I'm not sure if I can keep up with the pace of changing technology. I know that I am excited by all that I see in web 2.0. As department chair I am tempted to delegate. We all have too many demands on our time to become experts at all of it. If we each select a few tools, master them and then do turn around training, maybe we would all benefit. I just have to figure out how to do that better than the old copy machine trainer.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Week 2 reflection on PLNs
I liked the way the reading started by going back to those first days at a new school when we had to "learn" the technology to which we would have access: the phone, copy machine, overhead maybe? The technology training must be the same everywhere; we all crowd around the new copy machine while a "trainer" talks us through all of the do's and don't's of running it. After a few weeks and multiple repairs the secretary puts a note on the machine, "If you need help, see me or one of the physics teachers". Now, more than a decade later all of the overhead projectors are replaced by LCD projectors. All of our precious transparencies have been replaced by digital images. We use computers for email, attendance, grades, lesson plans, testing, EVERYTHING. I showed my parents my flash drive and revealed all of its contents; as former teachers they marvelled in disbelief.
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I don't think anyone can keep up! I like to think that I am ahead of the curve, but I only know a fraction of what is out there. I think the important thing is that you designate some time on a regular basis to explore new tools (beyond the course) and add them where they make sense.
ReplyDeleteI do know teachers that try to use every new tool that they come across -- and it is NOT productive. You do not want your students to spend so much time learning and playing with the web tools that they don't pay attention to the content. Some tools (like blogs, wikis, edmodo) can be used on a large scale throughout the year while some others may just be appropriate for a project or two.
As for "training," I think teachers should have time to participate in learning communities that are focused on what they want to learn about (ie: goals that are determined by the department) instead of being told what to do...