Comments on: The Eye of the Storm http://kwhobbes.edublogs.org/2007/01/06/the-eye-of-the-storm/ Discussions on education and learning Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:15:24 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2 hourly 1 By: vvrotny http://kwhobbes.edublogs.org/2007/01/06/the-eye-of-the-storm/comment-page-1/#comment-73 vvrotny Tue, 09 Jan 2007 04:03:11 +0000 http://kwhobbes.edublogs.org/2007/01/06/the-eye-of-the-storm/#comment-73 In your argument, you state that "the public struggles seeing huge changes in short periods, one of them being an education different from what they know. We can watch change in almost any sector but in education, we see change that is slow and calculated because the public wants to protect the children and by keeping schools constant, the image of safety is upheld." Unfortunately, the problem is that is is more than the public. It is also a large majority of teachers who struggle seeing huge changes in education. This is sometimes because the struggle to just to make it through the day, the struggle with the loss of control, and they struggle because they are native to use of the technologies. I know of several teachers who are wonderful teachers and who have changed as a result of the capabilities of technology, but they have not gotten comfortable with the sharing and collaborative nature of the read/write web. What it takes is exceptional leadership and mentoring of these teachers to help them understand the changes and the possibilities in ways which are non-threatening. So part of the solution is to develop the leadership and mentor others. It takes a tremendous amount of energy and time, but the payoff is worth it in the end. In your argument, you state that “the public struggles seeing huge changes in short periods, one of them being an education different from what they know. We can watch change in almost any sector but in education, we see change that is slow and calculated because the public wants to protect the children and by keeping schools constant, the image of safety is upheld.”

Unfortunately, the problem is that is is more than the public. It is also a large majority of teachers who struggle seeing huge changes in education. This is sometimes because the struggle to just to make it through the day, the struggle with the loss of control, and they struggle because they are native to use of the technologies. I know of several teachers who are wonderful teachers and who have changed as a result of the capabilities of technology, but they have not gotten comfortable with the sharing and collaborative nature of the read/write web. What it takes is exceptional leadership and mentoring of these teachers to help them understand the changes and the possibilities in ways which are non-threatening.

So part of the solution is to develop the leadership and mentor others. It takes a tremendous amount of energy and time, but the payoff is worth it in the end.

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