Guide on the side? Can we do that?

Can we, as educators, learn to let go of the reign 

Can we, as educators, learn to let go of the reigns? Can we let go and remain in control of the class? The following is quote from Rose and Meyers' Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age:

In his book Avatars of the Word, James Joseph O'Donnell speculates on what the real roles of educators will be in an information-rich world:

[It will be] to advise, guide, and encourage students wading through the deep waters of the information flood. [Educators] will thrive as mentors, tutors, backseat drivers, and coaches. They will use the best skill they have . . . to nudge, push, and sometimes pull students through the educationally crucial tasks of processing information: analysis, problem solving, and synthesis of ideas. These are the heart of education, and these are the activities on which our time can best be spent. (O'Donnell, 1998, p. 156)

This is the vision that connects Universal Design for Learning to other educational reform. Instead of being "just one more thing," the UDL framework provides a way to make various approaches to educational change more feasible by incorporating new insights on learning and new applications of technology.(Rose, D & Meyer M, 2002)

As educators, we are have to manage classroom behavior. Some teachers have different tools. Some maintain classroom management by using strict schedules and order. Some require undivided attention from the students. We have been taught to "lead the classroom". Much has been said about overcoming teachers' objections to technology. I think one of our fears is loss of classroom management. As we accept that times are changing, we have to accept that we are not in control. This is difficult. I would be interested to hear from younger teachers, how this is being addressed in education courses being taught in colleges, now. Are new teachers being groomed to stand on the side? How are they taught to maintain classroom management from the "back seat?.

Tetrad of Media Effects

While taking one of my first courses in education and pedagogy, I was given a list of objections to current technology. It included statements such as "It is too much of a distraction" or "It will numb their minds and they won't be able to think". To us, these statements were directed at the ubiquitous nature of television. After all, it was 1982. How shocked we were when told the list referred to the advent of the telephone. Granted, this sort of bait and switch is an old trick played by teachers on students since the beginning of time - and it worked.

After completing some assigned readings, I decided to try and find a copy of the above mentioned list. I failed. Google let me down. Google sent me on a wild goose chase through even more articles and Wikipedia posts. While in this maze of 'cool stuff', I found this image:






Some know this from the works of Marshall McLuhan. As an educator and philosopher in the mid-twentieth century, he coined phrases such as "the media is the message". Well, I didn't find the list I was looking for, but this image is more than an adequate replacement.

In education, technology acts as the medium in the above graphic. This week we read about constuctivism and connectivism. Constructivism builds, or enhances knowledge based on information we retrieve. This concept is simple and straight forward. Connectivism requires a network of information woven together to form a strong web (if you will) of information. Our connections and interactions with others creates a level of understanding considered somewhat greater than pure construction of knowledge. If social networking is the medium in the equation, what happens next?

I have more to say about this, however, I am currently a chaperone for 26 senior AP students staying in the heart of midtown Manhattan, and it is almost time for dinner. Thank goodness for technology, we text everything, including pictures of where the students are, and when. Tomorrow, I will be using Facetime to check on my students in Houston. I wish you could have seen their faces when I told them the substitute would facilitate for us. Priceless.

Looking for a new blog host.

This Saturday or Sunday will be blog moving day. After many attempts and several hours with Microsoft tech support, I have decided to go to a different blog host. For some reason, Microsoft and Google haven't learned how to work and play well with each other. Microsoft has not fixed a bug that blocks Word 2010 from registering with Blogger. As a result, I am unable to load my Action Research Plan. I assume this will be addressed eventually. Blogger/Blogspot has served its purpose. If anyone has a preference as to hosts, let me know. I would love to hear your input.

I wonder...

My reflections on these processes reinforced how much I am still just like my students, I just want to know how this applies to me. I am currently not interested in the theoretical or hypothetical. When we discuss action research, I prefer the action part. I am still very interested in learning and analyzing situations and data, however, the idea of mining mountains of data to come up with a general analysis seems uninteresting to me. This phase will change. "I wonder what effect, if any, the fluctuation of interests has on continual growth?" This is where reflections could be very revealing.

Question:

What effect, if any, does the use of Twitter have on student understanding through use of real-world, real-time application of content-area concepts?

The importance of the use of educational technology is becoming more of a given. Now the question turns to “How do we use educational technology to teach today’s students?” As stated by Marc Prensky in 2001, we have to teach the important “legacy” content such as reading, writing and arithmetic, as well as “future” content like ethics, sociology, and politics, to name a few. In Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Prensky writes, “As educators, we need to be thinking about how to teach both legacy and future content in the language of the digital natives.” By looking into the use of Twitter, we may be able to address both of these contents.

With the reduction of budgets, the use of established, free media is ideal. My action research project will track the students’ use of Twitter, with assigned lists and response requirements to determine the effectiveness of following real-world issues, playing out in real-time. Will the students’ ability to follow, comment and respond to other students comments further their understanding of concepts? Sub-categories will be “What type of classes are most conducive to Twitter?” and “How does the use of Twitter aid the shy or reticent student?”

If we can show a correlation between an educational use of Twitter and student understanding, and the best use in different sorts of classes, i.e. math/science classes and liberal arts classes, we can create easy to use templates. These templates can then be presented during professional development to be used in the classroom.

Prensky, M. (2001). “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants”. In On the Horizon, October 2001, 9 (5). Lincoln: NCB University Press. Retrieved from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky - Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants - Part1.pdf

Blogging for Principals

What if a principal could communicate with parents, encourage teachers, act as a learning role model for students, and keep a record of his or her ideas with one tool? They can with a blog. An administrator could use a blog as a professional diary, choosing which entries to post and which to archive. Information shared with parents, teachers or students could stimulate conversations that might never happen in person. As for the posts not published, this provides a journal of ideas or reflections that allow a principal to look back and evaluate their handling of different situations. Between information gathered from others' responses to the published blogs and that gleaned through reflection, an administrator is can develop a host of inquiries. Any of these inquiries could be the "wondering" that improves the education their school provides to students.

Action Research!

     Action research is a process requiring the input, analysis, reflection and presentation of the practitioners. The entire process takes place in the real-world setting of, in the case of education, the classroom, school building or larger organization within the district. Participants are the people who will ultimately implement the action determined to affect the changes in the desired outcome. The practitioner(s) poses a question or “wondering” about a specific need or problem. They then participate in the collection and analysis of data. Through collaboration, they derive a plan and then begin implementation. Reflection and continual evaluation then allows for course correction or affirmation. The process is a collaborative and allows the participants to hold a stake in the outcome of the project. By making the practitioner a stake-holder, they are more likely to affect the changes and produce the desired outcomes.   

     Technology and action research seem to go hand in hand. The use of educational technology requires a constant evaluation cycle. "Wonderings" are plentiful. How can we best use technology to raise math scores in a specific sub-group? How could the use of individual passwords help curb inappropriate use of technology on campus,  and what steps would be required to implement and maintain them? My current favorite question: What form(s) of technology, i.e. Twitter, Facebook, Wikis, blogs, or combination thereof, would best serve parental communication when added to our website? My goal would be a turn-key template to implement the most up-to-date communication tools a school, the parents and the community.