This blog was setup today to serve as a location for me to post my experiences while developing skills and lessons for the 2011-2012 school year so it can be shared in our group and beyond.
Busy day today getting started in the C4T program. Having completed summer assignments, teachers were ready to get things going in the program. Enjoyed events, but at times wished the time schedule wasn't so tight. Processing is important.Good intro activity using Wordle web sight. Want to use a version of it for my class this school year. Other areas covered included Diigo, reflecting on how we do education, and connecting it all back to 21st Century Learning Skills in UA. Coaches are well organized and the class looks good so far. I liked what Toby said about giving a new idea a try at least 3 times. I didn't like Diigo my first time through, but I'm really seeing benefits as I become more proficient.
Although I'm an older teacher today, I've always been open to new ideas/methods/techniques that could improve instruction. My first year teaching was 1985 which was also the first year of the personal computer. As the "new kid," veterans would usually hand off anything computer related to me because they didn't want to do it. I have to chuckle in 2011 when I'm being told the benefits of online blogging as the technology gospel. I remember when I setup my first web site in the late 90s supporting class activities and was viewed as subversive for doing so. I did it on the "DL" because it helped my students.
Good teachers have to have at least a streak of rebel in them if they want to see their students really think. I'm suspicious of any "one size fits all" approach to education, including technology. Not because it's new or different, but because what is the real magic of true learning isn't. The art of teaching can definitely be enhanced via technology, but insistence on exact formulas as a means to an end will always leave students by the wayside. I have found that this philosophy won't get you hired as a superintendent, but can get you invited to a former student's wedding.
Although I'm an older teacher today, I've always been open to new ideas/methods/techniques that could improve instruction. My first year teaching was 1985 which was also the first year of the personal computer. As the "new kid," veterans would usually hand off anything computer related to me because they didn't want to do it. I have to chuckle in 2011 when I'm being told the benefits of online blogging as the technology gospel. I remember when I setup my first web site in the late 90s supporting class activities and was viewed as subversive for doing so. I did it on the "DL" because it helped my students.
Good teachers have to have at least a streak of rebel in them if they want to see their students really think. I'm suspicious of any "one size fits all" approach to education, including technology. Not because it's new or different, but because what is the real magic of true learning isn't. The art of teaching can definitely be enhanced via technology, but insistence on exact formulas as a means to an end will always leave students by the wayside. I have found that this philosophy won't get you hired as a superintendent, but can get you invited to a former student's wedding.
Scott
