Here is a college educated person, who puts themselves in a classroom everyday with a couple dozen students and performs magic; brought to their knees by a computer, a simple household item that most kids remember aways having!
But then I figured it out, we as a profession have a very strong dislike for NOT knowing something.
As we begin our journey out of the abyss, I thought our first stop should be to a web site (yes I thought it practical we actual use technology in our expedition J ). This site, Power to Learn is sponsored by Cablevision. I thought this would be a good place to start because how can we hate TV?
You will find a variety of very helpful items about teaching with technology on this site. If you are still a little queasy about the Internet a great article http://www.powertolearn.com/internet_smarts/index.shtml is a must read.
Let me know what you think!
Mike
Posts
Your comments about teachers being afraid NOT to know is interesting. I have (with Suzon) a part-time job helping SantaFe employees with a new server, using FTP, a new mailer and Office 2007. Last semester we did the staff and they loved the new stuff-"how can I use this" and "what will it do that is new" were typical questions. This semester it's the faculty. Lots of resistance to using or learning anything new--frankly I was shocked. They simply did not want to learn. They all have master's degrees and many have doctorates. It seems odd to me.
ReplyDeleteYes Nancy, it is odd but not uncommon. I think teachers set up a process so that they can get done all they need to get done. Changing of anything in that process is often times met with resistance. The irony is that teachers are agents of change but fight it at every turn!
ReplyDeleteI think you've hit the proverbial nail on the head. Not only are teachers often the type of people to be embarrassed by not knowing something, but imagine how some feel when their students know that "something" SO much better than the teacher does or may ever.
ReplyDeleteWe have to get over ourselves. The digital lifestyle is native to these kids and we have a lot to learn about it through them.
This really highlights a need for teachers to think of themselves as co-learners, not omnipotent sages. Besides, imagine the kick (and positive self-image) that a student could get from helping a receptive teacher learn something. That type of thing builds the connections that are necessary for real learning.
Josh I agree. Nothing says teaching more then the words "show me how". The idea I have is use what they know not supress what they know. Can you imagine the look on their faces when the teacher says, "ok class everyone take out your cell phones". Thank for stopping by Josh.
ReplyDeleteMike
I'm enjoying your posts, plus I dig the aesthetics of your site. Have your read the Norman article, yet? It's quite a turnaround from his earlier work.
ReplyDeleteThanks Josh, I haven't read it yet but looking forward to it. What did you think?
ReplyDeleteMike