Educational Discourse

This is the blog that wasn’t going to be. I’ve been swamped with paperwork and other administration activities like settling the “You called me a pumpkin head. You took my ball” dispute and trying to figure out how that water is getting into the computer lab ceiling. I had 397 entries in my google reader and, well, was feeling a bit tired. So, I’m getting ready to retire – to sleep – when I take one last glance at my reader and notice this post over at Mr W’s Blogging Great Thing. So, I read and came across his mention of Silvia at Langwitches. Seems she has just made the switch to a MacBook just like Miguel and Scott.

This time I am a Newbie computer user. I bought my first Macbook a few days ago and feel like I am almost starting from scratch.

This has made her cognizant of how others, who are not familiar with tech tools, must feel when they are just newbies.

I am more conscious of how someone might feel who does not feel familiar with a computer. It does give me a different point of view, that I will need to have present, when teaching or introducing others to new tools or technologies.

Now, as I read through this, I began to wonder, almost hearing Scott groan as I did, if this is the difference I keep seeing between people who I say Digital Intelligence and others. My reason for distinguishing between people in this way is not because I think Silvia is not capable – from what I have read on her blog, she is one very capable person. It’s more being able to use tools in the digital world without that huge learning curve.

Now, of course, I consider myself to be in that category, not because I’m boasting but because my experience with technology seems to indicate that there are people who can function, no matter the OS, the software app or the tool without the learning downtime. They don’t need intense training but, instead, can move fluidly from one program or OS to another without being hampered with not being familiar with the app or OS.

I work in a Windows world but live and die by my Mac. I work with numerous programs and do not see the problem with moving from one to another. There is an intuitiveness to what I do – and I cannot explain how I know what I know. I’ve no training or really anything that says that I should know anything about the working of tools in the digital world. I problem solve on a variety of software apps that I don’t use and am very comfortable within the digital world. I’ve encountered numerous people who, like me, have this fluidity of movement within the digital world. It’s not technical knowledge although that is a part of it. I don’t do much programming but any I have tried has worked and html makes sense.

This has always been my problem with Prensky’s digital immigrant/native division because he uses age where I don’t see age being a factor – I see it more as “intelligence”.

Finally, for all of you who have joined the Rebel Forces – May the force be with you!

As today was a holiday here (Family Day) I’ve spent time hanging out with my family and just doing neat stuff – like reading and listening to kids play piano, play with games, play hockey and, when this all happens at approximately the same time, fight. Being an administrator, I’m very adept at intervening when this happens, sending the parties to various places to cool down, talking with them about their actions and, when all else fails, sending them to see their mother! Now, it’s just before supper and I’ve had some time to cruise my google reader list and pop into some blogs. On Teachers at Risk, I ran across the following entry which is another take on the leadership meme. Elona has “tagged” me to offer some insights – for what they’re worth.

I’d like to invite people to consider the questions Doug asks us to reflect upon

Relative to your leadership role…

- What’s working well?

- What brings you great pride and joy?

- How have you made a difference for good in the lives of those you serve?

- What brings you quiet satisfaction?

- What have you learned over the last few months?

- How can you use this information (above) to move your organization forward

Now, this is different as it has specific questions. So, here I go.

1. What is working well for me is the way we are working together as a staff. We continue to work at developing a collaborative environment but we are definitely getting better at asking more of the stakeholders, parents, students and community, to join our conversations.

2. The one thing that brings me great pride and joy is that we are working with students to develop a student-created survey about what areas need attention within our school. The survey will be created by students, online, and will result in programming for the next two years in our school.

3. Well, I think I have made a difference because students know that I care about them. I care enough that I ask them for their input. I care enough to listen to what they tell me. I care enough to discuss various options with them when we run into a wall. I care enough to outline expectations with consequences and then follow through.

4. The fact that our school spirit is improving and teachers and students are slowly becoming more and more involved in what is happening, taking pride in their school.

5. That listening is the most important thing you can do, even when someone doesn’t want to talk to you. Silence can be very informative!

6. Listening is vital to leading, especially listening to people who don’t speak during staff meetings or during input sessions. One must sometimes seek out people to engage them in dialogue. When you do this, it is vital you listen and acknowledge what they say. It is also important to ask all parties, not just students and parents but other people in your community need be allowed to offer input.

I’ve been asked to tag seven other people whom I think can offer some good insights on these questions. Thus Dean Shareksi, J Boulton, Scott McLeod,  Brian Saxton , Scott Elias, Kimberly Moritz and Sunny Williams  . This should provide some great food for thought.

I have been trying to get a cyber book club going for learning professionals for the past few weeks. I got the idea while reading msconfino’s blog and her list of reading.  Since I’m finding that my PD is much more enlightening via online interactions, I thought it would be interesting to see if something like a traditional book club could be done using the tools of web2.0.

My first respondent was missprofe. Then, a while later, Elona Hartjes at Teachers at Risk, showed some interest. Miguel then suggested Dan Pink’s Whole New Mind as a good starting point.

David Truss contacted me last week and after some discussion we have decided to go ahead and give the cyber book club a try. Our starting point will be Dan Pink’s A Whole New Mind.

I had first thought we might Skype but realized that the time difference could be a real problem! :-0  So I wonder if a wiki would be a place to start where we could gather thoughts and ideas about the book. If anyone else has an idea how to do this, please forward ideas!  It would be an open wiki so anyone who wanted could join our discussion or add their ideas. Since some of us have identities in SL, it might be possible for us to meet and have a discussion there – sort of like a real book club meeting only in SL.  I even have bad coffee to share!

David Truss is also advertising the idea on his site.  If anyone is interested, drop David or I a comment or email. I think that this might be a way for learning professionals to cooperate across the web. It would be putting the theory into action – I’m going to be asking my students to use wikis and blogs and probably podcasts. If they can do it, we can too !!

That is the question I ran into over at The Learning Ciruits Blog. Actually, the question is Should all Learning Professionals be Blogging?

This is not an easy question to answer, even though I blog. My blogging is an extension of my Professional Development. It is where I try on ideas, reflect on how what I do affects who I am which in turn impacts on those I meet. Now, I visited the blog of Sunny Williams whose blog is very different from mine in it’s content and audience. I like how the students respond to what is asked and there is a real dialogue that is going on that is very important as schools and teachers move into the Web2.0. It’s more like my MrChristie website that I use for information about the town, school, my classes and blog about school-related issues. I don’t spend the time with this as I should, probably because I’m working at developing ideas and lessons for my classes using the web2.0 tools, reconfiguring my assignments and trying to learn as much as I can about using various tools. I’m also trying to develop assessment tools that I can use and adapt as I do more work with the various tools.
As an administrator, I am encouraging my teachers to adopt blogging as an extension of their PD. In this avenue, I believe that it can be a very powerful tool. With the number of teachers blogging, the ability to connect with other teachers who are exploring similar issues grows. Finding them can be a bit tricky (still like my wiki idea to gather information regarding teachers, blogs and interests ) Also, as Miguel suggests, we need to be the light for others as we lead the way in these new uncharted waters.

However, I’ve read a few blogs that introduce those teachers who are blogging anonymously and using the blog like the kids who slammed the principal in Ontario. Now, it was a big deal, the kids ended up being suspended and people were very upset at the use of blogs in this manner. So, if kids are being suspended, I guess an adult who uses a blog in this manner should expect to lose their job, at the least. I don’t believe blogs are a place for teachers to take shots at their district, superintendent, director, principal, other teachers, kids, parents or anyone else. Once a teacher, always a teacher – a role model 24/7 like it or not. I know younger teachers have some trouble with this but, in our NA society, that is the way it is and, if we want to be treated like professionals, then there is a certain level of decorum that is expected. Can’t roll with the pigs on the weekend and hope to smell like a prince/cess on Monday morning.

I bring this up because I know that we are in a very uncertain time. There are many people who are wary of blogging and the whole online environment. What many people are forgetting is that the youth that are using these tools are not looking at it in the same manner as most people who are older are viewing it. They are comfortable with expressing themselves online because it is a part of their social norms. Many people are worried that something that goes online today may be used in a negative in the future years. Although this may be the case, it may also be the case that society will change how it views online data and privacy may become something totally different than it is today. As I mentioned in a recent online conference in which I am taking part, I also know that if we do nothing out of fear of tomorrow, we will be incapcitated forever. This is something that really does have a huge effect on how teachers use and embrace new technologies.  The fear of tommorrow, which is really the fear of the unknown,  is given as a reason for not going forward and for resisting the use of many of the online tools.

As I’ve mentioned in other enteries, we have just gone through a very large amalgamation, brining together 6 school divisions into 1. There have been some bumps along the way but, before we even got to being one, the fear of the unknown really affected some people to the point that they could only see negative outcomes. As we have moved forward in the amalgamation, we have seen many changes and many new things. However, I cannot think of anything that we now have that I would want to give  up. Seeing this as a positive change has allowed our school to embrace the changes, work through some of the bumps and grow as a learning community. For others, it has not been this way. The difference is the attitude of the people involved – nothing more.  As teachers are presented with these new tools, I believe that a positive outlook and a positive embracing will encourage teachers to use the tools in a positive manner. In education we already take enough from society, doing it to ourselves is just ridiculous – if you can’t be positive maybe you had better look for somewhere that you can be.

So, where do I sit on this issue? Well, as a PD tool, blogging is awesome. The dialogue and discussion that one can have is true professional development – especially when you must get your ideas together because someone disagrees with you. There is no room for those who use it as a venting and blaming space. If one is going to do that, then at least sign your name – anonymous entries aren’t worth reading. As a way to build professional contacts and grow professional networks, I can’t think of  a better format. My personal network now stretches the globe from Susan Funk to missprofe,  Sunny Williams to David Truss,  Scott McLeod to mscofino to Carolyn Foote. Some are teachers, some are professors and some are administrators. All of them, plus the many more whose blogs I visit and who drop by to comment, have expanded my network beyond where I ever thought it could go. I know that Miguel has a post on this same issue and it is something that we do need to discuss. Let’s not let fear, the fear of the unknown, hold us back from what could possibly be the greatest PD and learning tool we have encountered since PowerPoint became the app of choice and thousands began to squirm under yet another ppt presentation.

My third new voice in response to Miguel’s prompt is really new to the scene of blogging; Steven Michaluk. Steven is a teacher here in Saskatchewan. Better yet, he is from my home town and we rode the same bus. I think I even babysat him once!

He is very new to blogosphere so drop by and give him some encouragement!

Advantages of Blogs in Education

My wiki

Natural Resources in Saskatchewan

Enjoy the reading!

Previously – Susan Funk , missprofe

Scott McLeod and Dean Shareski are both doing a similar expose. Check out their posts.