Hand Holding

 

 

From: http://workingwriterscoach.com/2007/09/17/are-you-ready-to-receive/

Techie Wedding Bliss

My fiance’ is now my husband thanks to an absolutely wonderful wedding attended by friends and family from near and far.  The experience was mind-bending and holding his hand on that day meant more than words can explain. 

But enough mushiness for now…

Maybe this is my claim to super-geekiness, but I can’t help but make some connections between my experiences with wedding planning and technology integration.

Being a techie-bride, one of the first things I did for our out of town guests was create a wedding wiki.  My husband’s family is from the rural south and I knew driving around New Jersey with our jug-handle turns and toll roads would be a huge culture shock for some of them.   The wiki had everything:  links to hotels, travel sites, Google maps and directions, a weekend agenda, sight-seeing suggestions… I was very proud of it.  However, as we got closer to the wedding date, I received many questions via email and phone that the wiki answered:  “How can I rent a car from the hotel?” “We want to go site-seeing in Philadelphia.”  “How do I get from the airport to the hotel…how much does it cost?”   It drove me a little nuts as I tried to prepare for these questions ahead of time because I was busy with last minute wedding details.  Rather than take a few minutes to explore the sites I had prepared for them, they wanted me to hold their hand through the process.  It was almost like they didn’t trust the websites, or that I knew secret information the websites wouldn’t provide (not true).  Now, I love my new in-laws and they are great, technology using, people.  I realized that they just wanted a little bit of hand-holding for a trip to a new, possibly over-whelming place. 

Have you run into educators like this?  I’ve recommended very easy to use, online tools to teachers and some of them refuse to try it  without a formal workshop (with paper handout!).  Sometimes, they are fairly fluent technology users, but don’t realize their own skill level.  Still, there can be great hesitation to try a new tool because they might “do it wrong”. 

Here’s a secret I tell as many teachers as I can.  I DON’T KNOW IT ALL.  Honestly, I don’t.  I am mostly self-taught, but cherish the times I’ve had the privilege of one-on-one assistance.  My secret is:  I test drive a lot of things.  If I like it, I put in a few hours/days/weeks learning how to use it to address my needs.  I follow people on my PLN who are using the same tool to see if they have any new tips/hints about using it.  Here’s the real kicker:  I may use a tool for months without really using it to its full capacity.  I just don’t know what I don’t know!  But it doesn’t matter!!!!    If my needs are being met and I’m becoming more proficient at using the tool, I feel successful.

Asking for help is a wonderful and necessary way to empower oneself and learn.  But don’t forget to be daring…. 

What happens if I press this button?

When Will They Learn?

I had a great discussion with Fiance’ over breakfast about current technology issues we’re dealing with at our places of employment.  He is an IT guy for a university, so although he isn’t an educator himself, he supports technology in his department.  He explained that the IT department is investigating the use of (edupunks, cover your ears) Microsoft’s SharePoint.  I’m not familiar with the software, so he sweetly explained how the tools would allow for collaboration between staff members and eventually students. 

My mind jumped from one “ah-ha!” to another:

1. I may not know this software, but I know what it does.  I’m familiar with sharing documents and collaborating on web-based platforms.
2. # 1 is exactly what I want my students to learn!  I can’t possibly teach them every program or tool, but with enough exposure, they’ll develop networking common sense.  They may not know exactly how to use a new tool, but they’ll tap prior knowledge of similar tools to figure it out.
3. OMG.  I’m not exposing my students to these tools.  My district does not currently allow it.  Who will teach them how to use these educational networking tools appropriately and effectively? 

Educational networking tools are blocked in my district, so if the current 8th graders are using them at all, it’s probably for pure entertainment.  Not a bad place to start, but what will they do in 5 years when their college professor asks them to respond to/create a blog or create a multi-media presentation rather than write a paper?   Will the college professors teach the freshmen how to use the tools?  If not, when will they learn?

 Question:  Does your K-12 district have a systemic technology curriculum plan?  Does the K-5 curriculum properly prepare your students for the next step?  If you work in higher education, do you feel students are entering college with “educational networking common sense”?

My Techie Life: 1.0 and 2.0

But You’re a Techie 

I realize that there’s a fairly good chance that I use technology more often than any of the other 75 staff members in my school.  However, I really don’t see myself as someone who “overloads” herself with technology.   In my school, most people use a bit of technology (email or Internet searches) at least once a day.  Unfortunately, some of the nicest people (and some of the best teachers) are using very little technology in their personal and professional lives. 

Just recently, I realized how much technology I use on a daily basis.  Obviously, there are people out there who log MANY more hours than I do, but this is an example of a typical day in my house.  (sidenote:  My fiance’ is an IT guy, making him a bad influence.  )

Early AM:  CNN is on TV, Fiance’ checks Blackberry to see if any emails from work have come in overnight.
Work:  Our school is still Web1.0, so I teach Internet research, Microsoft Word, Publisher, PowerPoint, Excel, Kidspiration, KidPix and just started PhotoStory 3 to my K-5 students. I use an ActivBoard to teach lessons. I check work and personal email throughout the day.  I Twitter, check my Google Reader and occasionally check comments on this blog.   While doing so, I add sites to my del.icio.us.  In total, 75% of my school day is spent looking at my own or students’ monitors.
Early PM:  Email Fiance’ about dinner plans.  Check supermarket circuluar online.  Find recipe for dinner online.  Rent movie from RedBox online.  Check banking account to make sure we have money to pay for dinner…online.
Late PM:  Laptops are open while hockey/basketball/Lost/Daily Show are on TV.   Conversation includes comments such as, “Hey, did you know…” and “It says on this website that…”.   I check my MP3 player for songs I want to listen to at the gym the next day.   I check the voicemail messages on our Vonage VOIP phone system and delete the messages that I’ve already listened to via email.

We’ve been living on a tight budget, so we don’t have half of the technology toys we’d love to have.  Being “plugged in” for so much of the day doesn’t make my life feel any more efficient…but it does seem richer and I’m absolutely more informed than when I was “unplugged”.

 How plugged in are you?  Is your entire family plugged in?  Does being plugged in positively or negatively affect your family/personal/professional relationships?

 

Photo: Woman with Computer:  Bloomsburg University Residential Computing

We The People

“The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive.” 
-quote by Thomas Jefferson

Buckle your seat belt, Mr. Jefferson.  Maybe it’s because I watched every episode of the HBO miniseries John Adams that I want to believe that our government exists to help our children, not bury our educators and administrators in mounds of paperwork and time-wasting mandates.  I realize my last post was a rally cry for change.   I still believe in the cause and the “Make Noise, Make Change” motto.  However, I’ve had so many “Are you kidding me?” moments this week after hearing about various state and federal laws and requirements concerning education, that I had to share a few:

Forget “Girls chase the Boys”

• The State of New Jersey mandates that each student shall receive 2.5 hours of supervised Physical/Health education per week.  Our students receive 1 hour of Physical Education and have 2 hours of scheduled recess time.  Our principal has been told that recess does not count if the children are able to play freely.  The minutes only count if it is a structured (by a certified teacher) play time.  He also mentioned something about a 50 page Physical/Health Education survey that needed to be completed by EVERY school and turned into the state electronically….about gym class.  I’m all for kids keeping physically fit and learning about healthy living habits.  But… Are you kidding me?

Are your keyboards QWERTY?

• As the technology teacher in my school, I am required each year to answer a technology survey for the state of New Jersey.  It has improved over time, but basically asks the same questions each year.  I just don’t believe they’re asking the right questions.  My district really does put effort into improving technology, we’re just not there yet…but if you go by this survey, we look GREAT!  The survey is mostly yes/no questions:  “Do you need to use a bridging service or portal to connect outside of your district to do a video conference?”  Our answer:  No.  (They’ll never know we don’t conduct video conferences because they never asked.)  The majority of the survey wants information on where the computers are located in the building and who is using them…very few questions about how the computers are being used.  Really, are you kidding me?

NCLB Reading First, or Second, or Third…

• Thanks for Chris Lehmann’s post on Practial Theory, which covers the broken literacy program Reading First.  Praised by Secretary Spellings herself, “If ever a program was rooted in research and science and fact, this is it.”  Turns out, it was determined by the Department of Education that reading test scores of students using the program did not improve.  Six billion dollars have been spent on Reading First.  Are you kidding me?

 

Undercover School Voucher:   S-1607

• The email came this morning from my district’s NJEA representative concerning bill S-1607:  “Basically, it provides corporations the right to contribute money that would create a “scholarship” fund for students in Camden, Elizabeth, Lakewood, Orange, Paterson, Trenton, and Newark.  These contributions (about $360 million) would be drained from the State Treasury because the corporations would receive a dollar for dollar tax credit on their state taxes.”   This is from the same state government that wants to end teacher pensions because they’re out of money.  Are you kidding me?

Lastly, a new blogger complaining rather than posting her journey towards educational networking and expansion?  Are you kidding me?    

 

 

Teaching, Learning, Thinking and Growing with Technology

In my district, elementary students use technology, for the most part, only while they are in the technology lab.  For most students, that’s about 30-60 minutes a week.  I can only speak for my school when I say that technology is considered a “special” subject.  Although I am thankful the teachers recognize my classes as a valuable extension of the curriculum, technology is not generally considered the key to our students’ future.  In their defense, our administration uses much of our teacher’s time for professional development of core content areas.  How much can we expect teachers to learn independently,  when many consider themselves technology novices?  On the other hand, some teachers are lax in their efforts to learn even the basic technology their students are mastering!

Lisa Thumann’s post from yesterday really spurred this idea.  How do we rally our teachers behind the idea that in order to prepare our students for life in the 21st century:

• They need to teach with technology and their students need to learn with technology. 
• Technology is a thinking tool. 
• Technology ignites creativity and promotes intellectual, personal and social growth. 

If I stood up on the table and proudly stated those heartfelt words at the next faculty meeting, the staff might brand me the new village idiot.  Rather, I need the opportunity to show them that technology shouldn’t be “special” anymore. 

I’m dreaming up a list of resources I will use when our administration asks me to sell the expansion of the use of technology in our district.  Although I expect it to be a continuous work-in-progress, I’ll post it when it’s “finished”.

4/24/08  Thank you to Scott McLeod for posting research about educator perceptions.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Yesterday was interesting to say the least.  The fifth grade students dove deeper into understanding what Web 2.0 tools are and how they can be used.  Thanks to TechDirt:School Boards Notice Internet Isn’t Dangerous, Schoolboards: net dangers over-rated; bring social networks to school, Kids in Danger No More, The Dark Side of Web 2.0 and Kids, Survey: Parents Talk to Their Kids About the Web, Technology for Tots to Teens, Back to School with the Class of Web 2.0 part 1, and Back to School with the Class of Web 2.0 part 2, the students were able to create a class list of the benefits of bringing Web 2.0 into our classrooms and the possible drawbacks. 

I was surprised by the class discussion that occurred after they read these posts.  Many, MANY questions:
“So if I started a blog, a stranger could still contact me through my comments.  Isn’t that dangerous?”
“If I’m posting stuff on a wiki to share it, what if a stranger changes my stuff and pretends to be a kid that I know?”
“If a teacher starts a blog for her students, how will she have time to watch all of the comments to make sure they are appropriate?”

I knew it was time for nuts and bolts.  I pulled up this blog.  (They actually applauded me!)  I showed them my first comment and how/why I had accepted it.  I remembered a post from Dangerously Irrelevant that linked to a wiki called Moving Foward which had a list of elementary classroom blogs. (great resource!)  I was able to show them examples of other students’ posts and the comments that had been left for them.   Suddenly, I wasn’t the only excited one in the room!  Unfortunately, I only see each of the three 5th grade classes once a week, so the project will continue Monday…

Later yesterday, I learned about the Students and Electronic Media:  Teaching in the Technological Age seminar at Princeton University through Kevin Jarrett’s Welcome to NCS-Tech!  I’ll be speaking to my principal about a professional day.  The agenda looks so exciting!

To end on a funny note:  a third grader was leaving the lab yesterday and asked, “Hey Ms. Tvarok, have you ever heard of Web 2.0?”  Smiling, I said, “Yes, your brother’s class is doing some research on Web 2.0.  Has he talked to you about it?”  His response practically exploded out of his mouth, “Well yeah, and we saw on a Web 2.0 video that the Machine owns us and we have to teach the Machine so they know more about us and Web 2.0 will last 2 more years before it crashes…gotta go, bye!”  And he ran down the hall.

I guess “rumors” are bound to spread.  I’m just happy that the word’s out on the street!