by Tracy Rosen, teaching & consulting since 1996, blogging about it here since 2007. All views are my own and you should take them with a grain of salt, I do.
We keep youth off to the side while the adults talk and talk about how to improve the world. To youth, it is a lot of talk and little change. It’s ironic and sad that youth, with the biggest stake in the future, are so often seen and not heard. Think of all the areas where adults are monopolizing a conversation in which youth have the largest stake.
Think of all the areas where adults are monopolizing a conversation in which youth have the largest stake.
I think of this from the perspective of adult education, where the ‘adults’ (teachers and professionals) monopolize the conversations about youth (and some not youth – adult education students in Quebec range from 16 to whatever).
How wonderful it could be to involve students in professional development. In evaluation design. In program and instructional design.
I’ve been looking through my archives as a result of redesigning my blog over the weekend and saw a few posts about different flavours-of-the-month from years past. What I wrote in one post about PLCs (remember them?) from 2007 still resonates in me today but as I was link-checking to make sure the links still worked I was confronted with the fact that most of them did not.*
And I realized just how very real this phenomenon of flavour-of-the-month PD actually is.
They are all the rage – one year it is PLC, the next differentiation (or did that one come first?), then it’s integrating technology, then it’s 1:1 laptop, then project-based learning, then layered curriculum, then tablets, then learning styles (I hope we’re past that one for good), then..then…then…
People talk about it to death, rail on those who aren’t talking about it to death, then slowly move on to the next red-hot PD delicacy….and pretty soon the links get broken and teachers are expected to pick up the pieces, shake themselves off, and move on to the next flavour-of-the-month.
Is this what PD is all about? Am I misguided in hoping for and working towards professional development that is as meaningful to teachers as we want our classrooms and learning situations to be for our students?
Teachers do not fear being ‘replaced’ by computers. That is a 1980 ‘s idea that has never gone away.
I’d like to look at that fear. Is that really just an old wives tale?
To a certain extent I believe that there are teachers who do fear being replaced by computers. But it is so much more than just one thing. They don’t necessarily think that a computer will be sitting at their desk in the front of their classrooms but there is a certain trepidation about what technology does do that will replace what they have been doing for so long.
We say let the computers compute and leave exploring/creating/collaborating/etc.. in the hands of the learners and teachers.
What if what you have been teaching for so long has been, basically, computing. In a very real sense in mathematics but also in other subjects. When you teach a student how to do something by giving them every single step of it along the way, this is a form of computation. Introduction + body + conclusion = essay.
When we tell teachers to let technology take care of certain elements of what they do…well…what happens if much of what they do are those elements?
So yes, there is a fear that what they do and in turn they, can and will be replaced by technology. We can not dismiss that.
Dismissing emotion is dangerous. It makes it go underground and comes out in a variety of other ways, usually in passive aggressive ways –> scoffing at all things technology, refusing to reply to email messages, that kind of thing.
So let’s look at this fear and deal with it. We can deal with it by acknowledging it and addressing the fear in a way that doesn’t dismiss it but gently leads teachers to the courage that is necessary to try something different.
(Very important point coming up)
Because teachers will not be replaced, their roles are becoming different. Very different. Struggling through that change on our own is hard. It’s still hard with guidance but less so, I’d say.
I thought I’d open it up for discussion here as well.
So…
Do you agree with my statement that integrating technology is not the goal?
I talk about it in more detail in this little video created for DevPro – a professional development project initiated by consultants Marc-André Lalande and Avi Spector that aims at flipping PD for Quebec’s English sector adult education teachers.
Summary:
I presented our story and talked about our main learnings:
When introducing new teaching tools be sure to include a lot of teacher-centered PD, allowing time to address teacher concerns with the hows and whys of using new tools, the fear of changing teacher roles, working through discomfort with technology, and allowing for teachers to learn how to use the tools in a meaningful way.
iPads are tools to help teachers bring great pedagogy to their students and learning environments. Don’t throw a bunch of iPads into a classroom and expect magic to happen.
iPads are best used when they are recognized as individual user devices. Don’t try to use them and control them in the same way that you would paper workbooks or computers and laptops. You can not control which apps a student chooses to use on the iPad (beyond limiting the apps you put on it…but even then, a savvy student can download whatever app they want.) What I find great about a tablet is that the apps allow us to offer much more individualized and interactive learning experiences so students are generally more engaged in active participation than evasive techniques.
As opposed to focusing on specific apps, I like to look at what is already available on the iPad that can enhance learning. Specifically, the video capabilities are fabulous ways to practice langauge, understanding, performance tasks in a safe way.
Feedback: We received lots of great feedback, including some that wished we had more time (as did I! I will take that into account for next time. One hour is just not enough time to present AND respond to the needs in the room!) and some that seemed to be asking for more elementary school level apps. As outlined in the workshop description, the session was intended to showcase what we are doing at Nova – an adult education centre. So we don’t really work with elementary level apps. However, I’ve included links below to some blogs and other places that do showcase elementary level apps. I hope that you all made it to the literacy workshop that followed mine, apparently they did highlight quite a few apps for lower levels :)
Ali’s Top 10 Math apps – they range in price from free to $7.00. Only 1 requires wifi to use (Ace). Preparation Educreations – great for preparing lessons that students can refer to on their own time or if they need another listen to/look at the explanation or if they missed the class. (I also like its potential for student-created lessons…if a student can create a lesson on a topic, they get it.)
Conversion Converter – a unit converter for many, many different types of units
Algebra Algebra Touch – touch and see how algebra works.
Tritutor – search for this in your app store. The links I found all point to the US app store, which won’t work for us but it can be found on the app store from your iPad. Ace – High School Math Algebra (require wifi). Step-by-step video examples for a variety of high school algebra topics. HUP Polynomials – more videos…
Geometry MathGraph – interactive app for graphing circles, elipses, parabolas, and hyperbolas WinPossible Geometry Tutor – (from the website) Having difficulty with some parts of Geometry or just need a refresher course? Then this video series is for you. With 15 MAJOR CATEGORIES and 81 VIDEO LECTURES totaling over 7 HOURS of lessons, Video Geometry Tutor covers all the essential areas you need to know about Geometry. Unit Circle
Multi-topic Math Aptitude – Looks like a comprehensive math learning app for multiple topics (high school). The link goes to the US store, you may need to search for it within the Canadian store or directly from your iPad.
