If we’re going to help our students develop the focus they need to think deeply about things — to acquire Howard Rheingold’s “Infotention” — then I think most schools will need some ground rules, made in collaboration with students after lots of conversations around these important topics.
As a teacher-librarian it became obvious to me that systemic change was necessary to enable all our students to benefit from the opportunities created by technology and connectedness. Over the past year, the team I work with has been leading change in our school, working to expand our understandings about 21st century information fluency and help our students grow as digital citizens. A dedicated blogging platform, ePortfolios and information fluency certificates are helping us do that.
With information being ubiquitous, I believe that teachers can (and should) take control of their courses by creating their own interactive textbooks. It might seem like a daunting task, but the availability of quality materials online and the power of tapping into personal learning networks should make this a worthwhile learning journey. In this post I will explain the process of creating a digital textbook, tools for each step of the process, and strategies for involving students in its development.
Technology opens the door, but it’s the support and encouragement we find in authentic learning communities that connects us. Commitment is hard. Giving up outdated but comfortable ways of doing our work is hard. We all need encouragement to stay on course. Many of us are finding that support online.
I have long believed the role of the teacher is to ask the best questions she can, and to help her students answer them. I also believe, more than ever, in empowering students and teachers with the attitudes and skills necessary to become change-agents in their own lives. That includes leveraging the powerful tools made available by new technologies to help students and teachers become co-creators of knowledge collaboratively and online.
Our student-led parent conferences always center around each first-grader’s individual blog. Their blogs are an online portfolio that shows their learning in all of our subject areas through the year. Because this work has been posted through the term, the parents have almost all seen the work before, but the comments that their children make during the conference regarding their goals help the parent to know what specific skills we have been working on and what to watch for through the next few months.
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