The majority of time has been set aside for questions and the planning team has identified a set to prompt the audience. Eight questions have been identified for me. They include:
- It seems as if trends or movements can influence education services in an attempt to respond to whatever is coming down the "pike" in the media, economy, or political speak. Is embracing technology and all that it has to offer just another knee jerk reaction?
- What basics need to stay in education?
- What can we count on over the years as mainstays?
- How can educators provide a meaningful and relevant experience (aka incorporate instructional technology into instructional practice when exposing students to the realities of the work world) while also keeping students accountable to WASL standards?
- Can inappropriate information on My Space sabotage a college application and/or employment?
- What are the potential dangers for embracing technology in the classroom? Do youth generally feel safe on-line? If not, do they feel they have recourse to address a threatening or harassing cyber-environment?
- They say that technology gets cheaper as time passes, but don't we incur more expense by buying more gadgets?
- Does the school district really need everything it buys or is it just attempting to keep up with the bells and whistles.
Wow, reads like a set up to me. Any thoughts as I think about how to escape this potential mine field?
3 comments:
My best advice--ask some students what they think the answers should be. While they won't have the answers to some of the questions, they will to others. When we were listening to Ian Jukes I turned to Dawn at one point and said, "We should have invited some students." I think we could really benefit from their perspective. I can think of the names of 3 juniors at the high school who could give you some ideas. Let me know if you want them.
In reading a blog by Karl Fisch he had two interesting questions for Governor Bill Richardson that made me think about your panel and framing issues as questions.
His two questions:
Governor, you have a statement in your plan about rigor, relevance and relationships. Too often in education I feel like rigor is defined as simply “harder” or “more homework.” It seems like folks are saying that what we’ve been doing isn’t working, so let’s just require more of it. Instead, I think often what we should be asking is, “Are we doing the right things in the first place?” Can you talk a little bit more about how you define rigor and what are the key skills, abilities and habits of mind that our students need to be successful in the 21st century?
out),
With the One Laptop Per Child mission, we are soon to see millions of students in the developing world use laptops in their learning every day. You want to see American education move into the 21st Century, what would you do to provide American students with the same opportunities for connectedness and collaboration?
this is WAYYYYY to much for 10 minutes, but here is my two cents worth... I think we always need to keep the focus of technology as a tool in front of us. We need to ask what it is we are trying to teach kids and then what are the tools they can use to most efficiently and effectively participate in the learning. Participate is a key word here. We need to look at what "participate" means to them in their digital lives and replicate those experiences in the classroom. (or extend the boundaries of the classroom.)
As educators, we need to influence the state and the WASL to allow the use of technology in the completion of the test, as well as how to explore problems. Teaching for Tomorrow helps remind us that we want students to be able to identify the problem, find potential solutions, design the action needed, and then implement the design. This has significance to what we should be expecting kids to learn.
Finally, yes, what is posted on-line (not just on my space) can have influence on jobs. I know of a Catholic school preschool job whose job offer was withdrawn when her pictures of her job as a "Kiss Girl" were found on line...
Good luck.
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