Sunday, February 1, 2009

Week 4: Hopes and Fears

On Alan November's web site, he states:
Those of us who confront change in our professional or personal lives usually experience both hopes for the future and fears of what change might bring. Initiating the change process by having people list their personal hopes and fears can sometimes help individuals see they are not alone in their perspectives. It can also help any group address concerns collectively.
So...I will ask questions similar to the type Alan asks groups with whom he is working:
  • What is your best hope for what technologies such as blogs and wikis will provide to improve learning?
AND
  • What can we lose from adding technology such as blogs and wikis to our schools?

21 comments:

  1. My best hope is that technologies such as blogs and wikis can be used to stir the interest in various subjects from otherwise uninterested kids. There are always some kids who are interested in all subjects (or at least willing to pay attention and work in all subjects), some kids who are interested in particular subjects, and some who have no interest.

    I see these technologies as having the potential to improve the experience of the first group, extend the interest of the second group and spark some interest in the third group.

    I think one of the biggest things we can lose from adding technology is focus. Technology can be fun, and technology can be interesting, and technology can be time consuming. Without taking care, technology can be a way where we spend a lot of time having fun without advancing the academics of the students.

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  2. What we can hope is that students will use these tools to enhance/advance their learning. Being able to converse with experts, peers, teachers and parents via wiki's and blogs students knowledge of any given topic should bloom.

    We, teachers, will loose knowing it all. What I mean is that teachers will become facilitators not "on stage with all the knowledge". We will help students learn in a different way than we learned, so teachers will be risk takers - reaching for our students potential in new ways.

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  3. My best hope is that these technologies will help prepare my students for as many "literacy emergencies" as possible. The more venues and formats in which they are comfortable, both in expressing their thoughts and actually using the format, the more successful I am as an English teacher. I want them to be able to blog, wiki, write, speak, perform, email...

    What we lose is time. Every moment I spend tinkering with the "how-to" of the latest tech adventure toy is one moment less that I am spending on improving fundamental skills and content.

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  4. I am seeing more and more of what may be a trend in my high school students: they are not motivated by grades, but by results. I have brilliant students who are able to do above what I ask them who simply don't want to do book work or step-by-step assignments. But give them a collaborative group project using these tools, make them problem solve it, and they are usually the ones running the show and making sure that it's perfect.

    I personally feel that using these tools will challenge these kind of students and keep their interest alive, where grades and their interest come together in a beautiful mesh. Those students that have learned the system for education and can pass without knowledge retention now must expand their thinking beyond outside the box that they've sheltered themselves into, and retain more.

    I also think that teaching students to use these tools properly, not just for 'fun' can help better prepare students for their own future.

    My hope would be where the progression of the Internet lets the world become the village that raises the child: teachers, family members, friends, and business partners working together to create a well rounded, experiental learning experience that truly 'fills' the student and sparks their interest.

    What could we lose as instructors? I agree with Bruce. We can lose our focus. These are new tools, they are useful tools if used properly. They are not the sole means of educating our students, nor what we are expected to teach, but tools in our toolbox of strategies to help in teaching.

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  5. My hope for implementing technologies into my class is to introduce technologies to my students who have very little experience with them. We live in the poorest county in Ohio. Some of my students are only exposed to digital technologies at school. I would like to provide opportunities for students to use the technology they will be using in everyday life as an adult worker, and to teach them how to use this technology appropriately. Technology use is very helpful to students with disabilities. Digital devices help my students write, spell, etc. Microsoft speech technology is the one I use the most. It has made a huge difference in my students writing. I was at a loss for technologies to use in literature other than the traditional books-on-tape. I think blogs and wikis could be the tool I am looking for. Students would be able to collaborate about stories they have read, discuss or clarify assignments, brainstorm ideas, and just reflect on issues without having to be in the same room. They could get information from people around the world. I really think using technologies in the classroom sparks interest. My students like using the limited amount of technology we currently have. I can’t wait to step it up a little. I truly think we will gain more than we will lose with technology. We could lose the ability to “Shelter” our children. Exposure to a larger number of people increases the chance of being exposed to unsafe situation or not-so-nice individuals. I really don’t see any other negatives to this other than misuse which is also possible with pencil and paper.

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  6. My best hopes for the use of blogs and wikis is their use for positive encouragement and a pursuit for lifelong learning. Information as we all known can have a positive or negative impact on our society and on individuals. My personal goal is to take new educational technologies and make them an avenue to promote positive opportunities for learning. These could be anything from great places to eat when traveling, simple ways to share discoveries, to sharing a great new website, blog or wiki.

    On the other hand, I don't want blogs and wikis to take the place for personal interaction of teacher to student. They do offer a way to share, but its with "virtual" people. I don't want to become more interested in online interactions than real person to person interactions.

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  7. • What is your best hope for what technologies such as blogs and wikis will provide to improve learning?

    My hope is that participation in wikis and blogs will engage students and help them to develop a desire for interacting with others, to develop a desire for life long learning, and to be responsible for their own learning. That is a lot of hopes! I also hope that by participating in wikis and blogs students will see that they can accomplish more by collaborating with others than by working in isolation.
    AND
    • What can we lose from adding technology such as blogs and wikis to our schools?

    As a classroom teacher, we will lose our role as giver of information and become facilitator instead.

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  8. I hope that collaborative technologies such as blogs and wikis will excite students and teachers enough to elicit open, direct exchange of ideas. If technologies that are so pervasive in students' non-school lives can become part of school, I think there is potential for new interest and excitement in learning. As students become engages, they begin to make a personal investment in their learning; as they invest, they accrue greater dividends from their exchanges with others.


    The most salient losses we can sustain from adding technology such as blogs and wikis to our schools are the artificiality and ennui that so often find their way into classrooms. The technology can offer current and vital topics and the transfer of personal insights into questions previously found in reading assignments of the student textbook.

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  9. I hope that through the use of blogs and wikis, the students will increase their willingness to collaborate with other students. Some students are unwilling to work with others and through the use of technology, they might see the benefits of collaboration. This will enhance their ability to succeed in the schools and in the work place.

    What we could lose is the individuality of the students. Students who are easily influenced, might have their thoughts and ideas changed when they read what other students are writing. Those students that take longer to form an opinion, might be persuaded to "go along" with the majority before they have the chance to form their own thoughts.

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  10. My hope is that these technologies will motivate all students to learn while reaching students with various learning preferences. Students will hopefully take more pride in their work because it will posted for all to see.

    My fear is that I will plan a lesson around technology and the internet, and some glitch will make it unavailable - computers shut down, unable to access internet, etc. Therefore technical issues will take up valuable teaching time.

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  11. My best hope, other than having the ability to not only engage my students in a really transformational way, but enthrall them about learning, is that teachers/IT depts./administrators who are resistant to this change will start to take their heads out of the sand and embrace this thing that is not going to go away. I hope that we can really go about guiding kids in the way they use this fantastic technology, instead of ignoring it, and merely hoping/expecting the kids will learn how to use it correctly on their own.

    I agree with Bruce that the enticing nature of these new toys could really make up lose sight of what is really important: critical thinking, inquiry based learning, problem solving, collaboration, etc. I'm afraid of the technology driving the pedagogy, and not the other way around.

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  12. What is your best hope for what technologies such as blogs and wikis will provide to improve learning? My hope is that these and future technologies will become even more prevasive in the lives of students and their families...that we "catch" the interest and enthusiasm when children are young and allow our curriculum/state standards to grow and adapt as these web tools grow.

    What can we lose from adding technology such as blogs and wikis to our schools? We can only loose time and the opportunity for advancement if we don't add technology. The incorporation of technology along with good teaching practices will certainly help our students become productive members of the future.

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  13. My hope is that blogs and wiki's will add a new dimension of learning to this generation of students. Back when I went to school the foundations we were built upon were "memorization". Copying notes from a lecture until your hand cramped up, then memorizing all that info and reiterating it on a test. Essay's were merely a reflection of what you were taught, with very little critical thinking and opinionation. With Wiki's and Blog's, it opens up the door more easily to add that critical element to our education of students.

    What we can lose is the balance of critical thinking and collaboration with the basic educational principal's. We now want our students to be more critical/collaborative thinkers, and Wiki's and Blog's si a great tool for that, but does something have to be given up to accomplish that?

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  14. There are 23 teachers in my JH/HS. During the past week, 9 of those teachers came back from eTech conference jazzed about incorporating wikis, blogs and Moodle in their classrooms. 40% of my teachers got fired up to teach. Almost one half of them saw this process and a way to instill enthusiasm and productivity back into their classes. Give society another 10 years and there will be another tool, another way to reach students. If teachers are willing to change, willing to do a little extra, willing to invest their time into their children, they will succeed as a teacher.

    To quote someone else: (Jacqui Loughry) "What we lose is time. Every moment I spend tinkering with the "how-to" of the latest tech adventure toy is one moment less that I am spending on improving fundamental skills and content." So on one hand I commend the teacher willing to put in the extra time, on the other hand, I feel responsible for "pushing new technologies" on those willing. I remember the face of one of my techno-teachers, as I enthusiastically approached her about starting a wiki in her class. The exasperation was obvious. Somehow we have to help them balance the load, or at least provide some relief.

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  15. My hope is that by using technology such as blogs and wikis, that I will increase class participation and take out some of the boredom in the classroom. I also hope that students will learn from each other by reading the comments and viewing projects created by their peers.

    I agree with Jacqui that time is often my biggest obstacle in learning new technology. It seems like something new comes into our building constantly and I get overwhelmed trying to do it all. There just isn’t enough time in the day for me to do what I would like to do. I wish I required little sleep so that I could spend more hours figuring everything out and be able to get up on “stage” and do a performance without glitches. I thank my students all the time for being patient when I am trying something new. And again I loose valuable time in the process. But if you don’t try it, you won’t learn how to use it.

    P.S. I attended the eTech conference on Wednesday and saw two great demonstrations of Wikis being used in classrooms. If you are new to this, like myself, check out how Mr. Harms from Penta Career Center – Social Studies teacher- is using a Wiki in his class: http://harmsc.pbwiki.com/. I also attended a workshop conducted by Kathryn Korty from Edgewood City SD in Bulter. Their whole district has a Wiki: http://edge-wiki.wikispaces.com/Teacher+Webpages

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  16. My hope with these technological tools is that my students become more globally aware of their interests. Not only should the use of these tools enhance classroom discussion and creativity, but it should allow them to see outside of the normal spectrum. Many of the creations our students have can be shared worldwide.

    My biggest fear is that not enough teachers will embrace technology and take the time to learn it. I guess the point will come in everyone's careers, but I think the effort is worth the reward. The vast majority of my students participating in the wikis and blogs love the assignments AND that they are being consciously "green" to save the planet. I love that they have this concern. When it is not addressed by teachers, it almost takes a complete disregard to what our students think. This sets the cycle backwards.

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  17. Your comments are fantastic. As I read through them it brought to mind something I heard Alan November say....to be successful in any work situation now and in the future....students will need three skills: 1. the ability to collaborate; 2. the ability to quickly and effectively process massive amounts of information; 3. self-directed behavior. I feel that what you all have said aligns with this insight from Mr. November.

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  18. What is your best hope for what technologies such as blogs and wikis will provide to improve learning?
    My best hope is that we use these technologies to create more “powerful learning environments” (Partnership for 21st Century Skills) where we guide and encourage our students in ways of thinking about what they learn (content) that will help them communicate, collaborate and create in the global community that is their future. As teachers, tech coordinators and administrators, we have to lead the way in showing our parents and other stakeholders that continued emphasis on acquiring “basic skills” and testing is not enough to ensure that our students can be successful and competitive in a 21st century world. I wonder at what point will we become irrelevant, immaterial and inconsequential to our students’ real-world ways of learning and doing if we do not add these new technologies in schools?

    What can we lose from adding technology such as blogs and wikis to our schools?
    We lose if we do not cultivate what Howard Gardner calls “respectful and ethical minds” in our students while they use these new technologies. I agree with Gardner’s premise that our students need to understand, accept and respect the “diverse perspectives” of the global community. They will also need to “do the right thing” when faced with the “increasingly complicated issues that will require solutions that cross disciplinary boundaries and go beyond ‘one-box’ solutions’. If we create respectful and ethical communities within our schools, we better prepare our students for their place in the global community of the future.

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  19. Cheri, Your comment reminded me of this movie that will be coming out soon (see link below)....there are many movies like it coming out....the world is going through such dramatic shifts: http://divinesparks.blogspot.com/2009/02/humanity-ascending.html

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  20. My best hope would be that my students would become better writers and thinkers. Through this course, I've seen so many ways that I, as the teacher, have become better informed and more knowledgeable about what can be done using blogs. Creatively, blogging and use of wikis will allow students to take their learning to another level (I teach English and can see how this can be imbedded in my curriculum). I'm not sure this can be considered a "loss," but those students (and teachers) who are still leary of using technology, could hinder the success of any project by expressing negativity to parents/teachers/board members, etc.”

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  21. I feel that the best hope technology and blogs and wiki bring to education is a complete, immersive learning. Getting parents, relatives, and business mentors to comment and discuss student work encourages them to do their best, as well as teaches them the kind of quality that is needed to be a 21st Century web participant.

    However, we lose the attitude that all work must be individual. It will be important to distinguish between appropriate collaboration, and inappropriate collaboration (cheating). We as educators may need to redefine it for ourselves.

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