seen it become more and more prevalent in my dealings with students. Somewhere along the way the voice of youth has become the overpowering voice as adults abdicate their responsibilities of teaching and guiding – being adult – in order to be “liked” by youth in the guise of making sure that youth have a voice. 

Unfortunately it seems to be only certain youth with particular skills that burst onto the educational discussion scene. Yes, they need to be heard but not at the expense of adult knowledge, experience and wisdom. And, it’s okay for them to be disappointed or upset or angry when they don’t get their way. It’s important they learn that respecting someone older is important even if they don’t agree with them. Eventually the tables will turn and if they haven’t learnt some of these lessons, they will have a struggle with the outcomes. Of course, the opposite is true and adults need to respect the youth but that’s a whole different discussion. In my experience, many youth confuse respect with getting their own way. To them, respecting them is giving them what they want. And before the dumping begins, I meet with many students during the year. I do have a clue! 

The 21st century student is so much more than technology and being connected globally. In fact, a huge group of youth aren’t. For some reason, the tech savvy adults have grasped onto this without looking around 360 degrees to see all the other students who aren’t, can’t be, don’t want to be or have other interests. These adults are, sorry to say, confusing the developing youth connectiveness and technology use with abilities and skills. Learning is so much more than using technology and, for many youth, needs to be more. Yes we need to teach many different skills but, really, they are just things we have taught but now in a new milieu – online. The one example of the “new 21st century” student doesn’t come close to capturing the variety and differences in students that will come into a classroom and it’s wrong to take that view. If educators are to truly be teaching to all,  to narrow them all down to a particular type of all doesn’t work and things have gone awry somewhere. 

Ageism

What is this? Like really, I’ve read it a few places where it’s tossed around as a way to discount all the experience and wisdom that people have gained through living. There is a huge difference between being 16 and 46 and the experience gained in that time does count and cannot be discarded with a pshah and the utterance of “ageism”. Again, it bothers me when I read educators using this in order to discount what other adults/educators say. When a youth says it to prove a point, it demonstrates the youth’s inexperience and, to some degree, lack of respect. Adults who have achieved a particular position have knowledge and wisdom that youth just don’t have and to say otherwise is to, once again, worship the whole youth culture. I’ve learned to respect the wisdom of elders by listening to what they have to say and then drawing from their wisdom to apply lessons to my own life. But in order to do that, I have had to realize that their stories of up hill both ways through 8 feet of snow aren’t about the hill or the snow but about something much more. Too quickly the phrase “but it’s not like that any more” or some equivalent is tossed out and the wisdom is lost. And, really, some of what I’ve read does sound like whining and wanting something that hasn’t yet been earned. (reflect on the hills and snow!) 

Schools and teachers need technology

Maybe. I’m still not sure that we need all the technology that is being pushed. Too often, technology is seen as a way of “engaging” students so they don’t “disconnect” when they come to school. Having watched several “master” teachers in their classrooms, students don’t need technology to learn. In fact, I’d rather see a teacher master the art of teaching before they start with the technology gadgets. Poor teaching will not be improved with technology. Engaged students are that way because an adult has taken them to a place where engagement is necessary, technology aside. 

I use technology but not as a means of engagement for students. If my students are not engaged before the technology is used, they won’t be no matter what technology I toss at them. It is a tool. It is a tool. It is a tool. Nothing more. Engagement needs to be planned and created before the technology is used by the students. Oh, we can allow them to be engaged by letting them play games but if there is no engagement before that, then it’s just the game. And, again, before I get it from the educational game people, I am a gamer – not to the degree I was – but I’ve been involved in WoW, online games, video games and the sort. There is a great deal of learning that takes place but there needs to be someone to draw out what was learned. 

I’ll stop here. I have a few other things but I figure that, for one day, I’ve brought out a few things that have been crinkling my linen over the summer.

Who you gonna call?

The other night I was working on converting a video from flv to mov format but couldn’t remember the online site that did that. I went to the twitter page and asked if anyone knew of the name of the site. In less than 5 minutes I had 3 responses of sites I could use. Now I was trying to remember zamzar, which is a name one should not forget, but it took no time for someone to help me.

In educational technology circles, we’ve been discussing and talking about using new tools and leveraging these new tools for the benefit of students learning. At various times it has been lamented that teachers are basically unwilling to change how they do things despite the availability of different tools that might enhance the learning opportunities for their students.

Just recently, there has been a growing discussion about how important networks are becoming for individuals as they experience the power of being able to connect and share with other professionals. Educators are beginning to build a variety of networks, discussing the ways that these types of things might be used in education. One such discussion is actually an online debate, Oxford style, between Ewan McIntosh and Michael Bugeja. This is Ewan’s promo:

This week you can take part in the Economist.com debate I will start today with Michael Bugeja, Director of Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University. We’re arguing our corners in an Oxford-style online debate, he against the motion that social networking will have a positive impact on education, and I’m arguing for the motion.

Now Ewan used the power of his network to put together his opening statement.

Incidentally, my first 1000 words were effectively co-written in a 25 minute Twitter conversation across the web and mobile phones. My thanks to Lucy, John, Nick, Lisa, Adam, Judy, Sue, David… and many more who jumped onto Twitter. Who can say social networking is not having a postive impact on the way teachers, at least, are learning?

This is a great demonstration of how a network can help individuals in their own learning and in problem solving.

Over at Change Agency, guest blogger Nick Pernisco is discussing this same theme in the context of news and keeping informed.

I have to relinquish some of my own thinking to a trusted third party… I simply can’t keep up myself, so someone else needs to. Instead of checking 100 sources of information per day, I’ll only check 10 that will hopefully contain the best of the 100 sources. That means I can shift my brain from seeking out 100 sources to critically analyzing the compiled information from the 10 sources. We do this everyday when we watch a newscast instead of going to each place there is news happening, or read a newspaper instead of calling local and national governments ourselves for the scoop.

His final thought, though, gets at the real core of the matter when dealing with education and teachers.

This is why media literacy is more important than ever in today’s information glut world.

Media literacy, and for teachers, technology literacy, is so important. People in education must be able to discern what will serve them the best in a given situation. This is where the discussion about technology becomes a bit difficult. Advocates of technology use in schools see the use of technology by teachers as a natural progression of teaching as the teachers learn new things and use them to help build student’s learning. However, we do have a bit of a problem. How do we get a bulk of the educators to begin using and adopting?

Pete Reilly at Ed Tech Journeys continues the discussion that started at Scott Macleod’s Dangerously Irrelevant about mandating teachers. His thoughts are, as usual, insightful and make one question the actual validity of something like that.

It’s a great question and it provoked some good discussion; however is mandating technology use enough? Will it create the pedagogical changes we want, if put in the hands of educators whose personalities are not conducive to the classroom transformation we’d like to see?

Read Pete’s post. It really does highlight the problem that mandating has in education. We can control the program or tool but not the people or how they will use the them. We’ve seen that in so many different programs that have come and gone through the schools. What compounds this problem is the fact that there are so many different tools that one can choose to use and there is no real agreement on what are basic tools that teachers should begin using. People like Vicki Davis and Jane Hart do a great job of giving their suggestions, as do others. The point here is that there are so many tools that are out there and it is hard to know where to start. And this could be the problem, with so much happening so quickly, there seems to be something new and improved coming out every week. It is a bit overwhelming at first look.

Perhaps the teachers who are not jumping on-board are not aware is available to them? I think the biggest problem is that perhaps there are too many possibilities for “jumping in”. This actually makes it scarier then it really is. Paul Williams

This is where many of us who are already working with many of these tools have an edge that other educator do not. Our networks. We have been working through problems, trying out software and sharing ideas as quickly as something comes out. How? Well someone on the network seems to have or use whatever comes out and shares it with the rest. These early adopters (where do they get the $ ) help to bring the rest along. But where does one start? There are literally hundreds of networks that educators can join.

I agree with the social networking comments. Two people on twitter took time and great care to introduce me to some twitter friends whom I could follow and whom they knew would follow me and allow valuable interaction. Otherwise I was following some, unable to interact, unable to learn much and about to nearly give up. murcha

For those who are trying to get going, it can be a very daunting thing. That’s when, sifting through my RSS feeds in Google Reader, I came across an post by mscofino in which she states:

I know it’s frustrating to see something so close yet so far, and I know it seems like if we could just get the technology authentically embedded (and we don’t need the teachers on board for that, do we?) into the curriculum in one fell swoop, we’d be done before we started. But teachers are special folk. If they don’t want to change, they won’t. We have to show them, we have to prove why they should. And there’s no better way to do that than with other classroom teachers sharing their success. And those successes aren’t going to happen with a technology facilitator forcing a teacher to change (as if they could, given that they’re never going to be a supervisor to other teachers). It’s going to happen when a teacher wants to change and asks for help.

It would be easier if we could just mandate things but that isn’t going to work. We now that social networks, whether technological or f2f, are very powerful and impact all of us. These networks, for the most part, have not been well used in education. Teachers, usually in isolation, have worked away at subject or grade levels, implementing curriculum with a PD day here and there. Every now and then, something new comes along, usually with a new administrator at some level, but it passes. Not this time. Technology isn’t just a fad that will pass with the next hiring. Why? Because it is becoming part of the culture.

I like the idea of “Change One Thing”, and relate it to technology. Make one technological change, whether its a Google Reader account or a Wiki, the important thing is to change something. Paul Williams

This is where, I believe, we need to begin. We need to work with teachers and use one tool. Show them how to use it and manage it while at the same time introducing them to a network where they can lurk for awhile, seeing what others are doing and understanding that frustration and problems are part of the whole learning equation. In fact, today I made my first inroad with one of my other administrators who is taking an online class. She has asked me to help her with setting up some things and working with some of the tools. She wanted to know if I had the time? Of course I do. I know that if I can get her started and then encourage her, she will grow and some of these tools will be adopted. As she told me “I know I have to do this but I just haven’t had the right push to do them. Well, now I do.” She’s worried she’ll do something wrong or things will be too complicated. For those of us using the tools we need to let other teachers know that no one has all the answers and we’re all on a learning continuum. It’s the sharing that helps us grow in ways we never could have dreamed of.

To my network out there, thanks for your input!