I am getting alot of resistance trying to set up bloging within some of the schools I am working in. I don’t understand why these districts haven’t heard of this, and have so much resistance towards it. At one of my schools they had a big push for Technology in the beginning of the year. Technology, technology, technology. I am only there in the fall. I went back last week and and was talking with the technology guy and with great excitement I asked “Hey Mike, I know you guys are really pushing technology. Is anyone blogging, or using wiki’s for teaching? He said no. With great enthusiasm again, I said well I am starting to blog in one of my classes, I would like to start bolgging next year for my class. He said talk to the superintendent.
I am now on the mission to sell technology to these schools. I hope I can get the job done.
On the positive side, I am beginning to blog in one of my classes. The technology woman helped me set it up and a wiki space is on the way. I want to get in and get it started but with a great conversation with my supervisor, and the information I am learning in my classes the power of these creative tools is how the students want to use them. So many times students dont have a say in what goes on with THEIR education. My next step is “hey we have access to this great tool, how do you see us using it to help you”. And go from there.
April 13, 2008 at 6:43 pm
I’m glad to hear that you are pursuing technology in schools. I believe teachers don’t want to use wiki spaces or blogs because it is one more thing they have to worry about. Students do need more power in their own education if we want them to get anything out of school. Being able to please teachers and parents should not drive students to want to do well in school. Some type of intrinsic motivation should be at the heart of learning and can be achieved if we allow students to create their own goals. Using wikis and blogs for what students want, is a great idea. Students can think of even better ways of using technology than teachers. Keep up the good work and don’t give up!
April 15, 2008 at 9:37 am
Keep up the conversations, Greg. There are many folks who just are unaware of current trends in educational technology and it requires folks like yourself to plant seeds, demonstrate effective pedagogical uses of new tools, dash misconceptions, and bring up and continue conversations about them. I would encourage you to set up your own personal blog (like this one) for yourself as a teaching professional. That is one more way to invite folks into conversation with you and demonstrate this one tool’s potential.