by Shelley Wright | Aug 23, 2011 | The Compelling Need for Change, The Teaching Life, Voices
I recently had the privilege of convening for three days with 37 educators who are passionate about education. We forfeited technology for the company of fellow teachers, consultants, administrators, university professors and school trustees. No cell phone reception. No Internet connection. Unplug’d. We were wholly engaged and attentive to the discussions at hand, as we considered what matters and why. This is my contribution.
by Becky Bair | Aug 16, 2011 | Less Teacher, More Student, Making The Shift, The Compelling Need for Change, Voices
“Our kids are beginning to hate school and, to be quite honest, so are the teachers,†writes guest blogger Becky Bair, an upper elementary teacher in Pennsylvania’s Elizabethtown School District. “It was time to change my teaching, no matter how scary the prospect might be.” After Bair shifted her teaching strategies, “it was terrifying each time I had to review our required assessments.†But in the end, the results caused her to “jump up and cheer.â€
by Patti Grayson | Aug 11, 2011 | Making The Shift, Personal Learning Networks, The Compelling Need for Change, Voices
At some point this past school year, I began to truly understand how to change my teaching. The big revelation: It’s NOT about technology. It’s about learning. If we are “integrating technology†just to bring computers (or interactive whiteboards, or cell phones) into the classroom, we’ve got it all wrong. Just using the equipment — or the web tools it allows us to access – isn’t going to lead us or our students to truly connected learning.
by Brian Crosby | Aug 8, 2011 | Less Teacher, More Student, Teacher Leadership 2.0, The Compelling Need for Change, Voices
“If we give teachers the responsibility, the time and most importantly the autonomy to design, implement, evaluate, tweak and improve their pedagogy and curriculum, that is when we will really see innovation happen,” says 30-year veteran and Web 2.0 leader Brian Crosby. “Teachers won’t long put up with colleagues who are not pulling their weight. And others will blossom when given quality, ongoing training and support in what they do.”
by Lyn Hilt | Jul 11, 2011 | Connected Leadership, Leadership, Learning, Making The Shift, The Compelling Need for Change, Voices
Is it necessary for an administrator to become proficient in using a variety of technologies? Understand how the tools work? Become truly “tech-savvy?†The answer, increasingly, is yes. In addition to daily interactions with my personal learning network, two recent reads and a meaningful experience at ISTE 2011 have influenced my thinking about the role of the administrator in 21st century teaching and learning.
by Sr Geralyn Schmidt | Jul 10, 2011 | Making The Shift, The Compelling Need for Change, Voices
Guest author Sister Geralyn Schmidt writes: “Connectivity allows students to learn not only from experts in the field but from other students as well. No longer is one restricted to what can be accomplished in close physical proximity. But, to quote a comic book superhero, ‘with great power comes great responsibility.’ We have a duty, as educators, to instruct our students to a higher good, not just the good for me. With our guidance, they can become participants in myriad collaborative communities that can affect change for the betterment of society.”
