Can I first start off by saying, I am obsessed with TED talks?! I have the TED talks app and I have a yearly goal to watch at least 20 plus TED talks per year. I find they are filled with such a variety of information put in a way which is clear cut and organized which I cannot help but love. The TED talk we watched this week was one I had previously seen earlier this school year at… you guessed it, a Khan academy workshop. We are piloting the math program at my school and they wanted a few teachers for feedback on how they can make their website better. So, of course, I signed up and was pleasantly surprised by what I found when going to the workshop.
I had previously thought the Khan academy videos were dry, dull, and pretty boring, which I still believe they could work on these, but the content in which they have added to their site with questions, badges, reports, and so many tools for students/teachers had me hooked. I loved the overall arching idea Salman Khan had for his website/academy, “humanizing the classroom” by providing the tools/technology for teaching and re-teaching outside of the class and the notion of peer to peer connections through teaching (global one world classroom). He really has thought about specific environments where anyone who wants to learn can/could learn. I think this is pivotal in the environment we find ourselves teaching in. We need to provide the resources for students to gain understanding and it should not all be going to the teacher. Khan academy is one of these resources. Now with that being said, there is definitely things which can be worked on for the website, but they have a great start of something I think “reinventing the classroom” needs to be.
The article, Web 2.0 Technologies as Cognitive Tools of the New Media Age we read this week provided many examples for how we could change our teaching/learning in our classroom. I thought it was clear and concise and provided good examples of what we might incorporate to help enhance our collaboration/reflection/technology with ourselves as teachers and for students. My favorite part of the article was the 5 recommendations for educators in implementing Web 2.0 tools. I think this was my favorite part because it rang true on so many levels and I believe it was an excellent “next steps” to become a 21st century connected educator. I found as a teacher I need to think small about what I implement from year to year and make sure it is a big deal and lesson appropriate. I remember one year where I tried implementing about 4 new technology pieces (because I thought they were just the “cat’s meow”) and it was a disaster on so many fronts. I now have started to reflect and be honest with what I can do each year and make sure the technology I do implement has meaning for students and myself.
I’ll go back to the example of Khan academy workshop which I attended earlier. I had students sign up right after the workshop without much playing around with the tool myself. So, there were some mishaps and unfortunately very low turnout in participation for the first assignment I had assigned. Since this incident, I have had more practice with the interface and feel I will be incorporating this more next year to better prepare myself and make it more of a “big deal” in my class versus something I just kind of “liked” or thought was “cool.”
Lastly, I think educators need to be more aware of potential Web 2.0 tools they can use in the classroom and be given professional development time to use and play with these tools. One of the reasons why I struggle with making my technology more specific and meaningful is because I have to use all of my own time to do this and rarely find time in school, even with the prep period. On my specific site, we have started a “No excuses” club where we meet once a month as educators and discuss best practices. Then we use a prep period or have a period sub provided for us to observe a best practice we would like to learn about. I believe this can be a first step to building a community of 21st century educators. It will take time, but I believe it will create a wave of great teaching.
**Just for fun, here is one of my favorite TED talks, and it doesn’t have anything to do with what we are learning but I wanted to share. The shared experience of Absurdity
References:
Salman Khan, TED Talk: Let’s use video to reinvent education
Hsu, Ching, & Grabowski (2010): Web 2.0 Technologies as Cognitive Tools of the New Media Age
Hello,
I agree that we definitely need the time to learn how to use the technology we are implementing in our classrooms. We are supposed to model how to use it, but how can we do this if we don’t have time to learn it. Sometimes I think we have no other choice but to try it in class and deal with the issues along the way.
In the district I used to teach at, they actually allowed us to attend multiple workshops throughout the year and we didn’t have to use school funds to pay for it. It was during the school year and was not during in-service days. It was additional training that we did within our departments, but county wide. It was great because I was able to learn new teaching strategies and actually apply them during the workshop. It was all relevant and engaging. We all shared ideas and brought sample projects/activities that addressed that specific theme. This is something I wish we would do in our district.
That sounds like a great district to work for. The one which allowed for extra professional development. I think it’s so incredibly important to continue to be learners ourselves as well as teachers/facilitators.
Hi Megan,
I also think TED talks are really dynamic and present incredibly thought-provoking ideas. The emphasis in the article on “starting small and building” was very helpful. Sometimes I feel like these new technologies and suggestions for the classroom can get so vast and overwhelming, we avoid implementing them because it’s too much to do at once. Slow, gradual change is the best both for teachers and students. I’ve definitely been in the “let’s try this new thing… oh wait that didn’t work out so well…” situation with students, and it can be embarrassing and frustrating, but moving forward and offering scaffolding makes the process much better. I love your “no excuses” club, and I would love to try something like that with my department!
We just started the club this year and we all are really excited about it. I think in the coming years it will be really good for our campus. This Wednesday, Valentine’s day, we are all having lunch with the students to show them we hang out with each other and are not just separate entities at school.