tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19457872.post5022711373312336618..comments2024-03-26T23:57:42.268-04:00Comments on SpeEdChange: Teachers Against the Future, and their Studentsirasocolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01412837280249622430noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19457872.post-2375987220640855132009-02-22T06:50:00.000-05:002009-02-22T06:50:00.000-05:00i'm hopeful because what's out there is so cool th...i'm hopeful because what's out there is so cool that a lot of kids are going to learn it from online video tutorials and from each other, regardless of what happens in school. after we got a MAC and a nice new video camera, i read all the directions and taught my 13 year old the basics. she learned how to video edit, post to youtube, use all sorts of free online editing stuff, create a myspace account with restricted access ...by herself. my important role is a socratic one. talking with her about the information she absorbs (including from friends and the old TV) and asking her to question her assumptions or put herself in another person's shoes/take someone else's viewpoint. or i may point out that we can form an opinion, but we really often don't have enough information to have a high degree of confidence in it - so we have to remain fluid/flexible in our thinking (especially when it comes to the evening news and all the crime suspects who are treated as if they are already guilty even though the announcer throws in the token 'allegedly' every now and then). So, learning the skills of how to access and create with technology is to me not the important thing because really most young people can teach each other and themselves without the schools. It's the Socratic part that is most important. Just the plain old blabbbbbbiiiiiinnng to sharpen a young person's thinking skills that is the most important.v/vmaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06862544306715636777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19457872.post-78480299534131766532009-02-18T23:28:00.000-05:002009-02-18T23:28:00.000-05:00Hi Ira,I would absolutely agree that technology be...Hi Ira,<BR/><BR/>I would absolutely agree that technology belongs in the classroom. I understand the frustrations associated with providing students with these modern tools –school policy, faculty/administrator buy-in, and even budget. I also understand the fear that technology can be a distraction for students. However, I believe we should keep our focus on harnessing these tools for constructive learning. Clearly information technology in the classroom brings with it a robust form of creative collaboration and communication. It literally puts information and knowledge at a student’s finger tips. What type of classroom technology do you feel is essential? Are we hurting our students by not providing it? <BR/><BR/>Thanks,<BR/>Greg, ISU Grad StudentAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19457872.post-46538284977484903622009-02-16T16:16:00.000-05:002009-02-16T16:16:00.000-05:00Trixie:At the risk of creating a firestorm, I thin...Trixie:<BR/><BR/>At the risk of creating a firestorm, I think that most of the middle school and high school classrooms I see are educational disasters. Interaction is limited to a small group of students. Disinterest (or sleep) reigns. Curriculum is eith unchallenging or not presented at a workable level. And compliance is much more important than knowledge gain or skill gain.<BR/><BR/>There are dramatic exceptions to this - which is what tells me that it need not be this way.<BR/><BR/>That said, none of this is the exclusive fault of teachers. The system needs a vast overhaul. It is bad by design, an industrial process which dehumanizes and destroys. The bulk of the fault is from the top.<BR/><BR/>Yet, just as bad police forces are only reformed with a push from the good cops inside (think Frank Serpico), we need teachers - those who see the damage daily - to speak up and fight back. We need them (not the untenured new ones, but the mentors) to stand up the way many in my blogroll do. As long as teachers express the attitudes above, administrators, politicians, even teacher educators have every excuse to do nothing different.<BR/><BR/>No, I don't teach in a middle school. But I absorb a tremendous amount of "heat" for the views I advocate in the educational community. It often seems like nothing but one continuous fight. Yet I believe it is an essential fight.<BR/><BR/>All I can do is keep trying to provide the support you speak of.<BR/><BR/>- Ira Socolirasocolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01412837280249622430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19457872.post-56695542305550680972009-02-16T16:02:00.000-05:002009-02-16T16:02:00.000-05:00Ira,Although I agree with the use of cellphones in...Ira,<BR/><BR/>Although I agree with the use of cellphones in the classroom for learning in my own classroom, I really think you need to walk a mile in the shoes of the teachers you are condemning before you pass judgement. When was the last time you taught in a middle school or high school?<BR/><BR/>Many teachers don't have the support of their admin the way I do or the 18 years of experience to support them. For others, it could be one more management nightmare.<BR/><BR/>As a mentor of young teachers, I know that cellphones in their classrooms would be a disaster until more support is given to them.<BR/><BR/>Just my 2 cents...Traceyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13446005729661417674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19457872.post-47394667311287385782009-02-16T14:12:00.000-05:002009-02-16T14:12:00.000-05:00SpedTeacher - the inherent inequity. Rich kids get...SpedTeacher - the inherent inequity. Rich kids get these devices from their families and learn the Blackberry and iPhone literally at their parents' knees. Poor kids - as with everything else - get nothing.<BR/><BR/>Carl - A brilliant question. That frames it in precisely the right way.<BR/><BR/>Michelle - School districts across America deprive students and teachers of essential technologies, and work extra-hard to deprive 'disabled' students of their civil rights by blocking assistive technologies. (Send a few school tech folks and school board members to jail for civil rights violations and we might see progress.) The solution? Go public, cause trouble. Silence feeds the inequity.<BR/><BR/>Kate - In the UK schools often purchase handhelds rather than laptops, or mini-laptops which effectively cross-function. This not only saves money, it solves the inequity issues you describe while offering the training and access students need. Consider, for the price of a typical school computer lab (computers, networking, desks, wiring, software licenses, kickbacks to the school board) it is likely that every student in the school could have a smart phone.<BR/><BR/>- Ira Socolirasocolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01412837280249622430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19457872.post-32248307490667654772009-02-16T13:56:00.000-05:002009-02-16T13:56:00.000-05:00I'm in complete agreement with your opinion on thi...I'm in complete agreement with your opinion on this. Today, students need to know how to navigate the overwhelming amount of information available to them. They need teachers to help guide them through this exploration and evaluation, not try to keep it away from them.<BR/><BR/>But, as a former teacher, I can see problems with allowing mobile devices in the classroom. Where I taught, probably 50% of my students had cell phones, and only a couple of those were web-enabled, anyway. We had a limited number of laptops available, if any at all. So, the problem almost becomes a social one. <BR/><BR/>My underprivileged students enjoyed coming to school because that was the only place with a somewhat more level playing field - due to uniforms and the banning of electronic devices. School was a place where they could shine, regardless of their family situations. Sure, some of their classmates wore expensive shoes and had nice jewelry, but they did not need any more reminders that their families couldn't afford what other families could, not to mention that it would be completely unfair to have this put them at a disadvantage in the classroom. If I was still teaching, I wouldn't allow personal mobile devices in my class but I would teach students how to harness the power of technology in other ways, like assigning web-based projects and signing up for the computer lab. I know that this is not ideal and doesn't allow for much progress, but different schools have different priorities. Without the level playing field and the students' feeling of security and pride, we might not have 50% of our students show up at all.<BR/><BR/>If anyone sees an obvious or creative solution to this problem, please post it here. I feel like this is probably an issue for many teachers who agree with you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19457872.post-2671222321897979502009-02-16T13:45:00.000-05:002009-02-16T13:45:00.000-05:00FABULOUS post! I concur wholeheartedly. Perhaps if...FABULOUS post! I concur wholeheartedly. Perhaps if we a) taught the children how to use the tools responsibly, and b) devised measurements that would actually allow a student to demonstrate his/her body of knowledge (rather than answer A,B,C,or D)- we wouldn't have to worry about cheating. Good assessments are not "cheat-able."<BR/><BR/>I still see some teachers like those you quoted. Unfortunately, I also see teachers who WANT to use these tools, but are blocked from doing so by their school districts and antiquated policies. In the meantime, our kids suffer most. <BR/><BR/>Thanks again for posting!Michellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15579202992634736988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19457872.post-57455847006283247892009-02-16T10:51:00.000-05:002009-02-16T10:51:00.000-05:00I wonder how teachers in 1970 would respond if ask...I wonder how teachers in 1970 would respond if asked, "I have a device that is cheap enough all of your students could have one of their own that allows free access to the wealth of all human knowledge, places more information in their pocket than exists in the entire school library, the ability to communicate with almost anyone, and the ability to get answers from experts in all areas of study. Do you want your students to have these devices in your classroom?"Carl Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07539544230024970483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19457872.post-41510284921691864192009-02-16T10:50:00.000-05:002009-02-16T10:50:00.000-05:00As a teacher trapped in an early 20th century clas...As a teacher trapped in an early 20th century classroom, I wish there were more devices in my room. I wish I had enough technology around to teach how to use it well, to open my students and myself to new tools for teaching and learning.<BR/><BR/>Why is it that frequently those who have it don't know how to use technology and those who have the desire to use it can't get it? Oh yes, its that inequity thing again, isn't it. Darn.Deven Blackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01684373046164943671noreply@blogger.com