Educational Discourse

I was running through my Google Reader this morning when I came across this post from Scott McLeod. Actually, it’s more like a question for reflection than a post.

Given the realities of our modern age and the demands of our children’s future, is it really okay to allow teachers to choose whether or not they incorporate modern technologies into their instruction?

Of course, there are posts for and against the idea of teachers being required to use the technologies. What I found interesting was that no one answering seemed to have asked the teachers with whom they work what they thought. So, to see what the teachers in my building think, I emailed them the above question and am waiting for a response. I figure that we have come to realise that kids need to have input into education so why not realise that we need to ask teachers also. We may be surprised by the answers we get. We tend to ask this question and want an immediate response from teachers. “What do you need to incorporate more technology into your teaching?” without assuming that, at least for most, they are already using technology in some way. It might not be a computer or SmartBoard but it could be the use of overheads or the use of video. They might have students reading along to a cassette or following a DVD reading of a play. We get so caught up with “the computer” that we forget that technology comes in many forms. Because we don’t value the others, teachers get overwhelmed and the resultant answer is “Time”. Now, I’ve argued that time is a crucial factor, probably the largest factor, for teachers not using technology. But what do we do with the time? That is the million dollar question.

This made me wonder what was so hard about asking teachers the above question? Do we not want our schools to be teaching 21st century education and skills? How do we know what we are doing if we don’t ask? I’ve read many a post where there is only one teacher in a school using technology while the rest of the school continues on, oblivious to what is happening in relation to technology. I also see where technology is just another set of tools used to assist students to help them with understanding and creating their responses. Although I think that we need to listen to teachers, we also have an obligation to give the students the best education that is possible. So how do we bridge the gap between want and need?

This comment, left by David Truss, gives a great insight to what where we need to stretch ourselves.

I may be someone you consider “an early adapter” but here is the thing, I am lousy with technology integration! Every attempt I make is met with roadblocks and stupid errors… I feel LD when it comes to technology integration… I use technology despite the strikes against me.
My biggest asset: I am not afraid to fail!
My biggest question: How do you teach that?
Visit my Math class and, despite my efforts, a wrong question is not seen as a learning opportunity but as a failure. Kids understand this when playing video games- so why can’t we get this to transfer to the classroom? (highlight mine)

As an administrator, this is the struggle that I would like all the teachers in my building to go through and I would be willing to become involved. Providing support for this teacher as they search and try, willing to fail in order to find success later. More importantly, Dave has made a connection between the entrenched right/wrong mentality of school and the successful learning for understanding that kids are applying in many other facets of their lives except school. Because schools are a reflections of the society of which they are a part, being right/wrong has become “most important”, having finally reached that point in schools. However, while this is taking place in schools, we are seeing more and more the move away from this linear perspective in many sectors outside education. People like Daniel Pink are pointing out that we need to do more than just be best at getting it “right or wrong”. We need to better at descerning shades of grey, helping others, giving to others and a host of other things that, until recently, were not overly important as societal issues. They have always been there but not at the magnitude that we are beginning to see now. As we move from this linear societal view, we will need people who can create and understand in ways we are not accustom.

As David points out ” I am not afraid to fail!” is not something we can teach. It is something that we must model but this can only be done if we, as teachers, are willing to push ourselves outside the comfortable ruts/graves that we are in at the moment. So, do we need to have teachers integrating technology? My answer is, why not? What is keeping us from having that expectation? Do we take away their freedom of choice? No. They can select the technology they use, how to use it, what they will do and what they will accomplish by using it. Does it have to be big? No but they must use it. It will be our role to provide the necessary supports to help them. For many, it will be the time necessary to cope with the change. In fact, as my grade 9 social class has found, change is not the problem but it is accepting the change that creates the discomfort because it forces society to review their priorities and that is not something done easily.

As I wrap up this post, I wonder why school systems are so resistant to bringing in technology. I wonder why teachers become so bothered by having to learn new ways of doing things if they are, in fact, models of life-long learners. I question why we can’t ask teachers, as a collective, to begin using technology. In Canada, we asked them to bring in the metric system and teach it, no questions asked. As a literacy, is not having technological literacy not an important skill for now, never mind the future? As I haul my laptop from class to class, taking notes, recording events, I see this as no different than hauling a notebook to do the same. It is becoming less of a noticeable thing but I still have no other teachers using a laptop on a regular basis. (It is my own laptop, not supplied by the division - I’ve given that one to my Special Education teacher who, I thought, needed it more than me.)

As David points out ” Visit my Math class and, despite my efforts, a wrong question is not seen as a learning opportunity but as a failure. Kids understand this when playing video games- so why can’t we get this to transfer to the classroom?” It is this type of work where we need to bring more teachers into the fray by asking them about the whole right/wrong thing. So, not is it wrong but why? They have the problem solving skills but are just not transfering it. Why? In Education, why are mistakes still seen as failures? How do we change this? There are no easy answers. We are only just beginning to ask the questions. As educators, we are at the center of a debate about education and, like it or not, if we don’t begin to adopt technologies and use them, we may end up left completely out by forfeit. For me that would be the greatest failure of all only because we are being asked but aren’t sure how to answer. How would you respond to the question? Why?

My last post What will we do with these LD teachers? has brought a few comments that have me thinking, again, about technology use. When I first wrote my piece, I was really saying it tongue-in-cheek in a response to something I read on a discussion forum at Ning that read:

I would argue that time is NOT the issue. We all have the same amount of time but some of us use technology and others don’t. Those teachers who don’t use technology are just prioritizing their time in a different way. The time argument is an easy one to make because we cannot manufacture more time.

Motivation to change IS the issue. A teacher who is motivated to change WILL make time by shifting priorities. Ken Messersmith

Now, I know that teachers are some of the most dedicated and hard working people that I know and I also am accutely aware of the number of things that are being tossed at them at once and that’s just from central office and learning departments. I don’t agree with the above, not because I don’t think that time is sometimes overused as a reason for not doing something. I disagree at a deeper level.

What is an “intelligence”?

From wikipedia

Multiple intelligences is a psychological and educational theory put forth by psychologist Howard Gardner, which suggests that an array of different kinds of “intelligence” exists in human beings. Gardner suggests that each individual manifests varying levels of these different intelligences, and thus each person has a unique “cognitive profile.” The theory was first laid out in Gardner’s 1983 book, Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, and has been further refined in subsequent years.

The theory was proposed in the context of debates about the concept of intelligence, and whether methods which claim to measure intelligence (or aspects thereof) are truly scientific. Gardner’s theory argues that intelligence, as it is traditionally defined, does not adequately encompass the wide variety of abilities humans display. In his conception, a child who masters the multiplication table easily is not necessarily more intelligent overall than a child who struggles to do so. The second child may be stronger in another kind of intelligence, and therefore may best learn the given material through a different approach, or may excel in a field outside of mathematics. The theory suggests that, rather than relying on a uniform curriculum, schools should offer “individual-centered education”, with curricula tailored to the needs of each child.^[1]

Now, as I’ve watched the debate about people using technology, Marc Prensky’s immigrantvsnative usually crops up. I’ve written about that here as have others here and here. So, when Wesley Fryer of Moving at the Speed of Creativty fame left the following comment:

I do acknowledge that there are big differences in the willingness and desire of teachers to learn new tools and tricks– I am not a fan of the digital immigrant/digital native dichotomy, because I see it used often as an excuse rather than a tool to understand differences– and I tend to like saying “we all can be learners” in both analog and digital contexts. The issue of time IS important. I’m now at a conference without my family, and therefore will have some more evening time (if I choose) to read blogs, comment, write, etc. TIME is one of the biggest issues. I am happier if I spend most of the evening at home interacting with my family, and NOT staying up into the wee hours of the night reading and writing (and playing)– but those late hours tend to be the times I learn the most and am the most “productive” when it comes to learning new read/write web stuff.The idea of teachers being “LD” when it comes to technology use is tied, I suppose, to the same conceptions of Marc Prensky when he wrote about Digital Immigrants, only it ties the apparent inability to learn as fast as others to a learning style or orientation rather than generational membership. I think I prefer that sort of LD distinction, instead of grouping essentially all “adults” in the “immigrant camp.” I wrote a bit about this last October in an ITM post titled “Digital refugees and bridges.” Thanks for this post. I’m still thinking…..

Is it an intelligence?
I, too, sat back to ponder a bit more closely what I had said. Right off the start, I really don’t think that it is a learning disability. For me, the use of digital technology is looking more and more like a learning intelligence. People learn better through this media and, because of their intiutive use of it, can create bridges that allow some of their other intelligences; kinesthetic, intra-personal, interpersonal, spatial, linguistic to be “mashed” thus providing a better understanding or an ability to create from their understanding. So, I use the RSS reader to find different things to read and look at visually, on my blog there is more than just the cursor moving across the page because I have pictures, icons and other stimuli that will draw my eyes when I pause to think or reflect, I will look at video and it will make a connection with something I read, which will then spark an idea that I will delve into on my blog.

Lately, my focus has been on my use of reflection to develop as an administrator, trying new ideas, getting feedback from others who dare comment on the blog and using a reflective journal (handwritten) to record my reflections. Because I am in a somewhat isolated small community, I use my blog and the RSS reader to interact with others, share ideas and, with Skype and Twitter, interact in ways beyond the page. I have used this reflecting that I’ve been doing to think about this whole teacher/technology piece because, frankly, it’s very, very important to me.

I’ve been spending more time assisting teachers with using the technology. As I have done this, I have noticed that some are better able to “learn” what we are doing while others struggle with the ideas and need reteaching. Sound familiar? It should if you’ve taught middle years math and fractions! Why is this? The whole immigrant/native thing doesn’t work for me because I see people who are suppose to be immigrants fit nicely into the digital world while the opposite is true. So, I began to wonder if, just like my 4th daughter who struggles with reading and comprehension, there might be something to learning within the digital environment. Now, my daughter spends extra time reading and working on her writing because she has a learning disability. She will most likely always struggle with this. But, she has other abilities that more than make up for this. As a 10 year old, she has empathy for other people well beyond her years. She is able to find good in people and will keep seeing the good even when they have slighted her. It frustrates her mother and me to no end because we expect that one day she’s going to be really hurt and lose a bit of her empathy. So far, we’ve been completely wrong - she’s taught us a few things along the way.

Now, if time and priority were able to fix this like is suggested, then she should be reading well ahead of her grade but she isn’t. She struggles linguistically but when it comes to the interpersonal skills, there are many whom she could teach a lesson. So, as early adopters of technology, are we maybe not seeing the struggles of our fellow classmates in a clear way? Are we trying to provide a label “immigrant” “native” to make things/people feel better about themselves? Could it be that, no matter how long technology is around, there will be people who will struggle and we don’t/can’t face that fact because if just might mean that not all people will be able to participate equally in the 21st century classroom? I don’t have the answers but as I watch my students and the various students who struggle with different learning difficulties, it seems that it might just be possible that, like them, not all people will use technology to the degree that many of us are using it. Will that be bad?

As I envision the future, I agree that we will need to use technology more in our schools and, for that matter, in our lives. But I don’t want to lose those intelligences that are different but so much needed. As I watch my daughter find that lonely soul on the playground or notice someone who doesn’t have, I hope that she will never, ever lose that for anything and, whether she becomes proficient with technology or not, she has alot to teach us. In her world, the days are almost always sunny as she sees good despite some of the things that happen. No amount of technology can teach that and immigrant or native, she has intelligences that I see lacking, even in myself sometimes. ………….I wonder where she gets it?

It was a long week. As my last post indicated, I was hoping it was Friday at about Wednesday. Friday finally did arrive. It’s now Saturday. Yesterday evening I read through some blogs and some forum comments over at Classroom2.0 which I’ve joined and am enjoying meeting new people. As I read through the posts and forums, a strange thing happen. Maybe it was my frame of mind or maybe it was because I was tired but I began to get a bit frustrated with the number of discussions discussing the lack of teachers “getting with it” and using web2.0 tools. Some expressed frustration with administrators not being tech savvy and central office not seeing it as a priority while some expressed a frustration with vast majority of teachers not giving it the time or making it a priority. I’ve felt this similar frustration while taking a class and having people post about the lack of other teachers interested in technology or wanting to use technology.

Now, I’d be the pot calling the kettle blue if I said I hadn’t had these same feelings and I’ve more than likely expressed them here, especially about administrators and leaders not using these tools. Whatever the reason for my point of view, I began to view it, not from a “I don’t want to” point of view but from a “I really can’t do it or have huge trouble with it or I can’t remembe how to” point of view. Much similar to someone with a Learning Disability.

As early adopters, I’d say that most people that are blogging and using these tools have a digital intelligence that makes most of what they do intuitive. So, they see an application, begin to use it and start to see possiblilities in what they do, how it could be used in their job and how they could adapt it for their teaching or work. Now, in the business world, there is no option, you use the technology or you leave. But, and this is a big thing, how many of those people using the technology are doing so without really knowing what they are doing, without upgrading or looking for new tools and without really understanding how to improve what they do? Could it be that, in education, because we haven’t dumped the technology on people, we are seeing a more natural split between those who can and those who struggle? So, like in any area, are the early adopters those with the intelligence and ability and the rest are, well, just the rest?

I guess I look at this as a person who has had to overcome many different obstactles. One huge one was my struggle with math. Now, if we measured how good a person is by how much time they spend working at something, I should have had top math marks in highschool. Instead, I struggled to pass with a mid-60 although I had a tutor and spent hours working on it. On the flipside, give me a computer with a set of programs and away we go. Don’t care the OS or what is there, I’ll figure them out. I love all the new web2.0 apps. I’ve often wonder how many people who are using them at the start need to read through the manual? Is there a manual? How many are trying them in a host of unique situations and then trying to fix the bugs? How many just seem to be able to figure it out?
My one daughter is LD. She struggles with reading and writing. But, if she were to be marked on her effort and the amount of time she spends trying to improve her reading and writing, she’d be an A student. However, if you were to ask any person about her, they’d tell you that she is a very content and happy girl who is full of love for other people. She has very few friends in her own grade but she’s not unhappy. For some reason, she has an ability to find that one person on the playground who isn’t feeling happy and spend time with them. She has a gift that way. She makes people smile, has a hug for everyone and, for the most part, is a very happy person. You can’t teach that! She moves to the beat of her own drum and is okay with it. As parents, we really work with her but we’ve come to accept that she has gifts that may not be academic. We don’t stop trying but we accept her for whom she is and what she can do.

Some people have suggested that if those teachers who aren’t using technology would just prioritize in a different way, they would be able to use the tools. Try telling that to any parent with a LD student that if they were to just have the student prioritize correctly, they’d do better. Please don’t do that while I’m around! I’m beginning to suspect that we are viewing teachers, and education for that matter, from an particular advanced viewpoint, like the student who does well in math without any trouble and doesn’t understand how someone like me just couldn’t get it and, maybe if I just applied myself, I’d do better. I just wanted to slap…… sorry, I digress.

Over in Classroom2.0 there is a forum discussion similar to this. Maybe, instead of judging or rating or whatever, we need to look at this a bit differently. Just like many of us see that this will be the way education and teaching will travel in the not-to-distant future, so does a person with a reading disablilty see that reading will be a very important part of their future but, try as they might, they still struggle no matter how much they may want to get better or dream of doing particular things. This is the frustration I’ve heard from many teachers as they do try to use the technology. Even after spending time with them and working through things with them, they struggle to use the technology. Could it be that someone who could use the technology became frustrated with them and, without saying it, made them feel inadequate or worse, stupid.

We are the early adopters. The 2 or 3%. Look at most early adopters in any area . They aren’t usually the norm and, usually, they have an intuitive ability to use the tool which most other people do not possess. I could give you many examples but I’m sure you can think of quite a few on your own. With those examples in mind, we will have to realize that the extent of the use of the tools will vary depending on a number of factors. As these tools begin to grow in use and a shift in the overall view of the tools goes through the usual steps of change, we will see a growth of use by teachers. Our role, I believe, is to not become overly frustrated by the lack of adoption but to persist and provide that much needed support so that success is achieved making people want to continue their learning. Turning people off makes them not want to see technology as a priority. Finally, we need to accept that not everyone will use these tools. That is reality, just as there are many people who, for whatever reason, continue to struggle with reading or math or whatever. Heck, it might be an inability to throw a ball or participate in other athletic activities. Just out of curiosity, how many people from warmer locations can skate? Wanna race?

Warning, what you are about to read is nothing but my own ramblings about being an administrator.

I want to write. I feel I need to get some of this out but I’m not sure even how to begin and when I look at the suffering in other places I know it is insignificant. Yet, even with that knowledge, I feel really lousy because of my mistake.
My mistake involved me dialing a wrong number and leaving a message for a parent to call me about an incident with their child. I didn’t check as I dialed and, when I got the answering machine, I just left a message as I was dealing with another issue with another student. Bad excuse. Bad move.
So, when the parent received the letter I sent home, they were very upset I hadn’t contacted them. They tried to reach me but I was in a meeting after school, an hour from where I live and didn’t get home until late. I received their message to phone and did, explaining that I had phoned and left a message. She didn’t get a message and I realized I had phoned the wrong number. I apologized. The parent was understandably upset that now their problem was out and other people knew that their child had been in trouble at school. We discussed the problem, which involved some punches being thrown by her child and another and the consequences. The parent was still upset and I apologized again.

This has added to my “angst” as I had already been reflecting about my interactions with another student and what I could have done differently. The whole 20-20 thing. It’s not that I did anything wrong but I see how I could improve on what did happen and improve my interactions with the student. Good learning experience. When this phone call mixup happened it really threw me. I usually don’t make mistake like that because I’m very careful when I dial as I have a learning disability with numbers. This time, my mind was on a couple things and, voila, mistake.

As an administrator, I really can’t afford to make mistakes like that, or that is how it feels right now, since I have a few other things going on .  I want to walk out the front door and shout “It’s not fair!” but, hey,  life isn’t fair. I have developed pretty thick skin but it doesn’t help when I do this to myself. The worst part is that I care so damn much about what is happening with these kids and what is going on in the school and this doesn’t help my cause in any way. I know that this has happened for a reason and there is something important to be learned from this whole thing.
Like most of us in education, I am constantly striving to improve what I do. Being an administrator, I am always trying to build the relationships between families and the school, improve the communication and bring parents into the school. Then something like this happens. It’ not the end of the world but these things sure seem to come at the most inopportune moments. So, while others are exploring web2.0 improvements, connections with students and building upon the accomplishments of their web2.0 experiences, I’m using this great tool to wallow, mostly in self-pity, wondering why I’m writing this. Is this what we should be doing? Does this serve any purpose to what we are doing? What can we learn from such a post? Or, have I, in some way, made the digital shift to seeing this as a place where we, as educators, can work through such things as part of our discourse on education? Does it all have to be about great advancements, new tools and the digital frenzy that I seem to be lacking of late? Maybe that’s part of it. As I read through my aggregator, there are no mistakes. Am I the only web2.0 Shleprock? Or is this not the place for such discussions? In a small town, I really have few people with whom I can talk about such things. But is this the forum? I’m not bashing anyone but I’m, how does one say, feeling isolated.

Well, thanks for reading. If you got this far, you are pretty dedicated - or you are feeling much better about yourself because you aren’t doing yourself in like I did. So, if this did make you feel better, great. At least it has helped someone

My 9th new voice is: Claudia Ceraso. Claudia is a graduate teacher of English from IES Lenguas Vivas “Juan Ramón Fernández”. She is currently studying Literary and Scientific Translation at IES Lenguas Vivas and a postgraduate course Licenciatura en Enseñanza de Idioma Inglés at CAECE University. She has been teaching FCE courses at AACI -Asociación Argentina de Cultura Inglesa- since 2002. I found her blog after finding her profile on Explode. She has interesting and provocative posts discussing various topics dealing with technology and learning. Her blog has many interesting topics and, considering she has only been doing this for a very short period of time, she has covered a wide range of topics. Drop by and give one a read.

CyberCompliment Day , Blogging So Far, Blogging Matters

Enjoy the reading!

Previously - Susan Funk , missprofe, Steven Michaluk, Jeff Boulton, Kimberly Moritz, Carolyn Foote, Janet Clarey, Lynn