Ah... 23 Things, come and gone. We had some good times, the Things and I. Sure, there were some rough patches - nothing's ever easy all the time - but we got through it. To paraphrase an excellent and admirable hobbit, I don't know half the Things half as well as I would like, and I like less than half of them half as well as they deserve.
Alright, so that last part didn't make a whole lot of sense. Whatever. Bilbo is awesome.
Feedback: I mentioned over and over again that I'm not 100% on board with the idea of "learning 2.0" or whatever, and most of the Things seemed to involve something either entirely frivolous or of questionable educational value. I do think it's important for teachers to be more or less up to speed with technology in general, so the 23 Things assignment works on that level, but I have a lot of trouble picturing MOST of the Web 2.0 technology presented therein as being useful in an educational setting. I also think the presentation of certain Things could be reorganized - for instance, Thing 16 repeats much of the same information as Thing 12, depending on which Google tools a student chooses for Thing 12. If Thing 16 happened first, then in Thing 12 a student could just choose different tools to avoid redundancy.
Where do I go from here? Lunch. I'm starving. After that, though, it will be time to consider what I may or may not do with this blog in the future. If I see a use for it in my classroom a couple of years from now, I may revive it, but for now I believe I'm content to let it lie while I go back to doing the things I was already doing. At this point in my life, a teaching blog is just one more thing to keep up with, and since I'm not going to be teaching for some time (or ever, if APSU continues to schedule classes the way they do), I don't see much point.
Did I learn some stuff? Yeah, I suppose. I was certainly exposed to some things I haven't been interested in checking out on my own. Have my technological horizons been broadened by this assignment? Not really, but then I was pretty comfortable with technology to begin with. Am I going to change my tune about cutting-edge technology in teaching? Not likely - at least not until society and economy catch up with technology. When I can be reasonably sure that all my students can access the web at home, then I'll worry about web-based assignments. When I can have unfettered access to computers for my students in the classroom, then I'll worry about using computers in class. Until then, I suppose I'll just keep an eye on the horizons of technology and think of what I might possibly be able to do one day, if the stars align properly.
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I agree with much of what you said. While there were things that I did learn in this class, much of it was "fluff and circumstance". Some of the items in APSU 23 Things were good, but much of it was useless as a teacher in my school district. First off, I agree with the statement that there is little need in getting excited about technology for students until every student has access to it at home and through out the entire school. I teach technology classes, and I am unable to use most of the things we covered in 23 Things. My county does not allow me to maintain a classroom blog, so this is pointless for me at this time. As for having my students access work on the web outside of class, this is fairly pointless since I teach at a Title 1 school. Most of my students do not have computer access at home. Most of my students only computer access comes in my classroom. When I have them in my class, I do not have the luxury of time to teach things beyond software and how to use it. Besides that, with the anti-predatory laws in place for minors in school, my county has most web items blocked that the students would use for on-line communication.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I think you have a great observation of the reality of the situation. Since we are not teaching at the college level, we do not have the luxury of requiring computer access or internet access.
I appreciate the comment, and I'm glad it's not just me feeling like this. I really hate to come across as Mr. Doom and Gloom, but for right now I think awareness of the possibilities is the best we can hope for in this part of the country. That said, it IS important that we know what's possible and what could be done, if for no other reason than that we need ammunition in the fight for better funding and more technology. It behooves us to be able to point to specific benefits when we are facing apathetic bureaucrats and a public sentiment that borders on hostility toward education.
ReplyDeleteSo let's not entirely give up on these ideas, you know? One day we may be in positions to help drag TN kicking and screaming into the modern era. ;)