Techlearning blog

First let me say I am supporter and advocate of tech in class, however;
the impact of 2.0 is largely negative because of cyberbullying and content issues. It's hard to sell when the product keeps getting a black eye.

First off, I am an administrator who understands the use of these tools, advocates their use and will continue to expect my staff to increase the use of these tools in meaningful educational endeavours. To respond to Ken's comment, it doesn't matter how many black eyes or bloody noses happen, it is here to stay and will continue to grow in use among the students. We either learn to work with it or shut the schools down because, sooner or later, students are going to figure out that they don't need the schools because they have no application or useful purpose. Web2.0 tools are slowly being adopted by the teachers on my staff. As I expose them to more and more, they are slowly getting use to using them. I have also been removing the option to use these tools as time goes by. No paper memos, no month calendar and requests for everything are via email. Teachers have gone or are going to technology conferences and, upon returning, required to pick one thing that they feel they can use to improve what they do. My own classes use vodcasts, podcasts, wikis, blogs and are becoming better at advanced searching for topics. They're learning how to use social bookmarking and we will be exploring using online apps to collaborate and share information. I've taken the stand that to ban cellphones is silly but they are not to be in class unless you are doing something related to the class with them and the teacher has full knowledge of their use. We are using some open source apps like audacity but we would like to increase the use of these apps. We are by no means a school that is fully operational but we are aware and will grow. My pet peeve is the whole digital native/immigrant thing. It's so misleading and misguided that it creates barriers. Too many "immigrants" use it as a reason to not do anything and most "natives" don't know how to use most of the tools that surround them. Bang my head but it creates more problems than it solves. For what it's worth.

The answer to David's question is simply, "Very Little impact upon my school so far, a huge impact upon my personal teaching experience, and extremely influential upon my students even when they don't realize it".

The most difficult aspect of utilizing web 2.0 is breaking through the mold of what teaching really is and how kids learn best. Our schools were created in an industrial age and our schools mirror that model. Teachers, administrators and school districts in general are not jumping on board with web 2.0 tools because they lose control of the learning environment. Until we come to grips with this issue, these tools will remain outside of the classroom. Our students will continue to learn about them on their own time and the ethical uses of them will continue to be determined outside of public education.

I am repeatedly asked the same question as Steve Dembo wrote recently, "How do I continue to find new tools?" I feel as if my personal learning strategies have drastically evolved because of the use of RSS, Blogging, and Web 2.0 tools to the point where I learn drastically more on my own than I now do in more formal settings. What would teachers say about their students saying the same thing in relation to their classroom?

As our business models change, education does not. It is all about control. Education will not evolve until we can truly "lose" control to a certain extent.

Kelly: thanks for commenting-it is appreciated. It is obvious that the role of the administrator is critical in directly influencing technology use in schools. I've seen that time and time again, and it certainly seems that you are headed in the right direction, and have accomplished much. Unfortunately, I still believe that administrators like you, with your emphasis, represents a minority. Would you agree? In any case, what would you suggest could be done to bring more administrators onboard with these types of technologies, in spite of all the competing demands?

I am an educational consultant and adjunct graduate school instructor who attends to teachers in schools and as graduate students. When I demonstrate the power of connectivity and collaboration to help students learn in different and better ways, I can see the “Aha” moment in most of them. But, for many reasons (a future blog article topic in itself), only about one in ten end up actually using the Web 2.0 tools with their students. In my conversations with these teachers after these learning activities are finished, they almost always express a desire to continue using these kinds of activities. In doing this, they serve as models for others.

Will Richardson in his blog at times laments the slow pace of change in adopting these powerful learning processes. It’s a theme that others I respect have echoed from others. Personally I believe that is the most effective way at present to change the way students learn is by passionate teachers who, little by little, show those around them the power of these new processes. (The most effective way, that is, until the essential skills mentioned above are assessed and the results counted for NCLB data.)

Scott: I think you are right on target with your comment, as I especially like your response to my question. I think that sums up the situation nicely.

There is certainly a disconnect between much teaching occurs now (I'm talking high school) and how it could occur. I'm not saying Web 2.0 24-7, but at least some. In my interactions with teachers, I feel that they honestly believe that it is still necessary to stand up in front of kids and tell them content. I see it everyday, and the idea of giving that up, is something that most don't want to consider.

Hi David,

I am an elementary ed tech specialist and although we have only begun our transformation to school 2.0, I have seen beautiful things happen. Blogging and podcasting has motivated classrooms of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders to write. One teacher emailed me, "I have never seen a better incentive for students. The allure of sharing your work with family, friends, and the world can invite the most timid, reluctant writer into the fold." Enough said.

Our Elementary Del.icio.us account has been embraced by the teachers. They are sharing links with each other and students are using them from home. Our collective efforts are expanding our experience.

Our first wiki, created by third grade students, not only provided an authentic audience but also reinforced the skills needed to communicate with the written word. Students read critically and became each other's editor, correcting spelling, grammar, and adding details. It was an empowering experience.

And I suppose that has been one of the biggest benefits: empowerment. I can't wait to see where this goes next year.

In my school this year we used a website where teachers posted their course syllabus, their assignments, their calendar. However, next year we are moving toward using a Moodle. Web 2.0 can mean changes, and we are moving forward. Web 2.0 had a huge impact on my classroom where many of our activities were part of the web, like video cam streams of a panda in a zoo or eaglets hatching in a nest atop a pine tree in Downeast Maine. Students in our high school were impressed with using a delicious account for their research projects. This doesn't mean that all students and teachers are using all these tools, but that we are building capacity. The biggest impact of Web 2.0 for me, I took an online class, made lots of virtual friends, learned a lot of new web tools and began blogging routinely. I will never go back to being isolated.

I love the new captcha, I can actually make comments that you will get! I hope you get to # 25!

OK...
So teachers and students should be using 2.0 tools. They are still in beta stages. The tools are all over the place... multiple logons.. not created for educational purposes...too many ads..and most need an email for each student. Many have inappropriate content for the educational environmnet. These are way cool tools and very powerful and will shift the learning in classrooms once they are all refinded a bit. Want to have powerful Web2.0 tools then create a site that allows the educator to track and monitor learning. Tools that provide teacher to student interaction that can be captured and used to set next learning goals. Let's create a tool that has all the really cool stuff in one place. A collaboration place for classrooms and learners that upholds the privacy laws and brings tools to the click of our learners...
Contact me if you would like to create such a place.

Carolyn:

Very interesting ideas and I think Google is heading that way with their tools and Google for Educators.

Also, I posted a response to this excellent post on my blog but there must not be any trackbacks. If I can't figure it out, I'll just post it here, too.

All of the points raised so far have been excellent. I work and teach in an overseas school that is new, yet very traditional. In our school, I see several inhibitors to adopting Web 2.0 tools.
1) Is lack of awareness. Kelly is a great administrator who is nudging her faculty forward. I am working with our teachers to try and show them some of the great things that you can do with Web 2.0 tools. I have also been a little late coming to the Web 2.0 party. It was only in January that I started reading up, and listening to podcasts about the potentials that Web 2.0 tools have to transform education.
2) Access to resources. This is specific to the school in which I am currently working. The school is a private institution, and has been focused on building physical infrastructure. As such our school of almost 600 students has only 2 computer labs for use K-12. Teachers have not had access to the technology. Why would teachers involve one section of a class with a technology project when they know that there is no lab access for the other two classes. This will change next year as we bring in laptops on a cart.
Bandwidth is another related resource that teachers have been lacking. There is only one ISP in the country. Access prices are high, and as a school we have had only two 1Mb ADSL lines. ADSL in our neighborhood is oversubscribed, and the bandwidth is frequently only a quarter of the subscribed amount. This will change next year as we have found a way to consolidate ADSL lines.
3) Change is scary. It is really easy to rest on what you know works. Web 2.0 requires that you do things differently. That involves risk. Until teachers become convinced on the necessity of 21st Century Skills, they are likely to keep on doing what they know works.
4) Time. Time is such a huge factor. teachers have so little of it to learn from each other and explore new ideas. This is a lament about things in our profession generally, and not just about Web 2.0 tools.
5) Isolation. Although they are working with students all the time, teaching is still a very lonely profession. We do need to be able to see into each other's classrooms and each other's student products. Making the practice of the profession more collaborative can only help with the dissemination of Web 2.0 tools.

The impact has been minute, simply because of the limited number of staff utilizing web 2.0 tools within the classroom setting. I do know that the few teachers who have used blogging in their classroom curriculum, have found it to be very rewarding. Hopefully we will become more familiar and comfortable with using web 2.0 products in our classrooms so that we can have a better concept of the impact they can and will have on student-achievement.

wrwrerwrwrw

Excellent points. In answer to your question, Web 2.0 tools do not have a stronghold in our high school building. Smatterings? Yes. Beautifully used at times? Absolutely. But would most of our teachers miss it if Web 2.0 evaporated into thin air tomorrow? Unfortunately, no. Because of that, we are trying to shift the focus in our buildings to the teachers’ instructional design and how we, as instructional technologists, can add value to their curriculum and teaching. Focus on the teaching, not the tools. Then I hope the technology will finally be integral, not integrated. Your four essential literacies would form a great foundation.

Well said Lisa. I couldn't agree with you more. I see that when technology meets an instructional need, teachers will indeed use it. That said, the focus shouldn't be on the tools, but on the skills they support. Most teachers can buy into that, that should be our focus.

Donald Norman wrote that the task is what's important (The Invisible Computer) not the tools and sometimes as teachers we are seduced by the tools and the task is lost. I think the seduction is normal - that's why most teachers are passionate learners, but finding the learning and the task should happen pretty quickly after that.(Imagine if we spent weeks admiring the end of our colour pencils!)

I must say that my school (Illinois State University) is not changing as a whole ... but there are pockets of folks who are using web 2.0 tools.

I just finished presenting with my colleague Brian Wojcik on the 2nd of 4 workshops - last week was Skype, this week was blogging; followed by wikis and online collaborative tools. We've seen small but enthusiastic numbers of faculty. I will continue to proselytize across campus.

The grandest change I've seen is in my doctoral students ... yes, non-GenNexters for the most part. They are excited about the new tools, reporting on what's being done, and starting to develop their own applications.

So the view from my corner of the Web 2.0 universe is rather awesome! We're working at making the technology invisible - sneaking up on our colleagues and blowing their socks off. Really quite fun! :-)

I teach Web 2.0 skills at the college level, but have a son in middle school. He is very lucky to be in a school with a 1:1 child:computer ratio -- every child is issued a personal laptop they take to every class as well as home. You would think that would be a great environment in which to create collaborative projects and dynamic use of Web 2.0 tools, but it has not been happening. Last summer one of the teachers met with me privately to increase her own skills in this area. She recommended to the principal that I do an inservice. I also privately volunteered to do an inservice, to meet with him or other individuals of his choice. I never received a reply to the message. So we are doing guerilla 2.0 -- I teach my son, and he teaches his friends. He is part of several 2.0 communities now, and is using most strongly YouTube, Del.icio.us, and Second Life. In Second Life, he has registered for classes, with assignments and exams for those classes. In Del.icio.us, he saves bookmarks for personal and school purposes, and tags them for friends and family. I have promised him his own Flickr account this summer, and he already has friends in Flickr. Lots and lots of potential, but it is hard to find time for training the teachers unless they individually seek out the information and skills. Personally, I believe strongly that students and teachers need to develop these skills for future professional viability. Hard to keep the students up to date with marketable skills when their teachers are behind, but hard to find the time for the teachers when they are busy dealing with fights in the lunchroom, lesson plans, meetings with parents, and grading assignments. Etc. I don't know the solution, unless someone takes a leadership position and makes it a priority for their school.

Patricia: the solution is contained in your last sentence-it's all about vision and leadership. With that, Web 2.0 can be a part of instruction and part of the learning environment. Left up to individual teachers who jump on...well, then it won't happen. Unfortunately, leadership is just not that interested, with what they are dealing with in the high-stakes testing we live in in the States. It's not about preparing kids for an information world that they will live in, it's about meeting AYP. Sounds like you are doing great work, and it also sounds like your son is getting the kind of education, albeit outside school, that every kid needs. Thanks for the comment.

I see very little use of any Web 1.0 technology in my school system, much less Web 2.0. By far the largest instructional use of technology is for drill and practice using NovaNet. I do not see much space in our curriculum for innovation, and I can almost understand, given the anxiety of instructional administrators in the face of NCLB and AYP.

One of the characteristics of Web 2.0 that is impressing me more and more is its inherent meritocracy (see Tapscott's Wikinomics). Because Web 2.0 creates such flat communities, one gains status in a community through superlative performance, not through climbing the community ladder. For instance, there is no Linux, Inc. in which one can rise from low-level programmer to CIO over a number of years. Rather, one either writes exemplary code or not so exemplary code. Exemplary code merits status within the Linux community. Lesser code is ignored.

Perhaps in the future, schools that are not exemplary will simply be ignored as students choose exemplary education on Web 2.8.