As Educators, we strive to be Effective. And maybe we have been effective. Hopefully we still are...
Photo Courtesy of cybrarian77 via Flickr Creative Commons
Certainly there is always room to improve. Or perhaps our years of experience have seasoned us so that we think there is little we need to change.
Who's vison of effective teaching are we modeling?
Are we modeling antiquated methods or have we accepted and implemented change?
As educators of "Digital Students" (Shelly, G., Gunter, G. and Gunter, R., 2012 p. 15), we must re-evaluate our teaching strategies.
For more info, check out this video (by Blackboard and JESS3) found on Scott McLeod's Dangerously Irrelevant site (also on YouTube) called:
"The Voice of the Active Learner"
Retrieved September 18, 2012 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ5Vy9BgSeY
Are we keeping up with the "digital natives?" (Blackboard video) What strategies can we use to further engage them?
What makes us hesitant to change? Are we afraid to fully switch over to digital templates? Is it even necessary to do away with methods we believe have been effective for years? How can we incorporate technology and also hang onto "lost arts," like even pen & paper?
How do educators achieve a balance of methods while integrating technology?
The goal is to build upon previous methods of effective teaching.
Integrating technology is part of the evolution of effective teaching.
Check out the Teaching Channel's webpage to watch a video about how a 37-year veteran teacher in Finland incorporates and balances technology in her classroom. Essentially, the story is about how technology can further the learning--and the learning network--of any subject.
Retrieved September 18, 2012 from https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/discovery-through-technology?fd=1
The students in the video are active, engaged in learning, and they use technology alongside many other meaningful tasks.
Ok, well... what about Internet Safety? With how often digital learners are connected to the web, how can we effectively teach and encourage students to navigate the internet safely, and independently?
This is a great resource from the Teaching Channel's website. Perhaps it may be appropriate and necessary to incorporate this type of lesson:
Online Talk: What's Safe and What's Risky?
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/safe-online-use-for-students
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/safe-online-use-for-students
Retrieved September 18, 2012 from https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/safe-online-use-for-students
The teacher chooses an interactive, true-to-scenario lesson about interet safety. The students clearly are engaged because they identify the material/discussion as completely relevant and useful to their lives. There are many effective and simple ways to confront the "risks" or "issues" that may keep educators hesitant to fully embrace and validate the use of technologies in the classroom.
For more information, visit https://www.teachingchannel.org/ and click on "Digital Literacy"
Need more? Check out the video "Collaborative Digital Presentations Enrich Projects" from Tech2Tech Learning Series found at www.edutopia.org
Retrieved September 19, 2012 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzCQH58Bwpo
For now, happy clicking!
References:
Blackboard. (2012). Retrieved September 18, 2012 from blog.blackboard.com
Edutopia. (2012). Retrieved September 19, 2012 from http://www.edutopia.org/tech-to-learn-collaborative-digital-presentations-video
Flickr. (2012). Retrieved September 18, 2012 from http://www.flickr.com/photos/cybrarian77/6284697172/
McLeod, Scott. (2012). Dangerously Irrelevant. Retrieved September 18, 2012 from http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/
Shelly, G., Gunter, G., Gunter, R. (2012). Teachers Discovering Computers: Integrating Technology in a Connected World (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Course Technology, Cengage Learning.
Teaching Channel. (2012). Retrieved September 18, 2012 from https://www.teachingchannel.org/
You Tube. (2012). Retrieved September 18, 2012 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ5Vy9BgSeY
I have to say that the vision of effective teaching has really changed over the years. "Back in the day" effective teaching was 10 minutes of guided lesson, followed by 45 minutes of worksheets and practice; with 1 page of homework.
ReplyDeleteAnd that was fine. That's how I was taught, and I turned out just fine.
However, students today need more than just a teacher giving instruction. Teachers today have to entertain. We have to be a child psychologist. We have to be parents. And only then can we even attempt to deliver instruction.
Having a computer in the class is a start. But the internet and computers do not a good student make. It is all in HOW things are being used...not WHAT things are being used.
So why are we so afraid to change? Is it our ignorance on the subject? Is it the lack of support we get from our administration? Is it the fact that the students know more than we do?
Perhaps all of these issues are interconnected.
Mike,
DeleteYes, I believe all of those issues you presented are interconnected. Wow, and sometimes we can feel like we are entertainers-teachers because the kids are so fast-paced!
I think the shift from teacher-modeling to student activity centered is great though. It's far better to learn by actually doing, and interacting. Also I think the increase in interaction between kids in the actual classroom can help make up for the fact that they don't really "talk" to their friends on the phone anymore...everything is text/typed!
And do the students know more than we do--you bet!!!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHello Megan,
ReplyDeleteI thought your blog is set up very clearly and was very informative. “The Voice of the Active Learner” video really shows how we have changed over the years and how much our students depend on technology. It is very important for teachers to keep up with the newest educational technology available. I also feel certain that integrating the newest educational technology with older proven methods is important.
With all the finance pressures now affecting schools it is hard to appropriate new equipment. I believe that students from higher economical areas will get the funding they need and will be able to keep up with technological advances but students from low income areas will be left behind. These financial pressures may also push for more online classes and more virtual schools to be offered. Virtual education is a lot more cost friendly than brick and mortal school education.
Jodie Gustafson
Jodie,
DeleteThanks for your comments!
I'm glad you liked the Active Learner video. I thought that was a great concept to relay.
It IS hard to envision technological education moving forward without the money to get the proper equipment into ALL classrooms. I hope we can get people into office who will help deal with that issue now and in the future.
Best,
Meghan
Meghan,
ReplyDeleteI always look forward to reading you blogs, the amount of information and the format is always great. I will have to begin to take some pointers from you about how to add all the different fonts and colors. I agree though we do need to move forward with technology but I am also a huge believer of students being able to use pen and paper, no matter what happens students need to be able to write words, their names, and such things. I have seen this first hand, my students last year did about 90% of their work on technology and most of those students are not able to write their names, something that my students parents expected them to already be doing in the 2nd grade. I also feel that it is difficult to move forward with the technological age if we don't have all the same technology in all classrooms. If students are used to using a Smart Board one year and then they go into next year and that teacher does not have a SmartBoard I think from the beginning they will be bored with their learning. So how do we tread that fine line until all the classrooms are the same?
Thanks again for the great post
~Megan B
Meg,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much- I always look forward to your persepective too since you are in such a unique teaching position.
Fine motor skills are a must, and I'm in complete agreement with you that we need to utilize technology because it can be so useful for our students' learning but at the same point we cannot abandon teaching other necessary life skills.
The scenarios I've heard of for implementing, for example--Smartboards-- is that the school works from the top grade down, installing smart boards to the lower grades as funding comes in. But also some schools might skip giving Smartboards to teachers who don't have training on them. Many different scenarios but yes I agree that the best case would be that the entire school gets the technology AND the training.
So many issues...
Keep in touch,
Meghan