At the first strategic planning committee meeting, I did a presentation about the changing nature of education and the challenges these students will face in the knowledge economy they will encounter after school. I talked about using technology tools to teach essential 21st century skills. I explained how they could incorporate virtual classes, individualized online programs to help struggling readers and mathematicians, classroom blogs and websites, 1:1 computer programs and using technology to expand student learning beyond the school walls. The parents and teachers on the committee seemed excited.
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| Photo courtesy of www.st-alphonsus.org/school |
After several more committee meetings, we were ready to craft the plan. Imagine my disappointment when the parents and teachers' initial enthusiasm for educational technology had turned to skepticism and a prevailing attitude of "it'll never work." In the end, they proposed a "strategic" plan that was really nothing more than "let's just keep doing what we've always done."
Now I didn't specifically talk about classroom wikis, but I can see how teachers, schools and districts might be tempted to shun the use of such technology tools in favor of the safe, familiar approach. I can imagine teachers in my school (a virtual school of all places) saying something like, "Sure it sounds like a wonderful opportunity to teach students in a new and exciting way, and it might work in some schools, but it will never fly in our school. It's impossible." I implore teachers, school officials and parents to give technology tools like wikis and blogs a chance to radically improve education and prepare students for a future in which such skills will be not only important but indispensable. Will there be challenges to meet and obstacles to overcome? Of course. But nothing worth doing ever comes without having the courage to take a chance. To those who say it's impossible, I would remind them that people said the same thing about winning WWII, climbing Mt. Everest, ending apartheid, landing a man on the moon and building a vast network of interconnected computers so everyone has equal access to the whole of the world's knowledge.
Chris, I have to laugh at your comment about implementing wikis. When I was at my last school we implemented wikis (only those who wanted to could) and a lot of the teachers had the same reaction. They thought the idea was great, but that it wouldn't fly. A few teachers (I was one of them) took the step to start a class wiki and it definitely was work, but I can honestly say that my kids liked the interaction of it and how they could be apart of each others learning process. It seems though, when doing a wiki, you need to teach how to be a part of a discussion and/or comment on a post. Some of the responses were not in tune with our topics.
ReplyDeleteI understand your frustration Chris. People will not really embrace change unless it solves and immediate problem that they are having, or if the amount of work for the change is less than the work they are currently doing. In this case they probably thought the many changes you were suggesting would be too much work, even if they liked the idea itself. It might work better if you give them some small ideas to start with, such as a single blog or wiki per class, then gradually expand the programs as people see the success.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments. I was thinking in terms of implementing these ideas over the course of a five year strategic plan, but I can see where some people might feel overwhelmed when presented with all these new ideas at once.
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