The video “Learning to Change-Changing to Learn” served as a punctuation mark of sorts to end my summer of learning. Many of the ideas expressed by the educational innovators in the video so precisely captured my own realizations that I was willing to forgive the poor audio and bothersome camera angles. A major theme running through these commentaries was that technology has completely changed the paradigm of education and it is anachronistic, to say the least, to continue our pedagogy as if nothing has changed. We must embrace the potential made possible and required by technology. Ignoring this potential will result in dire consequences for both our students and profession.
This is an admittedly an alarmist point of view, especially for those who happen to fall along the camp of educational status quo. Those of us who are ready to embrace change and completely redefine the teacher-learner paradigm will be a little better prepared to take on technology integration in education. As Yong Zhao explains in the video, “technology is not really a choice. It has created a world. It’s not just here to help you teach traditional subjects. It has invented. It has emerged a completely new environment” (“Learning to Change,” Zhao, 2008). What is frightening is that this video is already more than seven years old, an eternity in our world of constant flux. My current teaching assignment and continued learning leads me to believe that the near future will find me a much better prepared teacher, ready to help advance the new paradigm of teaching with technological integration. As to how I will be a better 21st century tech-minded teacher, it begins first and foremost with understanding the importance of being a connected educator. I don’t believe that we can be effective in our jobs while we practice in insolation. And it’s not enough to share your ideas with the teacher across the campus. We must embrace the educational community throughout the world in order to arrive at the richest collaborations. In the video, Deborah Baker suggests that if we want to help our students become more connected then we must “Start with the teacher. If I want my students to make global connections then I’m going to give the tools to my teachers first and provide the with opportunities to connect with other teachers around the world or other teachers around the country” (“Learning to Change,” Baker, 2008). As a tech learning coach, I will encourage my teachers to be better connected with colleagues both locally and globally using a myriad of social media tools. I will also make sure to embrace technological tools not only to allow kids to consume digital content but also to create it. In this regard, Julie Evans explains, “Kids are very rich content developers through their social networking sites. They’re big communicators through email, instant messaging, and text messaging and yet all of those things are banned from their schools” (Learning to Change,” Evans, 2008). It seems that at the present our default mode in education makes us more fearful than excited about what students produce in online environments. We must embrace our students’ creative potential online not suppress it. Finally, we must also see school as more than brick and mortar buildings. School and education is now a learning experience that must take into account larger communities, both physical and digital extending far beyond the traditional classroom. In this regard, Cheryl Lemke described an education where “the student is at the center and school is just one of the ways and places that they learn but they also learn through their community, at home, in museums in libraries and of course, online” (“Learning to Change,” Lemke, 2008). All in all, this class has opened my eyes to an education which capitalizes on the potential of technological integration. This video effectively reminds of just how much I have learned and how much my ideas have changed. I’m ready to bring this into my teaching and teacher coaching. Resources Learning to Change-Changing to Learn. (2008, May 15). Retrieved August 4, 2015, from https://youtu.be/tahTKdEUAPk
1 Comment
Michelle Snyder
8/4/2015 02:50:32 am
Hi David- I loved reading this because it is full of a just-below-the-surface excitement that I know you will share with everyone you meet. We share the same true north right now. Keep sharing the good stuff!
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AuthorIn this blog I will share my perspectives of the learning and materials from EDL 680, already a very inspiring course that I am taking for MA in Educational Leadership Archives
August 2015
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