When we started the conversation about technology integration into classrooms in 1990, %15 of homes in the US had a computer and by 1994, %2 had internet access.
Compare this to 2008, when close to %80 of the households in the US had internet access and broadband penetration across the country had reached %90 by the start of 2009.
There has been so much change in technology and particularly, in our access to it, yet the conversation about classroom integration seems to have changed relatively little. Whereas, in the 90's, it may have made sense for schools to try to add the role of teacher-of-technology to their other responsibilities, in the rush to get equipped, schools only found themselves in a losing battle. They could neither find sufficient funding for the equipment, nor adequate time for the training to use it.
And yet, today, this approach persists with the result that schools sink money into what has become a parallel (and rapidly outdated) system of access - in the form of computer labs, clunky peripherals, and endless software upgrades. This approach has never worked well, except possibly for the richest schools, but to add insult to injury, students now prefer their personal, sleeker and more functional portable technologies anyway.
%70 of students carry a cell-phone, and most of these have video, photo, internet and (arguably limited) word-processing capabilities. In 2005, a study on ergoweb pointed-out that cell phones "have a big advantage over lap top computers in the classroom because they are cheaper, more portable and almost as sophisticated. Using camera phones, students develop their literacy by capturing images, writing about them, and emailing the work to friends, families and teachers."
Dr Elizabeth Hartnell-Young has done extensive research on the topic of mobile computing - as it has evolved with cell phones. She has made a few examples available on a PDF called Mobile Phones for Learning.
Powerful and inspiring technologies are walking into class in students' pockets, and yet we still discuss integration as thought the first step were to plug it into students' desks and hire someone to teach the teacher how to use it. At the same time (and the same schools) there is a great deal of chatter about how to prize portable technology out of students' hands so that they can 'focus on learning'. Perhaps we have this backwards. The Ergoweb study reports, "The principal of one participating school had been looking for something to excite disengaged students, and has been "overwhelmed by the resulting enthusiasm" when projects incorporated cell phones."
When schools began investing in technology, we could not have dreamed of a world where classrooms didn't need desktop computers; where students carried powerful mobile devices, with a wireless connection to some super-cool thing call the internet - in their pockets. As if that weren't fantastic enough, the news gets better: enter, wireless cloud computing, a wonderful thing for schools (and organizations large and small). No more need of expensive servers, upgrades or technical support people to run it all (and make us feel foolishly ignorant). Almost anything we need -storage, software, networking - its all online, and much of it Open Source.
We have arrived at an emancipating new age for learning. When we embrace it, not only will students learn better, be happier and more engaged, but schools will even save money.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Sinking or Sailing - an outsider's perspective on classroom culture
Maybe its pretty clear from my posts that I am not a classroom teacher. I have a much easier job as a sort of science interventionist: I get called in to give half-day (activity-filled) classes in science. I see all kinds of different classrooms, and sadly, don't ever get to know the students or the teachers.
But I get an interesting overview and I wasn't surprised to hear from Bill Gates on TED that the teacher makes the greatest difference for a student - often the difference between staying in school or dropping out. Don't we all know this by now?
What I might not have realized is how amazingly easy it is to see, within moments of entering a classroom, whether the ship is sailing or sinking. In a class that is productive, safe and even fun, the teacher is punctual, clean and dresses as though she cares. The kids file into their ordered and uncluttered classroom space without reluctance. Most of all, teachers and students are clearly in it together and share an almost conspiratorial eagerness that glints in their eyes. I can feel the good times and the challenges overcome, and I sense the bonding that occurred in this atmosphere of mutual support. By contrast, the classroom that is adversarial, unhappy and unproductive is as easy to pick-out as if their were a sign on the door: DO NOT ENTER
As I write this, I hear tired teacher voices in my head - people who have been pushed to the limit and beyond by a system that asks far too much of them. I DO know. I DO. But I also have to believe that at least to SOME extent, the difference between the sinking or sailing ship is a choice - or a series of choices. As hard as it might be, especially at first, it has to be much better for ALL - teacher included - to choose success. Its not that I honestly believe anyone would CHOOSE failure. I imagine it must feel more like a slow incremental giving-up, or perhaps giving-in to the temptation to let the small stuff slide. Let the mess pile up, wear the dirty old t-shirt, and back down from that impudent little tween instead of holding your ground. I can see doing all of these things in the "short term", until one day, a teacher finds herself in a job not worth waking-up for, entering a classroom she hates. Imagine how her students feel.
But I get an interesting overview and I wasn't surprised to hear from Bill Gates on TED that the teacher makes the greatest difference for a student - often the difference between staying in school or dropping out. Don't we all know this by now?
What I might not have realized is how amazingly easy it is to see, within moments of entering a classroom, whether the ship is sailing or sinking. In a class that is productive, safe and even fun, the teacher is punctual, clean and dresses as though she cares. The kids file into their ordered and uncluttered classroom space without reluctance. Most of all, teachers and students are clearly in it together and share an almost conspiratorial eagerness that glints in their eyes. I can feel the good times and the challenges overcome, and I sense the bonding that occurred in this atmosphere of mutual support. By contrast, the classroom that is adversarial, unhappy and unproductive is as easy to pick-out as if their were a sign on the door: DO NOT ENTER
As I write this, I hear tired teacher voices in my head - people who have been pushed to the limit and beyond by a system that asks far too much of them. I DO know. I DO. But I also have to believe that at least to SOME extent, the difference between the sinking or sailing ship is a choice - or a series of choices. As hard as it might be, especially at first, it has to be much better for ALL - teacher included - to choose success. Its not that I honestly believe anyone would CHOOSE failure. I imagine it must feel more like a slow incremental giving-up, or perhaps giving-in to the temptation to let the small stuff slide. Let the mess pile up, wear the dirty old t-shirt, and back down from that impudent little tween instead of holding your ground. I can see doing all of these things in the "short term", until one day, a teacher finds herself in a job not worth waking-up for, entering a classroom she hates. Imagine how her students feel.
Monday, March 9, 2009
PowerPointless, Not!
What a fantastic talk on TED. One thing that I have noticed, watching TED, is that few speakers have very compelling slides to compliment their presentations...this talk by Scott McCloud is an exception, in the extreme. He is animated and articulate and passionate, AND his slides compliment his points with a simple elegance that is so rare.
How to Give Good Presentations: one of the most popular 'talks' that I give, because it is so important to present well, and yet creating the great presentation is so elusive. Like many others, I have been frustrated by the effect of PowerPoint on presenting in general, while at the same time, fascinated and thrilled by the possibilities that it offers...adding video, sound, images, animations. Why describe anything anymore, when you can google a great image of it to throw on a slide?
Well, I wouldn't say don't google the image. "A picture is worth...etc." The image is important, but the presenter is MORE important. Maybe the reason that we don't grasp this is insecurity - we sell ourselves short. We spend a lot of time connecting through this medium (I sit alone in my house as I type), and less time appreciating and cultivating the eye-to-eye and face-to-face connection - so maybe we forget (or never learn) how powerful it is.
Or maybe, we have bought the Hollywood fallacy that a person worth watching must be beautiful. No. She must be human, genuine, and believe in herself.
At a concert last month, I was moved almost to tears by music that I have heard on my stereo a thousand times. This shocked me because I don't see enough live music, and also because I had forgotten the power of the face-to-face. It can be magical.
A good presenter - someone who stands before her audience and feels respect for them, even love for them in their willingness to sit passively and listen - will have a very powerful impact WITH HER WORDS ALONE. PowerPoint can certainly illustrate your point. A clever animation, carefully timed to your words can be a distraction, but can also pound your point home in a way that leaves your audience breathless. But don't, DON'T turn the lights down while you are speaking! Your audience needs to see you, to look into your eyes and see your passion. That is the best way to make them feel it, learn it, and want to know more.
How to Give Good Presentations: one of the most popular 'talks' that I give, because it is so important to present well, and yet creating the great presentation is so elusive. Like many others, I have been frustrated by the effect of PowerPoint on presenting in general, while at the same time, fascinated and thrilled by the possibilities that it offers...adding video, sound, images, animations. Why describe anything anymore, when you can google a great image of it to throw on a slide?
Well, I wouldn't say don't google the image. "A picture is worth...etc." The image is important, but the presenter is MORE important. Maybe the reason that we don't grasp this is insecurity - we sell ourselves short. We spend a lot of time connecting through this medium (I sit alone in my house as I type), and less time appreciating and cultivating the eye-to-eye and face-to-face connection - so maybe we forget (or never learn) how powerful it is.
Or maybe, we have bought the Hollywood fallacy that a person worth watching must be beautiful. No. She must be human, genuine, and believe in herself.
At a concert last month, I was moved almost to tears by music that I have heard on my stereo a thousand times. This shocked me because I don't see enough live music, and also because I had forgotten the power of the face-to-face. It can be magical.
A good presenter - someone who stands before her audience and feels respect for them, even love for them in their willingness to sit passively and listen - will have a very powerful impact WITH HER WORDS ALONE. PowerPoint can certainly illustrate your point. A clever animation, carefully timed to your words can be a distraction, but can also pound your point home in a way that leaves your audience breathless. But don't, DON'T turn the lights down while you are speaking! Your audience needs to see you, to look into your eyes and see your passion. That is the best way to make them feel it, learn it, and want to know more.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Formally recognizing students' tech expertise is a win-win
While many schools may not have changed because of technology integration, I would argue that students certainly have. Teachers remain the subject-area expert in the classroom, as it should be, but their students are now the technology experts. Teachers can not, and should not even try, to catch-up.
The only successful way to teach in a tech-integrated classroom (and with students carrying their own powerful, personal tech in their pockets - there is no longer any such thing as a tech-free class), is to approach learning as a collaborative adventure where all participants learn (teacher included) and all participate in teaching and supporting learning. This means teachers are allowed to say, "I don't know" and students who teach the teacher are rewarded with gratitude at least, possibly even with formal credit. The best teachers have always taught this way.
One change that I would suggest for schools is to pour less $$ into teacher tech PD, and to formalize the support role that students can (and already do) hold. Create a formal structure for students teaching each other, teaching teachers, and even providing trouble-shooting tech support. Students who will use the expensive tools should be charged with testing them to ensure a good investment. The plain truth is, that the students are better qualified to judge this than a hurried, harried teacher.
Some schools already have student tech support teams. I have seen students who might normally get lost academically, find meaning and purpose in school for the first time. The bonus is that teachers in these schools can focus their energies on their subjects, and stop feeling as though they are running a race that they can’t hope to win.
The only successful way to teach in a tech-integrated classroom (and with students carrying their own powerful, personal tech in their pockets - there is no longer any such thing as a tech-free class), is to approach learning as a collaborative adventure where all participants learn (teacher included) and all participate in teaching and supporting learning. This means teachers are allowed to say, "I don't know" and students who teach the teacher are rewarded with gratitude at least, possibly even with formal credit. The best teachers have always taught this way.
One change that I would suggest for schools is to pour less $$ into teacher tech PD, and to formalize the support role that students can (and already do) hold. Create a formal structure for students teaching each other, teaching teachers, and even providing trouble-shooting tech support. Students who will use the expensive tools should be charged with testing them to ensure a good investment. The plain truth is, that the students are better qualified to judge this than a hurried, harried teacher.
Some schools already have student tech support teams. I have seen students who might normally get lost academically, find meaning and purpose in school for the first time. The bonus is that teachers in these schools can focus their energies on their subjects, and stop feeling as though they are running a race that they can’t hope to win.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
What do you want to be when you grow up?
We can't expect our children to know that there are multiple paths to success and happiness, but we adults surely know it, don't we? A 14-year-old friend recently sat down with me to talk about the possibility of becoming a biologist. She asked, "How do I know if that's what I want?" For a 14, 16, 18, even for a 20-year-old, there can surely be only one answer to that question: "you don't know, you can't know, none of us knows."
Yet, schools persist in teaching children that there is only one path to success and happiness, and one career to choose that represents the "right" choice for them. More important, children are encouraged in the belief that they must choose as early as grade 9 and that their future success depends on it.
By the stricken look on this young person's face, I could tell that no amount of reassurance from me would ease her mind. People whom she trusts and respects to KNOW have convinced her that she should be able to choose. At first, her natural conclusion was that there must be something wrong - WITH HER. It did not occur to her to question the "wisdom" of her teachers.
A few days ago, I asked how the decision-making was going. My young friend gave me a confident smile and announced that she had made her choice. In being forced to choose a path, she had been taught an important lesson...
As far as her school is concerned, what she actually might want to do with her life is not so important as having an impressive answer to that question, "What do you want to do when you grow up?" For a while, at least until she figures-out where her passions lie, my young friend will answer, "I want to be a lawyer." Oddly, that answer, from a 14-yr-old, seems to get a positive response.
Perhaps, one day, she will find herself in studying law, and maybe she will discover a true passion for justice. Or maybe, she will drop-out and go to art school, wondering what ever made her choose law in the first place.
Yet, schools persist in teaching children that there is only one path to success and happiness, and one career to choose that represents the "right" choice for them. More important, children are encouraged in the belief that they must choose as early as grade 9 and that their future success depends on it.
By the stricken look on this young person's face, I could tell that no amount of reassurance from me would ease her mind. People whom she trusts and respects to KNOW have convinced her that she should be able to choose. At first, her natural conclusion was that there must be something wrong - WITH HER. It did not occur to her to question the "wisdom" of her teachers.
A few days ago, I asked how the decision-making was going. My young friend gave me a confident smile and announced that she had made her choice. In being forced to choose a path, she had been taught an important lesson...
As far as her school is concerned, what she actually might want to do with her life is not so important as having an impressive answer to that question, "What do you want to do when you grow up?" For a while, at least until she figures-out where her passions lie, my young friend will answer, "I want to be a lawyer." Oddly, that answer, from a 14-yr-old, seems to get a positive response.
Perhaps, one day, she will find herself in studying law, and maybe she will discover a true passion for justice. Or maybe, she will drop-out and go to art school, wondering what ever made her choose law in the first place.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)