The first video “21st Teachers” is a melodic song that exposes the antiquated teaching methods of teachers, administrators, and those who make school related decisions. I am in total agreement with the message of this video. We have only begun to accept technology. Even in schools that feel they are ahead of the curve, they are still extremely restrictive. Several schools in Davidson County I am familiar with have awesome technology in iPads, iPods, Mac computers, Kindle’s, and video conferencing equipment, yet the use is extremely limited and many teachers are not using the technology because they either do not know how, or they have commented that it is a distraction. Facebook, YouTube, Teacher Tube, image searches, these are all blocked! Yes you have to filter some content, but at such extremes is wrong and hindering our students. These are resources that can enrich a classroom. This is a missed opportunity and we are putting our students at a disadvantage with this mind-set.
The second video shows the many uses of technology and how enriching it can be in a classroom. The level of learning can be amazing when integrating this technology. I think of digital storytelling, scripted movies students create, and the use of digital cameras and how these all can take learning to an all-new level. Just stop and think about learning about the events of the Civil War for a minute. Would you prefer learning from text, or by taking a virtual field trip? Or would you prefer seeing videos, presentations, a student produced recreated scene mixed with audio and music? Think of how much more will be learned from a rich learning environment. The task of using technology will be overwhelming at first and time consuming, but just think of the results that await you as the teacher, and above all your wonderful students.
It blows my mind that there are schools who have access to those great resources, yet aren't using them to their full potential. What an opportunity for both the teachers and students that is being wasted! To me, the teacher not knowing how to use it is NO excuse. The administration of the school should recognize this problem and work to educate all the educational staff on the use of these available techonolgy items. If the administration isn't doing this, the teachers need to ask for it and be learning to use it on their own. Yes, this will take some time, probably even outside of class, but to be honest.. I think that's what you sign up for when you become a teacher. I've heard it said that teaching isn't a career, it's a lifestyle. I think this really comes into play in the area of optimizing the use of technology in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteYou're also right in that we need to look into reevaluating what content we're blocking in the school. All of those things you mentioned can be used for enriching the classroom when used correctly. This means that the teacher will need to moniter the students while they're working with these resources, expecially at the beginning. When we block these resources it just adds to teachers' mindsets that "these are distractions and will hinder learning in my classroom". We've got to move away from this thinking! Of course we can't give our students free range with any technology with no supervision, but like anything else, we can develop ways to manage these types of resources in order to use them appropiately to elevate our students' learning experiences.
I agree you both you and Kirby. It is ridiculous for a school to have these awesome resources and not use them. I think it has to do with lack of motivation, and I also think that is teachers would just give it a chance, they would see how students could learn quicker and more thoroughly, and hey, even make it a little easier on themselves. I feel like sometimes, teachers really do get the short end of the stick on many things, but I also think that if the door is slammed in your face- crawl through a window. There has got to be a way to access these resources with grants or something!
ReplyDeleteAlso, about the safety blocks in schools- that's tough. I remember one day in high school my teacher was showing us a web video on psychology and the website he had was not exactly reliable and before we knew it some very inappropriate content was up on the screen for the whole class to see. He was mortified and we all were shocked. I would aboslutely hate to be responsible for that happening in my class but I feel like if we are careful and check out our sources before we use them- it will be ok. I teach a drumline at Summit High School and I wanted to show them a video to inspire them to not only play their notes but perform their music, which is my ultimate teaching goal when I go there. It took me FOREVER to figure out how to get a video up because everything was blocked- so frustrating! After I finally found it, it really helped. There has to be a better way to monitor these resources because they are clearly effective.