A question..
After 31 years in the classroom, I wish to work with public school teachers who must transition from pre-Web 1.0 teaching to Web 2.0 and beyond. North Carolina has begun requiring this of all teachers and thousands of them are truly frightened. Having taught in a teacher certification program at Dartmouth College, I do not wish to return to college teaching, but would love to work side-by-side, supporting teachers as they make this shift.
What do these teachers, who are leery of using computers as more than a word processor and/or flat encyclopedia,need? Your input is most welcome and appreciated. Sarah
What do these teachers, who are leery of using computers as more than a word processor and/or flat encyclopedia,need? Your input is most welcome and appreciated. Sarah
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Steve Hargadon on
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You might look at our http://workshops.classroom20.com workshops. Since we typically gear them to be a way to help educators get started and help each other with Web 2.0, I think you might find the detail interesting. I also believe it's important to help them use tools that help them outside of the classroom themselves, so that they are getting something of personal value out of Web 2.0. Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Mark Fuson on
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Yes, this is a great site.
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Permalink Reply by Anne Pemberton on
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Sarah,
I applaud your desire. After 20 years in the classroom, I retired to making educational content on the web. It has taken years to build up users, but my stats now show that there are a good number of teacher from around the country and around the world who use my website. You can see it at http://www.educationalsynthesis.org and it is one way to introduce use of the web to the teachers you will be working with. Not only are their resources there that may meet their needs, but they can also let me know what they would like to see on the website, and I will do my best to make it happen.
Some of the best features of the Educational Synthesis website are: Famous Americans (morer than 150 summaries and pictures of people who kids learn about in school); My Own Books (more than 75 books that can be personalized to the reader on events or people in history, First Readers, the Alphabet Stories that lead to making a Pictionary, a few folkstales and other stories). There are lots of resources for teaching the alphabet in whatever order the teacher chooses: stories, writing worksheets, online activities and games. The materials on math are in the process of changing from excel to javascript which make them more user friendly. There are worksheets that work on random numbers and produce any number of ready to use worksheets at various levels of calculation, that are each different from each other. (A womderful way to test children, or discourage cheating in close quarters). There are pages for the major holidays and links to the lesser known ones, and a few sample of music. And, much more.
The newest addition to the site is a link to forums and blogs. It has just been up a few days, so not much there but my original posts. The forum can be found at: http://www.enabling.org/drupal/?q=forum/1 .... I am still writing the first blog, but promise it will give a chuckle when it is read.
Sarah, maybe the two of us can pair up and between your face to face work, and my website and forum, we can bring those teachers up to speed. It is also interested that I am located "next door" in central Virginia, should we want to meet each other. My email address is apembert@erols.com ,,,,,
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Permalink Reply by Teresa on
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I agree with Steve, that easy tutorials are great. Teachers would be more likely to use Web 2.0 tools if help sessions included going through those workshops. Then, after they've learned the tool/application, they would probably appreciate help with creating accounts for their students (of course it depends on the age of the students), help with seeing where an assignment can be easily woven into their curriculum, help with rolling it out (the kids will catch on fast, but the first time they try something new it can be rocky), and help with how to assess what the kids create. I appreciate it when I'm given a practical goal, for example, learn a tool a quarter... learn it, and try it with the kids (more than once if possible), and reflect on what the students learned. I also like what Sue Waters has been blogging about at Edublogger. Starting with helping teachers create their own Personal Learning Networks (again along the lines of what Steve said...helping them outside the classroom) may be a wonderful way to begin.
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Permalink Reply by Peter Lane on
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Teachers need practice using it themselves -- I have been trying to push the administration to use the blog they put together so the staff can become comfortable with the technology shift that has occurred without them. I feel like I am rowing a tugboat upstream with one paddle... I also think they need continual support so that they do not become overwelmed with the technology and end up abandoning it without out realizing or tapping into it's potential as a classroom tool.
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Permalink Reply by Sarah Ritter on
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Dear Colleagues, Thank you for your helpful advice and comments. Clearly you have arrived at my interest way ahead of me and are doing your versions of precisely what I would like to try. If there are more folks out there willing to broaden my awareness of what is already happening, I would be delighted to hear from you. Thank you again. Sarah
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I have been doing something similar and experiencing the same things in Indiana. while the state hasn't required anything yet, I believe it's coming.
The one thing i think teachers truly need is time to get comfortable on the web. This is hard to do because administration fails to make time during the school year and, traditionally, teachers avoid summer programs unless they are in license renewal. Also, I think they need constant support and great examples of how these new technologies have worked for other classroom teachers. Teachers truly are "I will believe it when I see it" people, and it must be in the context of their own job. Finally, they need to be aware that you don't have to integrate blogs, wikis, podcasts and other web 2.0 tools all at once. It is important they begin to utilize these things on their own schedule and integrate them in a way that is menaingful to accomplishing their subject matter goals.
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Permalink Reply by Mitch Coley on
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I teach 7th grade math. Our 7th grade team leader and myself have started a wiki page where articles, websites, and strategies will be up for discussion - kind of like blackboard if you've ever used that in a college course. Instead of meeting up for Whole Faculty Study Group every Friday, we are going to meet virtually on the Wikispace. This is our attempt to slowly integrate the idea of Web 2.0 into the brains of our more traditional peers. Once these educators see how hands on and interactive these sites are, there is no doubt that they will use them in one way or another. No one resisted the notion, in fact most people were thrilled at the concept. Also, our principal is joining our WFSG this Friday. We are going to make him responsible for joining and discussing with us as well.
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