Friday, February 02, 2007

Too Busy to Blog?

I agree, the question makes no sense! You can blog at home, on your wireless device, anywhere you have access to the internet. yet, I find I have not had time to sign-on. What is going on? This past Saturday, I presented educational videoconferencing at AzTEA's Annual Conference 'Teaching and Technology' (please be green and don't print the brochure!). The venue was wonderful, Mariachi's serenaded us at lunch! I heard a presentation that resonated so deeply in me that I have contracted him to be the Keynote Speaker at this year's 'Tech Academy'. The AzTEA Conference theme was 'Listening to Students Voices'. The meaning: today's students, our Digital Natives, learn in new and fascinating ways that are not always comfortable for their teachers and administrators. Our students hunger for authentic learning experiences and opportunities. The days of teacher being the expert in the front of the room have passed us by and we are behind the curve. There are volumes of studies and vast amounts of research and data to support project-based learning, integrated curriculum, authentic experience and student self-reliance in education. I hope that through technology integration we can begin to sow the seeds of this long overdue revision to the delivery of education and development of critical thinking for our leaders of tomorrow!

Phew! With that in mind, yesterday we conducted the Encore to our Eastside AzTEA 'Gizmos and Gadgets' session. The first go-round was intended for the classroom teacher as audience. This time we focused on Superintendent's, Principal's and Technology Integration Staff. We had over 30 administrators, decision makers, movers, shakers and trainers attend this amazing session.

Training staff from Paradise Valley, Tempe School District and Gilbert USD offered hands on sessions on Podcasting, Handhelds, Digital and Video Cameras, GPS Geocaching and MOODLE. the focus was not on teaching the particiapnts how to use this equipment (we assumed they came wit some level of awareness of the topics - if not the actual implementation processes). Our focus was HOW TO GET THESE TOOLS into the hands ouuf the students. Not for hte sake of tecchnology, for the sake of curriculum. Cameras to develop writers and interpretation and evaluation skills, podcasts to develop communcators and writers.

When Shelby Hobart, Tempe Schools, said to the group that videocameras shdul be left in the room froo stduents to handle and become comfortabel with and to remove the 'thrill', you coudl hear a pin drop! But there is magic in those words. Cell phones and computers and handhelds are ordinary and commonplace outside of the classroom. They should also be so inside the classroom. If the camera is simply another way to express one self (like pencil and paper), let's get that tool in the hands of the students who are not intimated.

Same old question we have been wrestling with for years: How can the Digital Immigrant better faciliatate the learning of the Digital Native?

We are busy planning the Pinal County ITv Consortium Annual Tech Academy, to be held on February 24th at the ITv classrooms at Maricopa High School, Walker Butte K-8 and CAC. And as Co-Chair for eastside AzTEA I am part of a group of people palnning the AzTEA Awards Luncheon at the MEC Conference this March, held at ASU Tempe Campus.

Read Around the Planet partner matches are filling my email and I am busy settign test dial dates and developing a master schedule.

Currently Reading: "Don't Bother Me Mom - I'm Learning" by Mark Prensky
and 'The World is Flat' by Thomas L. Friedman
and 'Never Eat Alone' by Keith Ferrazzi

1 Comments:

At 9:02 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

hello

 

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