In this blog I hope to provide instructional technology strategies, tools and practices. I will try to weed through the abundance of information to find the ones that have the potential to increase teaching and learning.
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| jessiehart / Flickr |
Remember when you were getting a drink from the water hose in the yard and just as you got your face down to the water, your brother turned it on full force? Today, that's how the information is flowing out of the Internet. You can quickly become drowning in too much information.
I do most of the the technology training's in my district, I am repeatedly asked " Which tool should I use" or "Why should I use this tool instead of what I am doing Now?" My response always is, do what is best for you and your students. If what you are doing is working for you, than keep on doing it, dive into and use that tool to it's fullest. Personally, I am always experimenting with new tools. I have a Dropbox, Goggle, SkyDrive, and Box accounts. I am trying to decide between Evernote and OneNote. I have courses in both Moodle and Edmodo. I have moved from Delicious to Diigo to Livebinders to Pinterest and finally Symbaloo. All of that change does come at a cost, a cost of time, energy and the depth of knowledge.
I have found that teachers are used to the "sit and get" model of professional development. As much as they want their students to take ownership of their learning, I would like my students -- the teachers -- to do the same. I model self-directed learning, so they can model it for their students. Our students are connected and expect their teachers to also be connected. It is our job to show how to connect properly and safely.
I understand that not everyone has the same level of comfort but you can do something. Take the baby steps and try one small thing. Set aside some time every week for personal Research and Development, just 15 minutes a couple of times a week. Teachers are not satisfied if their students do not improve every year, school districts should hold the teachers to the those same standards and not be satisfied if the teachers don't grow and improve every year.
Think about it --- What do you want to learn today? --- edtechlisa
I have found that teachers are used to the "sit and get" model of professional development. As much as they want their students to take ownership of their learning, I would like my students -- the teachers -- to do the same. I model self-directed learning, so they can model it for their students. Our students are connected and expect their teachers to also be connected. It is our job to show how to connect properly and safely.
I understand that not everyone has the same level of comfort but you can do something. Take the baby steps and try one small thing. Set aside some time every week for personal Research and Development, just 15 minutes a couple of times a week. Teachers are not satisfied if their students do not improve every year, school districts should hold the teachers to the those same standards and not be satisfied if the teachers don't grow and improve every year.
Think about it --- What do you want to learn today? --- edtechlisa
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