I realize I don’t have many original ideas here, most are coming from other math blogs I’ve seen (and that’s not too many, yet). I really like using a scribe concept of having students post a summary of the daily lesson in the web page. This would work well in an upper level class. It is a great way to foster communication about math and to provide access to handouts, assignments, alternate explanations for processes, links to visual calculus, and so on. Connection to parents is also a big plus, as they can get online and see just what their children’s assignments are. No more “we didn’t have any homework!I see the concerns with safety as important, but exaggerated. Some training and leadership should make it work for us. In summary, I think blogs are a wonderful tool for the classroom as long as a given school is technologically ready.
School 2.0!!!
So I went to Mr. Warlick’s site, http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/2007/02/27/more-on-school-20/ and read about school 2.0. His discussion is most interesting. I agree with his premise that our task as educators is to prepare out students for success in the adult world. In today’s world, this includes the internet. Whereas some of the students figure all of this web 2.0 business out on their own, many may not. Are educators prepared to lead the charge, I fear not, knowing this from personal experience and the slow spinup time for schools to catch up with what’s out there.
Tom, 28 Jul 07
School 2.0, article 2. http://www.districtadministration.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=1060 This is the second article I read. The premise of the article is to rethink the way we are educating students. Right on! The article questioned the reality requiring students to be in classrooms, say in a math class. Students can learn outside of class, and so on. I sort of agree. Learning mathematics is like learning a language. To be proficient at an advanced level, you need skills learned at a lower level. Can the students learn these skills by themselves on computers? Well perhaps if they are properly guided. I was tempted by a link at the bottom of the page, and went to www.districtadministrator.com site and read an article (perhaps more with teacher 2.0 intent) which really faulted the teacher education system we use. I couldn’t agree more. I think our teaching education programs are disfunctional and next to worthless. How are teachers taught to incorporate technology into their classroom? Probably not at all. Humph.
Tom
Facebook and Friends
I read the article http://insidehighered.com/news/2006/06/15/facebook, “The many faces of Facebook”, a second article, “Thoughts on facebooks”, and finally, “Myspace in College Admissions. The bottom line…whatever you post out here, it NEVER goes away. The articles were peppered with instances of people making inappropriate or poor judgment comments about themselves or others in myspace or facebook, and having people in decision-making situations “discovering” these comments, with unfortunate consequences following, such as losing a scholarship, school suspension, not getting a job, and so on. It seems that somewhere along the line, students must be reminded to be discreet, kind, and respectful of themselves and others, when they go posting something about themselves or others for the world to see.
I did have one student this year who connected with her future roommate on one of these social interaction sites. From hearing her discussions on this, it seemed to be a very positive use of the technology.
Tom
4 responses so far ↓
1
tom
// Jul 28, 2007 at 3:14 pm
Hello all, I went to Mr. Warlick’s blog and read about school 2.0. The comments are something to look at also. Mr. Warlick correctly speculates that the role of education is to prepare students for entry into the adult world. A robust knowledge of the internet and it’s tools is pretty integral to that, for most of our students. Some of them figure it all out on their own, but the educational community hasn’t been doing much to help this out. See the site at
http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/2007/02/27/more-on-school-20/
Tom
2
Donna
// Jul 29, 2007 at 9:12 am
Hi Tom,
I have to agree with you about educators not necessarily being ready to lead the Web 2.0 charge. I think many of us are willing to begin the journey, but it will take a little time. This couse is a first step. Teacher education programs is another. We are partnered with our local college to give students experience in the classroom. What we have found is they don’t have any more formal experience with how to integrate and use the technology in the classroom than we do. There aren’t formal classes for them to take right now. I see that as a great detriment/flaw in the program. I think we need to begin there also. Professional development at our level also needs to become more centered around this. It can’t all be done on our own.
I also think that you are correct when you say that not all students will figure the new tools out on their own. Everyone has a different learning curve and need the extra assistance. Look even at our teachers, some are comfortable with experimenting on their own with new technology and others need to have that step by step guide. Neither is wrong, but goes to show that training is still important for all.
As far as students learning on their own and not in traditinal classrooms, it is possible, but what do we lose in the process? I still think there is something to be said for face to face learning. It can be a combination of the two, but I think we would lose valuable social time. All the social networking tools in the world cannot (and in my opinion should not) replace the human contact piece of learning.
It is quite the chunk of information to think about and plan for isn’t it?
Donna
3
tomtalbot
// Jul 29, 2007 at 10:12 am
Donna,
I certainly agree with your comments. As I indicated on someone else’s blog, I think administrators (in the front office and SAU-level) should take these courses. Perhaps this would fast forward the time when we go to a professional development series of days, mingle with a consultant or some kind of pro, and leave with technological applications we can run with as soon as school begins.
Tom
4
Donna
// Jul 29, 2007 at 12:38 pm
Hear, Hear! If only!
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