Disclaimer: This post is my reflective response to Bryan Wehrli’s article “Technology as a Fence and a Bridge”.

 

Ok, ok, so at least two of these videos are staged events to prove a point. But, even if these professors are not rampantly destroying the personal property of their students, I think that the message that they are sending is still troubling.

Let’s see…

• Never let your attention stray from the teacher.
• You cannot be trusted to use technology appropriately.
• Your concerns and affairs outside of the classroom not allowed in here.
• Tech devices have no place in the classroom unless the teacher introduces them.

 

And don’t forget that videos are taking place in COLLEGE CLASSROOMS with ADULT LEARNERS (Yes…18 year olds are in fact adults.). Even if these represent isolated incidents, policies, and attitudes at institutions of higher learning, they are in fact quite representative of the current climate in K-12 public schools. It’s bad people, and teachers are not trusted with the technology anymore than the students. No cell phones, restrictive Internet firewalls and usage policies, teachers encouraged, or directed, to refrain from using social media even for personal interactions outside of work, “technology classes” that only teach keyboarding and outdated project presentation methods, insufficient technology support or professional development for hardware or software application

The paradigm is shifting, and the change does not originate from the schools. And that’s a scary thought for teachers, myself included. Because what is my role in this new world that neither my formal education nor my ongoing professional development have prepared me for?

Well, do I want to “reach out with a hammer or a curious mind” (Wehrli, 2009)? Do I draw a line in the sand and say thou shalt not pass…or else? Or do I recognize my new and powerful role as a facilitator, modeler, and collaborator?

It has occurred to me that there is a bit of a negative feedback loop in place, one in which I too have unconsciously participated.

In the absence of specific class assignments, students will generally default to using computers for social interaction, gaming, etc. –>

As a teacher I am mad, because the students are wasting valuable technology on useless purposes. –>

I don’t trust students to make good decisions using technology. –>

I don’t develop assignments or activities around technology. –>

In the absence of specific class assignments, students will generally default to using computers for social interaction, gaming, etc.

I think that there are two key, and related, assumptions in this cycle that must be recognized and addressed before it can be transformed.

1. As a digital immigrant, I incorrectly believe that my students, as digital natives, automatically know how to use the Internet and social media for any desired application, including education purposes.

2. My students mistakenly assume that the primary power of the Internet is in distraction or casual social interaction.

 

In other words, the kids don’t know any better, and the adults are too intimidated to inform them.

I don’t know the latest cool game, I don’t communicate primarily by chat, and I am never going to be as comfortable using digital technology as my students.

But so what?

• I can teach you how to perform a proper search function.
• I can teach you how to filter out the useful information from the static.
• I can show you how applications can be used to gather, organize, process and share information.

 

I am still a teacher. I have the skills and training to find the answers if I don’t have them. My skills are still relevant IF I don’t spend valuable and limited resources trying to hold back the ocean.

The tide is coming in. Swim or die folks.

Reference: Wehrli, B. (2009). Technology as a Fence and a Bridge. Horace, 25(1).

As I have been exploring the use of technology to create more effective classroom environments, I have noticed a stark dichotomy in my teaching experience. One the one hand, I have facilitated dozens of independent study projects my gifted enrichment students. These projects were heavily dependent on using technology to gather, organize, and present data. On the other hand, I generally taught Algebra and Geometry with almost no use of digital technology.  We did  a lot of hands on projects with manipulates, measurement tools, etc., but the laptops stayed safely in the cart during math. 

So basically, I am comfortable with using technology to teach a process (project planning, research, organization, etc.), but I don’t instinctively use it to teach content.

Why is that?

The thing is, I am a pretty good teacher. I structure my planning to allow for a lot of exploration activities and real world applications. I am steadily increasing the amount of structured reflective activities that I use for myself and my students. I always assume that I can improve the lesson, or dig deeper, or make assessment more authentic and meaningful. I believe very strongly that students can and should self-select topics of interest to explore at a rigorous level. My entire enrichment program is predicated on that model, and it is commonly accepted as a best practice for working with gifted and high ability students.

And with all that, I am still operating from the framework of traditional instructional models. Teacher. Students. Textbook. Classroom. Even if I am really good within that model, and I can envision spending the rest of my career getting better and more innovative, there are still inherent limits. I am still driving the car, even if I know when to speed up and slow down and go the scenic route, everything has to filter through me.

I am the one that is in the way…but I am still the one that has to lead to way too.

I need to change my mental model. But along the way, I will need to address the mental models of my students, my parents, my administration. Not everyone is going to think it is a good idea (even the students).  Why rock the boat if everyone is “getting A’s?”  That is not an irrelevant question, and each stakeholder group wants a slightly different version of the same answer…because it is worth it to provide a meaningful and appropriately challenging education.

I think this also demonstrates to me the need for a strong professional learning community. I need to see, concretely and in detail, how others are implementing similar ideas, how well it is working, and how people are responding. The more that I explore the digital options that are available, and the vibrant community of teachers that are using them in the classrooms
(including math!), the more I am forced to accept the fact digital applications are the means to the end for both myself and my students.