WebedtecH

Always on the lookout for cool (and educationally beneficial) tools for the classroom, this one seems like a winner at first blush.

It’s Full Of Stars: Google Conquers the Stars After Fully Invading Earth - Gizmodo

Technorati Tags: astronomy, google, edtech, classroom

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I’m usually pretty forgiving when I see someone venting their frustrations about a topic because Lord knows I’ve done it enough times. Sometimes though these vents warrant a rebuttal. This is one of them.

James Farmer over at incsub got his knickers in a knot over the posting by Will Richardson regarding the Future of Teaching. I’m not sure if it’s a disagreement with the content or a defensive reaction to the positions but in either case he’s gotten me fired up now as well. (all due and sincere respect to James and Will. I wouldn’t spend time responding if I didnt’ think you were worth hearing. Which leads me to…)

“Interestingly enough I’ve belonged to three broad professions so far, teaching, journalism and web-design/dev… all of which no end of the unqualified and unexperienced won’t hesitate to have an opinion on. Just because you’ve been taught, doesn’t mean you can teach… because you read newspapers doesn’t mean you can pick up a pen (or a blog!) and become a journalist and because you spend every day on the web, that you can design successful environments and experiences. I’ve learned the hard way.”

…

“And how many teachers at the chalkface heard how their qualifications and experience as teachers was pretty useless really, how many people stood up and said ‘this is nonsense’ (apparently consensus was only lacking around the real pressure points???) and how many of the attendees work day in day out with FT teaching loads in government schools… or have done?”

“I am sick and tired of people who really know very little about education and teaching mouthing off about it”

I’ve used these same arguments myself in many of the professions I’ve held over the years and seeing them in writing makes me realize how truly self-centered and arrogant they are. For all intents, the statement is “unless you’ve done it, you don’t have anything worth contributing.” Stings that way, doesn’t it?

Let’s start with the basics. If you’ve been taught you know how to recognize when you’ve been taught poorly. You can communicate what was wrong with the experience and what was right for you. At a minimum you expect to be heard and acknowledged for your input and feedback. When dismissed out of hand you view the “authority” figures as arrogant, elitist, egotistical, uncaring, and uninterested. Not every idea is a great one but I’d challenge you to tell me the ideas that aren’t worth hearing at all because of their source. Based on this approach it stands to reason that the feedback from our students, who haven’t written, taught, or designed web sites has little or no value. Complete nonsense to be sure.

As an EdTech it’s easy to say, “it’s technical, let me worry about it.” It’s a great way to stifle insight and maintain the status quo. Peel away the titles, certifications, certificates, degrees, Universities, and other associated separatist “we know more than you do” badges of education and what you have is people with varieties of experiences all with an equal ability to contribute and shape the future if we’re only willing to listen. Ask a graduating senior about the best teacher they had in school and why. If you get then answer “because they had a Masters from University of Big Ideas” I’ll buy the coffee. (Haven’t had to buy it yet for your information.)

As a web guy by passion and profession (one stop along a long and varied history of experiences) understanding your users, listening to them, and then meeting and exceeding their needs is one of the hallmarks of success in this field (but you already knew that didn’t you). Ask any web designer what they dread the most and I’d wager they’ll answer “the user who THINKS they know how to design a site”. I’ve said it myself but in the same breath I’ll admit that some of the best designs and ideas I’ve encountered and participated in were spurred by that same kind of input. Not every idea goes into place, not every recommendation is implemented, but if it makes us think just a little differently it is a good thing.

We are teaching people of all ages and backgrounds. If we fail to listen to and learn from our peers and students we’re not qualified to wear the mantle “teacher”.

Jess has captured the essence of the question “why blog?” with an exceptional amount of eloquence an insight.

Why would I wan’t to publish my personal life on the Internet so that just anyone could read them? It’s a privacy issue for me.

However, I believe that a blog created for the purposes of academic learning and reflection is effective, interesting and perhaps not so revealing of my personal life The ability to disseminate not just information or knowledge but also thoughts, debates and commentaries on them excites me. I can see a world of possibility for interaction and growth between individual learners.

…

Blogging includes, but is not the sum of the reflections on one’s experiences or learning. Blogging is an instrument of communication, growth and learning. Even reading a social blog, you learn about the blogger’s experiences, reflecting on your learning and growing as a result. The act of reading the blog in the first place is an act of communication, furthered when you post your findings to your blog for others to read.

We in the EdTech space struggle everyday with getting teachers, parents, and administration to understand why technologies such as blogging are useful and beneficial not only in the classroom but beyond. Next time you get into this discussion, send them a link to Jess’s blog. Jess gets it.

RickH is a brave teacher. Just this excerpt from his blog should explain why I think so:

Few of my students in the past had no ideas or questions to share with me or the rest of the class. How about you? What is on your mind concerning my classes or the use of technology in those classes? My Astronomy class is completely computer based - is that a good thing? How do you wish it were different?

Many teachers ask their students, “what do you think?” For the most part students either don’t answer at all, don’t provide a sincere answer, or don’t think their input has value.

Postings like this demonstrate the value of making students part not only of the learning process but the planning process as well. To the teachers out there making that connection, Bravo! To those who haven’t yet, it’s about time.

Technorati Tags: teaching, students, planning

Those being my USB Drive and Instant Messaging.  Pidgin, which is quickly becoming part of my instant messaging mainstay:

Pidgin Portable 2.1.0 has been released. Pidgin Portable (formerly Gaim Portable) is the versatile Pidgin instant messaging client packaged as a portable app, so you can take your IM settings and buddy lists with you. It has all the same great features as Pidgin, including support for AOL, Yahoo, MSN, ICQ and Jabber networks, but there’s nothing to install on the local PC. You can also add portable encryption plugins for secure, encrypted messaging. It’s packaged in PortableApps.com Format so it can easily integrate with the PortableApps.com Suite. And it’s open source and completely free.

Oh happy day!

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