Educational Discourse

How do you get other teachers started and dedicated building and participating in a network. How do we encourage teachers to be life long learners, to invest time in these technologies as they relate to the classroom. How do we show them what they are missing out on?

These were questions that Kyle left on my last post. Kyle is an intern and, I’m assuming, soon to be a teacher entering the profession with all the enthusiasm of someone new. Kyle’s full comment was very insightful as he wondered about the state of teaching and learning as it is buffeted by the changing winds of technology and 21st century learners.

As an administrator, these questions really made me sit back and ponder what it is that is needed to help teachers venture out and into some of the different networks that I and others are participating in regularly. So, like all good administrators, I asked a few teachers.

Their first response across the board was that the equipment had to work when they went to try it and there had to be someone close who could lend a hand it needed. Without this, they would get frustrated and stop. As one pointed out “I don’t have the time to wait for something that might or might not work. With all the demands I have, it is either working or I’m on to something else.” With all that is going on at the school things need to be working. As I stated earlier, some days teachers don’t have time to go to the washroom.

The other side of the coin is that there needs to be someone who can help them along WITHOUT making them feel like they’re unintelligent. In my younger years, my wife often accused me of this. Instead of patiently working through things with her, I’d get frustrated and finally just do it, usually right after a huge sigh. Not cool. Teachers often are made to feel inadequate because they don’t know how to do some of the simple things, like understand what URL stands for. As another reader commented

Increasingly, education has become more compartmentalized, the work load is more than ever before, and the support is not there.

Each area has its own set of acronyms for different things. It’s got to the point where, as an administrator, I’m not sure if my PGP needs an IEP or a PPP or if I should  just CRY because I forgotten where my CAR is parked today. Really. Some days, with the different meetings that take place, it’s a wonder that teachers don’t start an acronym wall in the staffroom so that they can learn the new vocabulary that is being tossed at them. Now, we toss in a bunch of other things like URL and IP address and UN and wonder why people are backing off going “NO WAY”. Especially when they hear me talk about the twits with whom I tweet to get insights and information. Now that sounds like a place to go for good information!

As for dedicated and participating in the networks I think that they need to be shown that it’s not an add on or something else to do besides what they are already doing. That it is an extension of their lives in a new context. I’ve introduced some teachers to some of the less intimidating networks but they still don’t see them as being really relevant to the day to day things that go on. So, I guess I’d have to say, to question 1, we have to make them less intimidating and more welcoming. Using Twitter might not be the best thing to start with because of the limiting 140 characters. That would be very hard for someone to handle right out of the gate. Something like Pownce, on the other hand, might just be the ticket. A slow introduction to a network where teachers can ease into discussions.

The next question is something that those of us using the tools really have to watch because these teachers are lifelong learners. I watch them as they try new things, read books and articles, discuss new strategies with people in the building and seek out conferences and workshops. They are trying new things and extending themselves. They’re learning, just not like we are. I have teachers who subscribe to Educational Leadership and read the magazine and books when they get them. Others are presenters at conferences while others work within the division on different committees. The teachers with whom I work have been willing to be pilot teachers for a whole host of things, from math to ELA and have taken part in benchmarking and test creating.

So, How do we encourage teachers to be life long learners, to invest time in these technologies as they relate to the classroom? We validate what they are doing and then we take the time to show them how they might be able to replace one thing they are doing with something else. Instead of ordering a magazine, they can read online. It saves them money and they can search out articles they want. But to make this replace the other, we need to show them how to search for articles, bookmark online using delicious or Magnolia. We have to take the time to demonstrate that we think it’s important enough that we’ll give our time to help them and then check in on them. Suggest an article and then discuss it with them. Get them to show someone else a great article or website. But give them the time. Heck, show them a site that will make them flashcards so they don’t have to do it themselves.

How do we show them what they are missing out on? I don’t think we can. See, it’s like the poor man that was happy with his life because he had all he needed and was content with it. When asked by a rich neighbour why he didn’t work harder or do more to get more money, the poor man replied that he didn’t need anymore. The rich neighbour, wanting to show the man what he was missing, asked the poor man to come with him the next day to see what he was missing. The poor man agreed.

The next day, the poor man was picked up by a servant who drove him to the mansion. Another servant answered the door and showed him into a very luxurious drawing room where the man waited and listened as his neighbour conducted business with all different kinds of people, arguing about prices and costs, threatening people who owed him money and making deals for lending out more money. At noon, the two had a quick lunch together as the rich man had to rush off to another business meeting. He told his neighbour to make himself at home and enjoy the day. That afternoon, while the poor man walked around, he noted that there was a huge library with beautiful padded chairs and a fireplace but not a book was open. He walked out into a garden in which two servants worked and when he tried to help they would have nothing of it as they didn’t want him to make a mistake with what was being done. All day long he wandered about, seeing people working and hurrying off to tasks but no one smiled or stopped to talk. Of course, there was no family, the man didn’t have time for one. So when the owner arrived home, the poor neighbour thanked him for the day and started off toward home. The rich man was puzzled. Didn’t he want to stay longer? What had happened? The poor man answered that he had seen enough and was sure he liked his life just the way it was. He may not have had servants in his home but when guests came, they would always find a comfortable chair and great conversation. He might not have a beautiful garden but he was allowed to touch and work with his. He could plant and grow and bring forth life without worrying if he displeased someone. He might not have a great library but his one book, the Bible, was worn from being read each day. When people passed by, they would stop and talk, exchange news and gossip with him, not rushing away from him. And truly, he didn’t have the money but what he did have was earned without arguing and meetings and he enjoyed the few things it afforded him. No, he figured that he’d seen enough and was content with what he had. And with a smile, he turned and headed home.

Take a look at how people see you? What do they see? Is trading what they have for what you’re offering going to bring them what they want? Are we offering something that looks inviting? If not, what needs to happen to make it inviting? How can we entice people when we looked tired or stressed or …. ? We can be excited about what we are doing but if we don’t take them along and infect them with the excitement, what will they see?

Now, I just have to practice what I blog;)

I’ve been able to catch up on some of my reading this past week although I still am looking forward to Christmas and the time to do some more with reflection along the way. One post that drew my attention was over at Jennifer Dorman’s cliotech. Her post Re-Learning Curve discusses an article by Mark Pesce discussing the whole idea of giving all secondary students a laptop.

Pesce has some interesting thoughts about what change this will bring -

curriculum designers have to accept the computer as a powerful, flexible, ubiquitous tool that can be integrated into the curriculum’s DNA.

The curriculum must be redrawn, so that computers are integrated into it, becoming a potent tool alongside the textbook and the chalkboard

Most teachers are digital immigrants, struggling to croak out a few words, while their students are fluent natives, rabbiting on in a language most teachers only haltingly understand. Dropping computers into that mix precariously flips the balance of power from teachers to students, unless educators are given the resources and the opportunity to re-educate themselves.

Other than the abuse of the immigrant/native metaphor, which really needs to  be buried or something so we can move forward but I digress, Presce has really identified the key problems with what is taking place in education:  curricula and its designers are still using the “knowledge presenting” model of design instead of the “knowledge understanding” model. In the first, teachers are to present knowledge to the students and then students are to present back to teachers what they remember.

EARLIER this year, a secondary school teacher from Adelaide told me about his physics class. “I was lecturing about current topics in physics,” he said, “when one of my students corrected me.” One of the theories he quoted had been recently disproved by an experiment, the results of which were reported in Wikipedia. The student, with one ear to the lecture and one eye on the universal web encyclopedia, helpfully provided the update. “How can I stay ahead of the kids?” he wondered.

In the presentation model, there is no hope. There is no way one teacher or even a few are going to be able to stay ahead of the knowledge curve that is going on. Heck, even my own system of gathering knowledge is changing as I move from doing a particular search using google to asking a question within the networks to which I belong and then using the responses to drive my future searching and learning.  With students and their ability to use networks, knowledge gathering and the sharing of information becomes much easier.  (*Note -  we do have to work with students to help them identify information that is reliable and help them develop literacy skills beyond reading and writing.) Students can find the information and report it back to us with ever increasing ease. The shelf life of knowledge teaching is almost up.

Instead, curriculum designers need to identify the knowledge to which students need to be exposed and then go further to identifying something they need to understand from having this knowledge. How they demonstrate that understanding can be determined in a number of ways and may actually require something besides a test. And, giving teachers some credit, I think they know this very fact. Teachers no longer believe they hold the keys to knowledge. In fact, I don’t think they ever really thought that but, instead, have been confined by a system that was designed to bring knowledge to the masses. Unfortunately, we accomplished that goal a hundred or more years ago and have been trying to figure out what to do since then with very little change because no one has been able to agree on what to do. Now, for the first time, we are not being confined by the knowledge anchor. Instead, we are free to explore knowledge and create – and it scares the goosebumps off of people in charge. Really, it does. It replaces the holy grail of power, the test score, with something less definitive but much more useful, understanding.

And this is where I disagree with Pesce. I don’t think it is the students who will be driving the revolution. In fact, the revolution has already started and continues to grow in strength. In more and more classrooms around the world, teachers are communicating, sharing, talking and collaborating using technologies. Yes it seems slow to those who have been pushing from the beginning but, as more and more teachers come to realize that the knowledge is there for the taking, they are seeking ways to develop understanding and, eventually, turn to some type of technology in order to facilitate that process.

The revolution has begun. It is taking place in classrooms around the world and being discussed in blogs and other social networking systems to which teachers are being drawn. Teachers won’t need to stay ahead as they create networks of professionals who will help one another learn and share the new knowledge and begin to develop ways to help students develop understanding.

I believe what is holding the whole revolution from taking off is the lack of teachers who have access to quality hardware, open access to information and, most crucial, the freedom to teach for understanding. With this, the revolution would be over before wikipedia knew about it and no teacher would have to worry about trying to do the impossible – know it all!

Years back, when I was trying to figure out what to do with my life, I decided that I needed some money to pay for bills, food and rent because I didn’t want to move home and live with my parents. I was 18 you know and that would have been a real blow to my independence and self-esteem if I had had to move back home. After doing a few odd things, I happened upon someone who needed some painting. The rest, as they say, is history. I liked the job and, after a few summer working for someone else, I decided to work for myself. With a partner, a company was born that proved to be quite successful, employing 20 odd university students during its peak operations. I was also attending university and this “summer” job provided me with the opportunity to  earn enough money to put myself through school plus pay the bills. At one point, I decided that I should really take this a bit more seriously and took some classes in the craft moving toward my journeyman status.

I’ve been reflecting on this over the past few weeks. I’ve been finding it rather difficult to write these past few weeks because of a ho-hum that has settled in. Now this could partly be due to the fact that my candle has finally reached the point where two ends cannot burn at once. Another important impact is that I’m neck deep in various projects that are requiring my time. A third possible reason for my lack of ideas is that I’m not really sure where I’m going right now. That whole “being adrift” feeling and not having a focus. I’m lacking enthusiasm right now and I really don’t know why.

However, while cruising through some posts the other day, I watched a video Digital Students @ Analog Schools. As I listened to the students speak, I was reminded of the movie Teachers with good ol’ Nick Nolty.

The issues that are raised in that movie regarding teacher/student relations, the incredible tensions teachers find themselves under and the ways they deal with that stress, are similar to those we are still facing today. The schools didn’t work for those students, or the teachers for that matter,  why should we expect them to work now? I mean, the best teacher is an escapee from a mental institute who makes history come alive for the students. Students are depicted as entering and exiting a world of ditto worksheets and any teacher who is reaching out to students and using whatever technological methods available is still an outsider. Now there is more going on in the movie than this but the whole idea that the schools weren’t working.

As for what students are saying in the video about what they expect when going to school, I’d venture to guess that it was no different than some previous generations. I mean, my university experience didn’t prepare me a lick for what I do today. In fact, other than the skills of reading, writing and math, I really question all the other things that were covered in my schooling. Very little, if any, gave me the skills that I needed when I entered the work force, started a company, did a variety of other things and then entered my present profession.  Not to mention the skills I have found that I need as a parent and a community member. Holly macaroni! Where was I during those classes? No amount of “real world” experience or problem solving could have prepared me for that.

However, I didn’t have the means to express that frustration or angst that today’s youth are being provided and it has given them a voice unlike any voice they have had in the past. As I’ve discussed with students a few times, having a voice is one thing but expecting that you will get what you want is another. As I watch the different presentations about schools and read the discussions, I wonder if there is any way we can bring the two sides together? Can schools ever hope to provide what the youth want when it comes to education? Did schools ever really provide students with skills for society? Or do we just pay homage to a system by saying “it worked for past students but wont’ for these students.” when in fact it didn’t work and, from my brief survey of people around me, didn’t really prepare them for the lives they are living. Could it be the whole idea of “preparing the youth future society” won’t really take place at school? Instead, it will take place like it did for many, during the day-to-day of actually living and dealing with what is taking place at that time.

As I ponder what people say about schools, students, technology and the future,  I wonder if we are any different from what has taken place before? Sure there is greater access to global partnerships but we still need to take care of what is happening in our own backyard. Sure we can communicate with people all over the world via a multitude of methods but it’s the daily face-to-face encounters that move us and affect us far greater. Yes we can work and collaborate in incredible ways but the sharing of duties within a house still impacts people in deeply rooted ways.

I don’t think we stop using and working with the technologies and helping students to use them to broaden their learning and sort through their  understandings. Technologies do give us access to things we didn’t have before in a number of areas. But, when we really get down to it, did schools really prepare students for the future? Or does school play another role in our societal design besides the preparation for the future? Should we be looking at things from a different perspective?  I’m not sure. But as I work through quite a few different “real world” problems with students, parents, teachers and staff, I wonder if we need to reconsider how we label the role schools have in our society.

The past few weeks have been terrible blah. I’ve been keeping up with various readings and twitters but things seem to have ground to a period halt. It’s kind of like the circling stage before landing when nothing seems to be happening and you’re waiting for the landing to get done so you can get on with things.

Our school has gone through some extensive changes and we are still waiting for some of the final work to be done. One of the major items that has taken place is that our computers in our rooms are no longer linked to our network which means teachers aren’t really using them which is too bad because they could be continuing with their growth but, it seems, without the network they just aren’t really interested. Our lab has been going through some changes as we try to get all the different components working together and our entire system is still feeling the affects of a massive change-over from the summer. All told, many of the teachers are frustrated and really not wanting to get into any new things.

On the bright side, the staff wiki is being used regularly by different people and some are finally beginning to add information. This is a huge jump for us and one that I hope to build upon in the upcoming months as some of the other little glitches are ironed out.

As a technology leader, I’m finding that much of what is happening with technology is so beyond what we can do as a school. Many of the sites seem to be blocked, thus I use Pageflakes to twitter. As I try to remain focused on helping teachers us technology, many of the other division and school focuses are pushing it into the background. Not that this is necessarily bad since we are doing some great work in reading and assessment. It just seems that, since the technology isn’t really up to par, there is little drive to move to the next step. People are extremely busy and the time just isn’t there.

I’ve also been very involved in developing my Walk-Through schedule and technique plus helping with the development of the School Code of Conduct and other school policies. I often read, with a tint of jealously, what others are doing and the progress they are making for themselves and with other teachers. Sigh It’s like being in the middle of the ocean on a sailboat and not a breath of air to move one along. And with the Christmas season upon us, I’m thinking that there won’t be a whole lot of time left over for technology.

I once read that the only difference between a rut and a grave was the depth of the rut. I’m sure looking forward to getting out of this one because it seems to be getting fairly deep right now! Who know, maybe this post will be the beginning of something!

I’ve been thinking about where a person can have the greatest impact on educational change. I know as a teacher that, with the right administrator and connections with other educators, you can create change within the classroom and, if you are a lead teacher or given the encouragement, you can influence and impact other teachers. I don’t doubt that what each teacher does has an incredible impact on the students they see but as for impacting actual change in education, the influence seems to be slight in most cases.

As an administrator, I know that I have impact on change with the staff. It is part of my role as educational leader to be evaluating what we are doing and then examining what we might do differently to increase the effects on the students in the school. I know that initiatives from central office need to have my support and my backing in order for them to be successful. This means that I am always looking at how I might help teachers as they seek to improve what they are doing. At the division level, I know that being part of various initiatives allows for input at the ground level and can have an influence on the way that the division moves in relation to particular initiatives.

At the superintendent and director level, I’m still not sure about although I see that it is at this level that initiatives begin and movement takes place. It is at this level that the plans can impact many areas and have an influence on various system changes.

I guess each one has its unique ability to influence what is happening in the classroom and how the students are affected. The farther away from the classroom, the less direct the impact. However, for any major shift to take place, must it not have a catalyst at the senior administration level?

My reason for this is that I was so looking forward to working with teachers in using various technologies in enhancing some of the intiatives that were taking place in the school. Most of them begin at the division level but it was my hope that we would be able to infuse what we were doing with tools that would assist students in learning and creating. Thus far, I haven’t been able to do this because of the number of things that are going on and the time they are taking from my administrative time some of which I had planned to use for assisting teachers. As for the classroom level, there have been a number of teachers who have expressed interest but their time is being used working through the initiatives that have come to us.

As I watch and take part in the various conversations via twitter and other networks, I see that there are many teachers who are impacting their students’ learning. However, would there be a greater impact if, at the central office level, there were initiatives that gave supported this type of teaching across a greater number? I really want to create the conditions for teachers to explore new strategies and use some of these new tools but it seems, with all that we are doing, there is little left for such endeavours to take place, even for motivated teachers. Maybe it’s just a phase we are needing to adjust to and once these initiatives become part of the fabric of the school, we can explore different strategies. I just wonder if we’ll ever really have that oppotrunity or if I need to reexamine what we are doing and find the time regardless of what is happening. Any ideas?