Last Tuesday evening I had the opportunity to participate in my first ever webconference. It was an exciting experience for me being able to communicate with multiple people simultaneously all in different places. It further demonstrated for me the power and importance of harnessing technology for educational purposes.
Despite my excitement there were a few technical glitches that left me feeling frustrated. When new people would join the room late our professor would rehash all that previously been discussed. There were audio issues, most likely caused by participants not muting their microphones and having their speakers turned up too loud at the same time. Lastly, at times Dr. Borel would sound as if she was being fast-forwarded. This left me feeling confused and at times frustrated.
Despite the difficulties, my overall impression of the webconference was very positive. In an online based setting you wonder if you will ever have the opportunity to put a name with a face. For a social creature such as myself, the webconference is a great way to connect with people you may never have the opportunity to meet in person.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
21st century education
Marc Pensky said
"For one thing, school is usually about the past - what we've learned up until this point (or some point a while ago) about math, science, language, and social studies - with, occassionally a bit of current events thrown in (2008).
The entire gist of the article "Turning on the Lights" (Pensky 2008) dealt with the issue of advancing education in the 21st century. On the whole, I have enjoyed Pensky's writing the most so far in this course. Additionally, I do not disagree in principle with what Pensky is trying to communicate. However, as an historian, I could not have disagreed more with the approach offered in the article and the overall defiance for honored, factual truth being taught.
To begin with, suggesting that somehow teaching algebraic equations is faulty merely because they are two or three thousand years old is ludacrous. Also, the same holds true for science. Finally, trying to eradicate teaching history because it is not current is the most damning assumption Pensky could have possibly made. Again, there is no debating our students need to be prepared for 21st century jobs, opportunities, challenges, and life skills. However, assuming that by teaching our children how to program a computer or exchanging biology for astronautics will somehow magically transform our students into 21st century intellectual giants is fallacious at best. My contention as an historian, and as an educator, is that we cannot move beyond where we are until we understand why we are here. To blaze ahead blindly into the 21st century could be disastrous as we would likely repeat the blunders of our past not learning what we need to know from that past. This is a very Marxist viewpoint to which Pensky holds. "Who begot the first man," says Marx, "and nature as a whole? I can only answer you: Your question is itself an abstraction...Give up your abstraction...Don't think, don't ask me" (1844).
Please understand, I am desperate to see change in our education system. I AM A TECHIE! I am part of the technological generation. I grew up with Nintendo, Play Station, and X-Box. I am a digital native. But to suggest that we can somehow ignore the past because it is outdated is the most basic problem of our society. No one seems to care, nor wants to know about our past. Where I do agree with Pensky on this issue is that we need to teach our students 21st century SKILLS, not just 21 century tools.
Allow me to clarify my point further. I can teach Ancient Egypt, Ancient Rome, or the Aztecs in a way that would be completely "old school." Here is your worksheet. Here is your TAKS packet. Or, I could do what it is that I do - why did these civilizations fall? What about their society led to their deterioration? How does that compare with OUR culture, and OUR experience today? Now we are thinking critically. Now our students are having to use problem solving skills to answer questions like how the watering down of Roman culture coincided with the immersion of non-Roman citizens gaining prominence and influence in their society or how the spread of Christianity led to the devaluing of Roman customs in exchanging for those of the Christian faith. Do we see this happening in America and could we stop it? Would we want to? I do not have to teach my kids computer programming to teach them to think critically.
What I will say is I can use technology to ENHANCE the critical thinking my students are doing. Again, I will be the first in line drinking the 21st century technology "cool-aid." However, I will not do so at the expense of teaching historical fact and truth. I welcome any and all feedback.
"For one thing, school is usually about the past - what we've learned up until this point (or some point a while ago) about math, science, language, and social studies - with, occassionally a bit of current events thrown in (2008).
The entire gist of the article "Turning on the Lights" (Pensky 2008) dealt with the issue of advancing education in the 21st century. On the whole, I have enjoyed Pensky's writing the most so far in this course. Additionally, I do not disagree in principle with what Pensky is trying to communicate. However, as an historian, I could not have disagreed more with the approach offered in the article and the overall defiance for honored, factual truth being taught.
To begin with, suggesting that somehow teaching algebraic equations is faulty merely because they are two or three thousand years old is ludacrous. Also, the same holds true for science. Finally, trying to eradicate teaching history because it is not current is the most damning assumption Pensky could have possibly made. Again, there is no debating our students need to be prepared for 21st century jobs, opportunities, challenges, and life skills. However, assuming that by teaching our children how to program a computer or exchanging biology for astronautics will somehow magically transform our students into 21st century intellectual giants is fallacious at best. My contention as an historian, and as an educator, is that we cannot move beyond where we are until we understand why we are here. To blaze ahead blindly into the 21st century could be disastrous as we would likely repeat the blunders of our past not learning what we need to know from that past. This is a very Marxist viewpoint to which Pensky holds. "Who begot the first man," says Marx, "and nature as a whole? I can only answer you: Your question is itself an abstraction...Give up your abstraction...Don't think, don't ask me" (1844).
Please understand, I am desperate to see change in our education system. I AM A TECHIE! I am part of the technological generation. I grew up with Nintendo, Play Station, and X-Box. I am a digital native. But to suggest that we can somehow ignore the past because it is outdated is the most basic problem of our society. No one seems to care, nor wants to know about our past. Where I do agree with Pensky on this issue is that we need to teach our students 21st century SKILLS, not just 21 century tools.
Allow me to clarify my point further. I can teach Ancient Egypt, Ancient Rome, or the Aztecs in a way that would be completely "old school." Here is your worksheet. Here is your TAKS packet. Or, I could do what it is that I do - why did these civilizations fall? What about their society led to their deterioration? How does that compare with OUR culture, and OUR experience today? Now we are thinking critically. Now our students are having to use problem solving skills to answer questions like how the watering down of Roman culture coincided with the immersion of non-Roman citizens gaining prominence and influence in their society or how the spread of Christianity led to the devaluing of Roman customs in exchanging for those of the Christian faith. Do we see this happening in America and could we stop it? Would we want to? I do not have to teach my kids computer programming to teach them to think critically.
What I will say is I can use technology to ENHANCE the critical thinking my students are doing. Again, I will be the first in line drinking the 21st century technology "cool-aid." However, I will not do so at the expense of teaching historical fact and truth. I welcome any and all feedback.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
National Education Technology Plan
The current administration has No Child Left Behind and gone into warp speed. With the goal of changing how we teach and learn in the 21st century technology is the vehicle that will drive the progress.
As we learn how to incorporate more technology, things like blogs, wikis, and podcasts in the classroom, students will have on-demand type educational experiences. This will enrich their learning in multiple ways. First and foremost, my ability to get students to do homework is negligible. However, if I can tap into my students' world and meet them where they are, my homework will no long be homework in the traditional sense, but rather an extension of a lifestyle they already have.
We have to redesign the process and the structure of our educational settings, or as one article said this week, "we will become extinct." I think the statement in the national plan that stated this administration is not seeking "evolutionary tinkering" but instead is looking for "radical change" may be the most important statement in the entire 114 pages. We are too far behind the curve to just slowly and incrementally change what we're doing. We have to change, and we have to change now. Our students are already a decade ahead of us, even someone like me who grew up with technology at my finger tips.
The only concern I have with the plan is that there is a national plan. The government/Constitutional teacher in me believes there are clear lines between what is federal and what is state. Education is one that I believe falls on the shoulders of state governments. The nationalization of education is something that bothers me only because education cannot, or perhaps should not, be uniform. Yes, this sounds almost heretical in education today; however, the cultural, economical, and vocational goals and opportunities are going to be completely different from Texas to California to Maryland. Why should someone in Bellvue, WA be able to tell someone in Ann Arbor, MI what academic programs they need to be focused on? Wouldn't the people in Michigan know what is best suited for their context?
District Technology Plan
"MISD Technology Goal
Infuse 21st Century skills throughout the District integrating technology as a tool for problem-solving and creativity."
Infuse 21st Century skills throughout the District integrating technology as a tool for problem-solving and creativity."
The Mesquite ISD seeks to fulfill the goal of infusing 21st century skills through the availability of student computers, projectors, interactive whiteboards, and various other technological devices. In addition to this, our district offers a plethora of staff development opportunities (one of which I will be co-teaching beginning this fall). To encourage teachers to participate in these opportunities teachers are offered a small stipend paid twice yearly.
Throughout the year surveys are conducted to make sure that technology inclusion is having its intended effect - increased student productivity and achievement. In addition to this our district relies heavily on the results of the STaR Chart to evaluate where our district is improving and how we can do better. In fact, just this evening I had the wonderful opportunity to have a conversation with our superintendent about our district's technology plan. She reaffirmed our commitment to reaching the state plan as quickly as possible and how the STaR Chart is helping us accomplish this goal. Beyond just this we are using the information from the STaR Charts to write our campus improvement plans.
Technology Assessments
Evaluations are critical to improvement. I've always heard, and even said myself, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." The problem is, if we are not evaluating our programs how are we supposed to know if they "ain't broke"?
By evaluating the technology we are using and HOW we are using it, we are affording our educators and our students the opportunity to compete at the highest possible level in the 21st century. For example, in a two year project where teachers participated in staff development that pushed them to involve technology in the classroom "47% of project classrooms were originally classified as 'low' in learner-centered approached" but "by projects end, just 15% remained in the low category" (Burns 2002). Without an evaluative standard teachers would never have known how to improve performance in the classroom.
Where I think technology evaluations fall short is in their generalities and impersonal assessments. For example, one survey I took last week assessed that I MIGHT be comfortable using email and occassionally use products like Microsoft Word. Really? I didn't realize I was so advanced! Of course, there are several other surveys that are much more useful and more accurate. Despite the flaws, having the ability to guage where we are technologically is vitally important to our success as educators and to the success of our students.
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