WebedtecH

I’ve been quiet for a long time about this topic but I can’t any longer. Read the posting below and then I’ll comment…

TipLine - Gates’ Computer Tips: [TIPS] STOP! You can’t use Google Maps! What if…

A group of middle school teachers got together to create a cross curricular lesson. Each one would appoint a scribe for the day who would post information to a google map. The basis was that kids were going to “Walk to California” for wellness. They would do laps around the track, adding up the miles they walked and then plotting it on a google map where they stopped at each day. Other areas of the curriculum were involved, as well. Geography. Social Studies. Foreign language. It was going to be all the 6th, 7th and 8th graders building this project. Teachers were primed and ready to go.In steps the tech director who says, “What if someone posts something inappropriate on there - and other kids see it? It’s on YOUR web page!”

Full stop! End of idea. A couple teachers wanted to go ahead with it, offering some suggestions on how to deal with that possibility. No go. It died a quick death.

By the way, that person who raised this fear factor is NOT an educator and never WAS.

Ok, I’m going to take a couple deep breaths before I say this…quietly and calmly:

WHAT DOES “NOT AN EDUCATOR AND NEVER WAS.” HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING?!?

Why is it that so many “educators” feel they know all the answers when it comes to the proper way to provide content on a school network. Throwing the doors open wide and casting the students into the world with “guidance” is the best way? How many of these so-called “educators” have stood in front of a board meeting or a parents conference and been able to explain how they are looking out for the welfare of their students with this mindset?

GET OFF YOUR HORSE!

Many tech administrators are caught in the unenviable position of having to enact the policies decreed by the administration and the board and then enforce those policies once they are in place. Many, many times they are not consulted about those policies in advance. There are some out there who have developed a napoleonic complex about their position, but the majority is trying to do what is right and best for everyone involved in using the technology.

Let’s take the question and you answer it…what if someone posts something inappropriate on your web page/blog/web 2.0 gadget of choice and a parent or better yet the press get a hold of it?

Are you ready to defend yourself? You’re going to have to do it outside the educator’s echo chamber and out in the real world. Are you ready to stand in front of your superintendent and say, “Why yes, we could have put in technology to protect the kids, but I thought it was best for them to just learn by encountering things and then we can discuss them.” Naive. Foolish. Irresponsible. There is much to be said for “authentic experiences” but some things do not need to be experienced by children. Period.

We talk about putting the computer at home in a public area such as the living room rather than the child’s bedroom. “We don’t use any filtering at home. I can keep an eye on what they are doing and keep them safe.”

DUH! You’re talking human filters, not technological ones, but it’s just the same. If schools could afford to have a teacher for each student then the technology answers wouldn’t be necessary. If you ever want a little dose of reality as to what’s actually happening outside the protected walls of your own little educational sanctuary, ask your network admin to show you the filter or firewall logs for your school for a week. You’ll be amazed the places your precious little angels wind up trying to go, most often by accident but in many cases not.

Stop thinking because a technology staffer doesn’t have an Ed degree he or she isn’t an educator. This is the 21st. century people. Stop thinking in such 19th. century terms. Many have been working in technology for much longer than the teachers they are trying to support. On top of that they are self-directed, continual learners and trainers. Teaching does not change nearly at the pace that technology does. A teacher can go for 20 years without changing and becomes “seasoned.” A technology person who doesn’t change for 20 years is “unemployed.” Try working with them rather than demonizing them for doing the jobs they’re paid and mandated to do. Without them and the protective/preventative measures they take on behalf of the entire school rather than just your batch of interests you’re able to have technology that was just dreamed of 10 years ago.

Gloves are off…comments are open. Let me hear you.

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Are you a literate teacher? I read this posting from David Warlick over at 2 Cents Worth and said, “Wow…if that’s what the students are expecting their teachers to be able to do, no wonder they don’t have any credibility in the classroom when it comes to technology.

Show this list to other teachers, or better yet administrators. Let’s start learning what they’re expecting so we can meet our students needs or at least not be viewed as the village idiots.

Heppell asked a group of students what a literate teacher should be able to do, and they agreed that teacher should be able to:

• upload to YouTube
• edit a Wikipedia article
• choose a safe online payments site
• subscribe to a podcast and un subscribe
• turn on and off preditive text
• manage a groups Flickr photos (and spell Flickr!)
• look after a community in Facebook

Stephen Heppell Keynote at SuperConference | 2¢ Worth

Donald Latumahina over at Life Optimizer wrote a great piece about the book Fire Them Up! by Carmine Gallo on becoming a company’s “Chief Inspiration Officer.” Coming off the energy and power of EduCon 2.0 I thought I’d try and take Donald’s ideas and focus them on how we can become “Inspirational Technology Teachers”.

1. Feed your enthusiasm. As technologists we’re already inspired to use technology in the classroom and appreciate the short term and long term benefits. Unfortunately we can be dragged down by the setbacks of administrative paralysis and challenge, apathy, and resistance to change. You need to constantly feed your enthusiasm with examples of people who are pushing the envelope and challenging the status quo.

2. Lead. Be a trail blazer. Show the people around you the path is not impossible, the bar is not too high, the obstacles not insurmountable. As Joyce Valenza says, “Be subversive.”

3. Sell the benefit. Gary Stager at EduCon 2.0 said, “Education should be shamelessly self-promoting.” I’m not going to go that far but I do agree with the idea that people cannot choose what they’re not aware of. (Another paraphrasing of Gary…man’s a quote machine.) Help people understand the problem what you’re about to suggest will solve or the direct educational benefit of the technology before you ever discuss the technology itself. For example, “So you want to have your students work on a document together? Excellent. Let’s talk Google Docs…”

4. Show them. Technology doesn’t often translate well to intangible descriptions. If you’re trying to motivate someone to try something, have an example of it similar to your end goal to put in front of them. If you want them to try podcasting, have some good podcasts handy to listen to.

5. Involve others. There’s no such thing as a parade of one. You need to find at least a couple of others who share your vision and can help you walk the walk and toot the horn.

6. Be happy. There will be challenges, difficulties, and obstacles. We recognize that. Don’t dwell on them. Reiterate the goals and benefits and celebrate the little successes as you move along. Watching your first self-produced UStream video can be a very cool moment.

7. Reinforce and repeat. Commit yourself to their successes and make sure the world knows when they win. Help them repeat those successes and over time it will become a self-fulfilling prophesy.

The world is full of nay-sayers and doubters. Take the other side. As Adam from Mythbusters says, “I reject your reality and substitute my own.”

How to Become a Chief Inspiration Officer | Life Optimizer

Well, I’ve settled in at EduCon and already I’ve noticed a few things…

1. Chris is the outgoing, energetic administrator that all of us have come to recognize through Twitter.
2. There are a large number of students around all doing their normal “studen” things without being off-balance from so many strangers wandering their halls.
3. This is clearly a different kind of place.

More observations as events warrant…and believe me they will.