I made a comment on Will Richardson's “World Without Walls: Learning Well with Others” article. It may or may not be accepted, but I have copied it here:
"But it does suggest that we as educators need to reconsider our roles in students' lives, to think of ourselves as connectors first and content experts second."
This role's title is what we should all be striving for. To gain such a title through the use of the seemingly ever dwindling technology in my school district seems to be the challenge. My seventh graders are ready the tools are not there. Legislation (my students are 12 and 13), budgets, and school politics are the challenge. Why is it that those issues shadow the best for our kids?
Despite the obstacles, to become a connector in the world of web 2.0 is my goal for this year. Thank you for framing this for me.
It's been a trying school year in my school's access to the technology some take for granted. However, after posting my blog post a few moments ago, I scrolled to the inspirational thoughts at the bottom of my blog and linked to "The Don't Quit Poem" slideshow. It made me feel better. Perhpas you need it now too. The Don't Quit Poem it's just a click away.
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This is when educators become their most inovative. I think you would like reading Brian Crosby's blog Learning is Messy. http://learningismessy.com/blog/ Brian teaches in Nevada and a couple years ago decided his students needed technology. He went out and raised funds and had donated enough computers for his 4th graders to all have a laptop. Over the summer someone broke into his school and stole them....for the rest of the story...you'll have to read his blog.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of reason why we can say "It won't work for me" but if you are a connector you can connect your students to this amazing world. Only you need to be connected to the Internet and allow your connection to be the connection for your students. Another reason why we need to be teaching students to be creative to solve creative problems.