Hi everyone, I posted an episode to my podcast, Amys podcast.Click this link to check it out:
PSA
- Amy
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Digital Technology and the End of Social Studies Education
"Our beliefs about learners and tools come via Dewey and Vygotsky, and have been informed by the 'cognitive revolution' that in the last thirty years has given these ideas scientific weight:
~ Technologies as tools that amplify and extend fundamental human capacities to observe, understand and communicate about the world- tools that give us rich data, help us manipulate and think about it, and connect us with others around it in new and powerful ways." ~ Bill Tally
This article was an interesting and raised up many questions many educators, specifically ones who have been on the technology bandwagon, have been asking: Why hasn't technology in education been the tipping point yet? Three possible explanations: The teachers are to blame, schools are to blame, testing/accountability regime are to blame. I think, as a tech 'tinkerer', that a combination of all three have led to the education 'scale' to not be tipped.
The article also spoke about the purpose behind WebQuests that caught my attention. WebQuests were the 'craze' back when I was first teaching in Manhattan (over 9 years ago). We were asked to volunteer our time to spend several lunches with a professor from Columbia University, where we learned all about Bernie Dodge. Since that time, WebQuests have become a natural part of my 'teacher-speak'. However, this article raises the question of the 'ubiquitous' WebQuests: Are they purposeful? Do they represent the triumph of process over substance? Is it relevant? All these questions made me reevaluate my position on such projects.
All this reading and discussing made me think: Did education get evaluated and reevaluated when the radio was invented? Did teachers have to rethink the way they teach when the television was invented? I know these tools are different from what we are being introduced to these days, but I'm wondering if this is just a phase....
~ Technologies as tools that amplify and extend fundamental human capacities to observe, understand and communicate about the world- tools that give us rich data, help us manipulate and think about it, and connect us with others around it in new and powerful ways." ~ Bill Tally
This article was an interesting and raised up many questions many educators, specifically ones who have been on the technology bandwagon, have been asking: Why hasn't technology in education been the tipping point yet? Three possible explanations: The teachers are to blame, schools are to blame, testing/accountability regime are to blame. I think, as a tech 'tinkerer', that a combination of all three have led to the education 'scale' to not be tipped.
The article also spoke about the purpose behind WebQuests that caught my attention. WebQuests were the 'craze' back when I was first teaching in Manhattan (over 9 years ago). We were asked to volunteer our time to spend several lunches with a professor from Columbia University, where we learned all about Bernie Dodge. Since that time, WebQuests have become a natural part of my 'teacher-speak'. However, this article raises the question of the 'ubiquitous' WebQuests: Are they purposeful? Do they represent the triumph of process over substance? Is it relevant? All these questions made me reevaluate my position on such projects.
All this reading and discussing made me think: Did education get evaluated and reevaluated when the radio was invented? Did teachers have to rethink the way they teach when the television was invented? I know these tools are different from what we are being introduced to these days, but I'm wondering if this is just a phase....
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
The Judgement of Thamus
"What happens to us when we become infatuated with and then seduced by them [new technologies]? Do they free us or imprison us? Do they improve or degrade democracy? Do they make our leaders more accountable or less so? Our system more transparent or less so? Do they make us better citizens or better consumers? Are the trade-offs worth it? If they’re not worth it, yet we still can’t stop ourselves from embracing the next new thing because that’s just how we’re wired, then what strategies can we devise to maintain control? Dignity? Meaning?" ~ Andrew Postman , 2005 (son of Dr. Neil Postman)
Speaking to other members of TEAM and with Brenda Dyck on this particular quote from the article The Judgement of Thamus launched a 45-minute discussion on the topic of purpose. Purpose of new technologies- are they beneficial? Do they create a division among educators’ the ‘so called’ winners and losers? This idea of the ‘great divide’ among those who are tech-savvy and those who are ‘not’ made me immediately think about my mom. She has been working as an assistant head nurse at Queens Hospital Center for the last 20 years. However, it has only been in the last 2-3 years that she has come home night after night complaining about work. Complaining about the new technology trainings she has to attend instead of seeing her patients. Complaining about how hard it is to acquire all the new tech information in such a limited amount of time. Complaining about the fact that just when she has a new piece of tech equipment learned, a new one has come to replace it. Complaining about the feeling of inadequacy.
Does this ‘great divide’ happen in education? Absolutely! I’ve spoken to a plethora of teachers who feel that the available technology (ex: SmartBoards, scanners, digital flip cameras) and the Web 2.0 tools that some are using (ex: Animoto, PhotoStory, Skype…) is making them feel very inadequate! The question that then comes to my mind is: Will this gap widen as each school year goes by? How do we close the gap?
In terms of if new technologies alter our understanding of the purpose of education, I’ll have to say yes. This is my 8th year of teaching, and my level of instruction has been enhanced due to the mere placing of a SmartBoard in my classroom. New technologies have helped me focus my teaching, keep me on track, engage my students, and actually ‘slow’ down the learning a bit [that’s a good thing]. Am I always using new technologies to its potential? Probably not, but I’m not using my SmartBoard as only a glorified whiteboard, either.
Speaking to other members of TEAM and with Brenda Dyck on this particular quote from the article The Judgement of Thamus launched a 45-minute discussion on the topic of purpose. Purpose of new technologies- are they beneficial? Do they create a division among educators’ the ‘so called’ winners and losers? This idea of the ‘great divide’ among those who are tech-savvy and those who are ‘not’ made me immediately think about my mom. She has been working as an assistant head nurse at Queens Hospital Center for the last 20 years. However, it has only been in the last 2-3 years that she has come home night after night complaining about work. Complaining about the new technology trainings she has to attend instead of seeing her patients. Complaining about how hard it is to acquire all the new tech information in such a limited amount of time. Complaining about the fact that just when she has a new piece of tech equipment learned, a new one has come to replace it. Complaining about the feeling of inadequacy.
Does this ‘great divide’ happen in education? Absolutely! I’ve spoken to a plethora of teachers who feel that the available technology (ex: SmartBoards, scanners, digital flip cameras) and the Web 2.0 tools that some are using (ex: Animoto, PhotoStory, Skype…) is making them feel very inadequate! The question that then comes to my mind is: Will this gap widen as each school year goes by? How do we close the gap?
In terms of if new technologies alter our understanding of the purpose of education, I’ll have to say yes. This is my 8th year of teaching, and my level of instruction has been enhanced due to the mere placing of a SmartBoard in my classroom. New technologies have helped me focus my teaching, keep me on track, engage my students, and actually ‘slow’ down the learning a bit [that’s a good thing]. Am I always using new technologies to its potential? Probably not, but I’m not using my SmartBoard as only a glorified whiteboard, either.
Friday, March 6, 2009
I just came back from a full day of being intellectually stimulated at the Celebration of Teaching and Learning Conference in NYC. What an awesome experience! It was amazing to be among thousands of educators and administrators who were clearly excited about learning how to be better at what they do. I spoke to many different people this weekend, from many walks of life, and I was inspired to realize that we were all the same: we just want to carry out our 'mission' the best way we can.
One of the highlights of today's experience was to hear the plenary speaker, Sir Kenneth Robinson. If you haven't heard of him, stop what you are doing (and put it down b/c you soon will be falling on the floor laughing) and listen to the following video from a TED conference:
One of the highlights of today's experience was to hear the plenary speaker, Sir Kenneth Robinson. If you haven't heard of him, stop what you are doing (and put it down b/c you soon will be falling on the floor laughing) and listen to the following video from a TED conference:
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