I read this on Twitter a few days ago and it immediately struck a chord with me.
“3x a week take 15min playing with new digi tool, 1x a wk 15min to integrate the tool into an existing lesson via @benpaddlejones“
So I retweeted it and added something like this. “This week I have explored Glogster and Prezi, ready to integrate them into my teaching.”
A few people picked up these tweets and ran with them for a while. To me though it echoed further. There is so much I do not understand, that I cannot yet do, so much that I want to explore. Sometimes I feel a bit overwhelmed by my lack of knowledge and expertise. What I do know is that it’s not just about liking teaching with technology, it’s much deeper than that. The interesting part is that this morning I read Chris Betcher’s latest blog post and could really identify with it.
“It may appear that we edtech types are constantly promoting the use of technology just because we happen to like technology, but it runs deeper than that. We promote the importance of technology because, if you have been embedding technology into your teaching for any length of time now, you’ve seen first hand just how effectively it can start to shift the way your classroom operates. You know it can increase engagement, raise the quality of the work, make the learning more authentic, more on-demand, because you’ve seen it. And while you might value the role of technology in enabling all these things, you also realise that it’s not really about the technology, but rather the learning.”
So where does this leave me as a teacher and a learner? I can’t do it all today, I can’t do it all at once, but I can and I will do it slowly. I will take 15 minutes (give or take a few) a few times a week to explore a new tool that I have read about, seen, or listened too. If it grabs me in that time I will endeavour to figure out how to integrate it into my current program. I know that in the correct context it will fulfil all the claims Chris Betcher makes.
As for Glogster, we will be planning our goals for term 2 this week. I am going to allow the students to use Glogster together with our Two Stars and Wish Program, to create their own goal posters for this term. We will embed the best on our class blog and print them out as a permanent display point in the classroom.
And Prezi? Well I used Prezi to make a bullet point presentation about the keynote speakers at ACEC2010 which I then presented to my colleagues. I found Prezi really easy to use and by making it quickly after the conference I was able to put down my ideas while they were fresh in my mind.
And next week, well I am open to suggestions?
10 Comments
Henrietta
I’m honored my 140 characters have inspired you in such a way. I’m a strong believer that existing (16th century) models of professional learning have to become more social, interactive and sustainable.
Technology is evolving if every time an application is released or when Application v1.2 upgrades to v1.3 we need to attended a closed technology focused workshop then this whole technology thing will fail. It is not scalable or affordable.
You have modeled my two most important values about professional learning 15 minutes play and pay it forward (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cgq8nDBcufo).
Let the learning continue…
@benpaddlejones
So very true. I find that the more I know, the more I realise I don’t know! I’ve not yet used Glogster or Prezi with my students but it is on a (long) list of tools that I want to try. Look forward to hearing how it goes!
Thanks for the link to Chris Betcher’s post. It’s an interestig read!
Kathleen McGeady
Hey Henrietta,
As someone who blogs, it’s a humbling experience when I realise that some words I wrote, words that are, to me, often little more than just thinking out loud to myself, have been of some use to someone else. Thanks for saying that you could identify with them and that they meant something to you…
Keep up the great work with your learning and your teaching. Your kids are lucky to have a teacher who is so keen to keep learning.
Chris
So true! Everyone keeps telling me “I don’t have time to try anything new” so the 15 mins once a week really resonates with me. Thanks Ben and Henietta for supplying a way to get teachers to engage with new technology in a manageable way.By the way, I love Prezi and Glogster.
Other suggestions for your next 15 minutes – wallwisher, animoto and goanimate.
Henrietta,
This is such a great reminder to all of us who love the tech. It won’t happen all at once, but we need to allow for those 15 minutes each day to transform our teaching.
You are an inspiration and testament to what that 15 min. a day can do. The projects sound wonderful!
Yes, I totally identify. When I wrote about my ‘identity crisis’ in this regard, many people responded that they feel this way too. At least we know we’re all in it together! One step at a time…
This is why reading blogs written by people in the classroom really helps me. To continue to move forward and learn more is important, but it is also important to tell yourself that you don’t have to do everything at once. I have learned so much in the past year, but I’ve been feeling a little burnt out in the past few weeks and overwhelmed by how much I don’t know. I’m also frustrated by trying to provide my students with valuable learning opportunities, and at the same time contend with antique computers that don’t keep up with the internet. When I think about 15 minutes a week of new learning, I can manage that. I am interested in learning about Glogster. I haven’t explored that yet. I am looking forward to reading about your experience with that. I am lovinng Kidblog.org. My kids are doing well with that and growing in their writing. Thanks for your blog posts, Henrietta.
I know I get overwhelmed by new technology, particularly when there is a steep learning curve with lots of details to absorb. One application I tried yesterday was Yahoo Pipes. At first glance, I was daunted. But I watched two short videos and began to play and within two minutes, I had a scrolling Pipes Widget on my blog that filtered all my articles so only the book reviews showed.
Sometimes though, fifteen minutes just isn’t enough. In cases like Photoshop or Aviary, I just keep nibbling away every so often until I can accomplish just one thing, then another.
My suggestions: ScreenToaster and Notaland.
I have just identified 8 more things (glogster, prezi, animoto, goanimate, kidblog.org, Aviary, screen toaster, notaland) that I did not know about that I will have to add to the list of things to investigate in those 15 mins. I am starting to feel a little overwhelmed by what I don’t know but will just have to keep on going. As I am new to blogging this whole experience has proven to be much more useful than I imagined.
The secret is to take a deep breath and not panic, none of these tools will go aways and none of them will care if you take your time to learn them! So do just that, take a few minutes each week and try to get to grips with the ones that you think will be useful to you as an educator. personally my students and I love glogster, animoto and prezi.