Educators wherever we are...
It is always interesting coming home from NECC. I spent four days talking to hundreds (if not thousands!) of like-minded educators who are engaged and excited about the current and upcoming possibilities of technologies to support teaching, learning, and professional development. I had one-on-one conversations with many dedicated educators who were there to learn, and I loved the time I could spend with them, learning what they get excited about.
On the trip home, I still found myself talking to everyone. I ran into some NECC-goers in the airport, and we discussed our favorite sessions and the new things we saw. After our little group broke up, a businessman next to me started asking me about my laptop. I was more than happy to show it off.
On the plane, I sat next to a retired Army general who was very interested in the Kindle, so I continued to "spread the word". At the sandwich shop in Atlanta's airport, I was using my phone (HTC Touch) to check my email, and three employees came out from behind the counter to take a look at it and learn more about it. On the bus home from Boston's Logan Airport, I had to tether the laptop to the phone to find a hotel reservation for the woman in the seat next to me, since the amount of traffic we encountered on the 90-mile trip caused her to miss both the last boat and plane to Nantucket, where she was planning to spend the holiday weekend.
We talk about engaging our students and getting them up-to-speed on the 21st century skills. I guess I am figuring out that if we don't get the rest of the current workforce and the employers of tomorrow up-to-speed, too, our students may not get the chance to utilize these skills.
Be generous with your time with strangers. Those of us that tote the "gadgets" need to explain the possibilities to others if they are interested. An educator is an educator wherever we are!
Kathy
Photo courtesy of the American Memory Collection, Lewis Wickes Hine, Photographer.
Labels: Kathy Schrock, NECC08
posted by Kathy Schrock at 6:29 AM
7 Comments:
Kathy, I enjoyed your post. I couldn't go to NECC but attended "virtually" through Twitter and other means. I loved your description of meeting people and sharing tools. This happens to me all the time in shops and planes. I just can't help sharing. Two such conversations have resulted in email and Twitter friendships that continue and one has lead to an interview for a teaching/training position. So by sharing I am both giving and receiving.
My friends and family think I'm a bit of a freak because I'm always having these talks with strangers. You have proven I'm not alone in the gadget-love and can't-turn-off-the-teacher-in-me department. LOL Thanks!
Kathy - I'm a university professor teaching online classes. I've been thinking about buying a Kindle and wonder if you can answer a question for me. I know I can send a student assignment to a Kindle to read it. If I comment on the Kindle, how readable is that document if I try to send the file back to the student with my feedback? I've been curious about this for a while and am hoping you have tried something like this.
Thanks!
Thanks for sharing your kindle. I am not quite ready to go there yet-love the feel of books. And what would I do with my basement if it wasn't full of books.
I think I wear my educator hat where ever I go too. I am sure everyone appreciated your help and knowledge as I did.
I needed some downtime with no one talking to me so that was Thurs, but I am ready to go again.
Rebecca,
Any clippings or notes you make on the Kindle are sent to a single text file which is easily moved from the Kindle to a computer for emailing. However, you would have to strip out the comments you make for each student from that one file. The titles of the documents (i.e. student name in your case) are on the list, so it would not be impossible to do. You can only edit this file on the computer and you can move it back, or a new one is created on the Kindle if you remove it from the Kindle.
Kathy - One of my take-aways is that we need to showcase many, many more actual examples of what teachers ARE doing that is valuable and makes the point about the value of not only integrating tech but also how you teach differently when it is done well.
Too often the examples are things the presenter did themselves. Non-adopters need to see what teachers and students have done to "get" it. That makes the connection for many teachers and administrators when they see actual student work and teacher planning and the EXPLANATION of how it worked and why it worked and where you can go to see the examples again and show others.
I have a theory that maybe that is one of the areas we have "missed" ... the last few years especially. Not nearly enough concrete actual student project examples and the story behind them, and too much about all the tools and blowing them away with what you could do ... not enough people see those presentations and really see the value in what you could do ... I'm not sure why ... it seems easy to me ... but I think MOST people don't get it that way.
There MUST BE (I would hope by now!) enough examples we could gather so whenever anyone presents they make sure part (at least) shows actual examples.
Brian,
Very thoughtful comments, and I did see pockets of successful student practices, especially in the poster sessions (which also gave me a chance to ask questions up-close-and-personal with the teacher).
Since I deal mostly with teacher professional development in my district, although I participate by co-teaching in some classes, I do not think that I would be likely to present successful student projects, because I am mostly a co-planner and observer, but your point is well-taken!
Thanks for sharing,
Kathy
Kathy, I am experiencing this same "phenomenon" more and more- kinda scary when you think about how underfunded most school districts are. My travels take me from the resort districts along the SC coast to the heartland of Indiana. Some folks are just plain not financially able to invest in much beyond a family computer, a regular cell phone, and perhaps a flat "screen TV. Others have lifestyles that involve long, long work hours, or small children who play soccer, attend dance, Sunday school, softball etc., thus leaving little time for much beyond washing clothes and preparing meals. It is the Europeans with their different schedules and value of leisure time that I believe fuel a lot of what we are seeing in emerging tech and web2- Otherwise it is class warfare - No time and money equals no new tech- and in the good old USA, we are losing ground right now with the economic issues ongoing- step back in time and many are having to give up these extras - I will bet those who wanted to look and see your phone can't get on a plane themselves, and may be driving something built in the 90's- This economic downturn may be the largest obstacle of all when it come to educating our world to what all the new tech can do...
"SC Hoosier"...
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