Both Will Richardson (Off to NECC…What’s Next?) and Scottish blogger, Bob Hill (The Rise and Rise of Web 2.0), have recently written that while the excitement about the new web and its potentials for affecting teaching and learning seem on the rise within our gradually growing conversations, it is only a drop in the oceans that so many educators are crossing right now, on their way to San Diego and the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC).
The numbers of teachers who have not, in any way, been touched by the rapidly changing information landscape is vast. But teacher comfort is not our only target. The public, too, must come to hear the new story about 21st century teaching and learning. One of the few mailing lists that I still monitor is Interesting People (IP), moderated by Dave Farber. Tom Fairlie posted a carefully written message yesterday about concerns with the computerization of our schools.
I followed with a quickly written piece saying that while most of what he was saying was true, our conclusions should not be to stop and go back, but to learn from our mistakes and go forward. Before I got my message finished, there was a storm of other messages, less carefully and more vehemently denouncing the investment in technologies for our schools as a distraction and waste of money.
What’s interesting is that IP is inhabited by fairly tech-savvy, well-read, and somewhat left of center folks who talk about digital security, Homeland Security, and digital rights from a near libertarian point of view. Yet, when it comes to classrooms, their vision spans no farther than the classrooms they attended decades ago.
We’ve got to invent a new story and tell that story far and wide. We need to be able to explain clearly how the world is changing, the challenges and opportunities that are right in front of us, and the kinds of people who will overcome those challenges and seize those opportunities, and we must be able to describe the kind of education that will produce those people.
At NECC, learn about new technologies and new techniques. Meet new people and continue those conversations. But listen for new stories, and take them back home and tell them.
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David, maybe this is semantics and maybe not … but I wonder if it would help if we talked about building new stories together rather than ‘telling’?
Have a good time at NECC 🙂
Nick
Dave,
Thank you for directing me to that post. It is probably a pervasive attitude and we need to be aware of the thinking out there. Unfortunately, it appears that he has no personal experience as a parent of a high school age student. I have two teenagers who are very tech savvy and who have taught themselves a great deal that is not valued in school. Their teachers are still using methods that were successful with previous generations but they are losing my kids generation. As Mel Levine always says, we expect students to be good at everything – math, writing, reading, sports, etc. and don’t have that expectation of adults. Technology removes the barriers to learning for those students who are NOT good at everything. The kids with reading issues have access to the curriculum when they can hear the grade level text read to them. The kids with dysgraphia or other output issues can demonstrate what they know more effectively when they have access to the features that are built into word processing programs. The kids with memory issues can use the highlighting features and collapse/expand features to help them better retrieve information. The kids with organizational issues can use technology exclusively and not worry about constantly losing their homework or agenda. The list goes on and on and I want to shout from the rooftops, “Technology removes the barriers to learning for students with learning differences!” It’s not just about preparing kids for the next generation of careers. It’s about teaching to their learning styles and building success for all learners.
We are losing this generation of students because this is the first generation that may actually have more knowledge about particular subjects (technology) than their teachers. And they certainly have instant access to a wealth of information in ways that were never previously possible.
Have fun at NECC. I look forward to all the blogging since I can’t attend this year.