As a teacher, I am definitely affected in many ways by these standards. I feel more of a burden and weight of responsibility for the technological development of students. This means that my development as a teacher can't stop after finishing CURR518 in Spring 2011. It must be something that I continue to develop so that I can effectively engage my students in learning and developing themselves.
I would assume that as a working teacher I would be given chances to continue to develop technological skills through different workshops, teacher conferences, as well as seeking personal help from colleagues both inside and outside of the school or even district that I work in. I would like to work in a school similar to Chatham High School which seems to be on the forefront of maintaining and maybe even exceeding the state technology standards. As the principal said, they have smart boards and other kinds of technology used throughout the building because kids are used to sitting in front of screens with 5 windows up talking to 3 different people at the same time, etc. I really believe that this is the direction education needs to be moving in to keep up with the changing times.
Though I may be uncomfortable with certain types of technology, I'm sure there will be instances where even the students can help me like they help the english teacher at Chatham High School who admitted that she feels like a dinosaur in the area of technology integration. I also share a similar concern with her. I am concerned about my students staying focused in my class. As she said, students are not able to focus like they did 30 years ago. I am nervous about having to "entertain" the kids, as one of the other teachers stated, to get them to learn. However, since music (especially instrumental music) is so hands-on, I think that students are already "being entertained" and may not have as much trouble staying focused as the Chatham High School english teacher notices in her classes.
I also can see how keeping up with changing technology can be challenging and I can also see how teachers call upon students to help them out technology-wise. The English teacher also seemed to be somewhat frustrating to me. While I can see technology being a challenge if you are not comfortable with it, she seemed to be almost insulted by it from her tone of voice and phrasing she used when she described how she does not use technology in her classroom. This attitude I did not find helpful for her.
ReplyDeleteDr. LaSusa, the principal in the video, is now the assistant superintendent. In my converations with him, the one demanding element of etchnology in schools is the continual professional development that a district must provide teachers. One way schools place more responsibility on teachers is through the Professional Improvement/Growth Plan that each teacher must create with their administrator. Each building also has a PD committee made up of teachers that examine the needs of the building, based on testing performance. A plan is created and submitted to the county. There are structures in place to facilitate PD among teachers.
ReplyDeleteHowever, you all will agree that if the use of an innovation or practice is easy and purposeful, you will use it at often as you could. The task is to purposefully plan for the use of technology or any tool in your classroom. Using textbooks and lectures are fine if there is a prupose and necessity for them.
I see somewhat of a generational split on the Chatham Schools. I wish we could discuss this in a classroom. In these blogs it's easy to save your comments for what you agree with...
ReplyDeleteI can see great opportunities for the use of programs such as Garage Band in music classes. On the other hand, technology has left many students without the experience of what it takes to become good at something that requires physical or mental coordination. How will you deal with the students that start music with the assumption that it will be all fun and games and then get frustrated when they don't practice and hence don't get any better and give up?