I spent a few hours last night at the vendors dinner, and opening event for the TETA Summer Institute. I must say that I was impressed with the turn out, considering that the conference was at a middle school some ways from Nashville. People had to weight spending hours talking to vendors, with enjoying the distractions of Nashville. Then there was the food. That explained a good part of the large turnout.
I talked with the folks at Plato, Riverdeep, and Discovery Educator Network. But, because the attendees are mostly technology directors and technicians, most of the exhibits were geeky. They were routers, security solutions, racks, and lots of stuff that I don’t even understand. I saw this computer screen, and had to take a picture. At first it looked like a video game, but then on closer inspection, I guessed what it really was, a way of visualizing your school’s wireless access points and the various computers that are drawing on the info. Robert Daniels, Account Manager for Coleman Technologies, Inc. described it to me. Looks like fun.
Now, this is exactly what I would want to have — if I was a principal. I would love to be able to see where digital networked information is being used in my school, the information hot spots, and the black cold spots where it is not. I’d want to know who has their students laptops out and using them, and who doesn’t.
Now this begs the very important question, “Can a teacher be a good teacher without using technology?” Of course the answer is yes. But I ask another question. “Is a teacher doing his or her job if they are not using technology?” My answer to that question is a resounding, “No!” Literacy must be an integral and constant part of our students learning, and any educator who believes that literacy is merely the ability to read text, count and calculate, and write a coherent paragraph on paper is still preparing their students for the 1950s. I guess this is really the topic of my keynote today.
Technorati Tags: education, teta2006summer, warlick
David,
I disagree. I don’t think that a teacher could be a good teacher in today’s day and age without using technology. However, not every institution provides teachers with the resources they need to be good teachers. When I first began teaching I hated to ask my students to write. I thought that if they wrote too much they wouldn’t enjoy the class. I’ll never foget one day my principal and I were talking about the lesson I would teach the next day and the principal had a suggestion that involved writing. I responded, “I asked my students to write today. Can I also ask my students to write tomorrow?” He said, “This is school.”
I also think that the board indicating where information is being used across a school would be an excellent device. Teachers might feel, however, as if their privacy is being disturbed. However, to such a concern I would respond, “You are a professional. All professionals have accountability.”
Andrew Pass
http://www.Pass-Ed.com/blogger.html
Hi David,
Some of the best lessons and learning I have seen in classrooms have had nothing to do with the stuff and the gadgets. They have been about learning to learn, to manage information and to be reflective (metacognitive?). Often the best tool for a particular job is not a high tech one. A recent conversation with a 10yr old went something like:
Me: What are you learning about?
Him: the middle ages?
Me: how did you find all that information? (pointing to his large poster covered with diagrams and information)
Him: from this book (showing me the book)
Him: why did you choose this book?
Him: (looking at me like I’m a moron!) Well sometimes you go on the internet to find stuff but if I searched for the middle ages on the net I would get millions of references and half of them would be about old people. A book will have all the stuff I need in one place.
It is about kids managing the information and controling their learning not ALL about the ICT’s. Having said that I do believe we are selling kids short if we don’t work on their digital literacy as well. Th key is giving them the ability to make informed choices to manage their own learning.
Greg.