Those that tweet about all things 'Education 2.0' are on a mission (me, too). That mission is to change some minds; to elucidate that times are a changin' and Academia better get on board. This is an important quest. The field (and so many in it) are slow to change--too slow to see the proverbial writing on the wall. That writing tells us that kids are different. They are wired (actually wire(d)less) but nonetheless connected to multimedia, to information, to other teens. They are the so-called Digital Natives and we best make efforts to reach them. And we also best get Luddites on board with all this tech that drives teen's lives. We best find ways to leverage these modes of connecting and communicating in the classroom! We Best! We must!..............................But.
But....is it really a quantitative paradigm we want to exemplify with regard to our use of tech? Because that's what I'm seeing all around me now-especially on Twitter: '21st Century Teachers' on a mission--blinging out their 'PLN' by tweeting incessantly like a South Korean World of Warcraft addict. I follow many such Tweeting Educators who seem to tweet all day, all evening and on weekends, too. What is going on here? There isn't possibly enough time to actually digest the information that is being tweeted and retweeted. It's like watching Educator's Gone Wild With Tech! I'm grateful for all the links, articles and potential professional development resources but when is it time to power down? Or is never the new normal?
I asked this on Twitter:
One reply I have received says it all:
Yes, that seems to be the problem. Do we really want our Supervisors, Principals, Superintendents and School Boards thinking we have that much time on our hands?
What it boils down to is this: We can do an amazing job batting for the adoption of '21st century tech' in our schools and classrooms. We may even convince people that matter (our Supervisors, Principals, Superintendents and School Boards) to take a look. What will they see when they do? In one case I know, they will see a teacher that 'tweeted' over 10, 000 tweets in a matter of months. The questions When? Why? and Where? are all valid questions for Supervisors, Principals, Superintendents and School Boards to ask. I hope the answers point to the improvement of student learning. I also hope face to face interaction with them hasn't been marginalized either. In the case of Prinicpal's as Twitterers, the same questions might be harder to answer.
I hope there's Quality in all that Quantity. My personal assessment? There is. Let's just be sure to keep it that way.
"Excellent Question, message is that they have time on their hands--and perhaps the beginnings of a problem."
Yes, that seems to be the problem. Do we really want our Supervisors, Principals, Superintendents and School Boards thinking we have that much time on our hands?
What it boils down to is this: We can do an amazing job batting for the adoption of '21st century tech' in our schools and classrooms. We may even convince people that matter (our Supervisors, Principals, Superintendents and School Boards) to take a look. What will they see when they do? In one case I know, they will see a teacher that 'tweeted' over 10, 000 tweets in a matter of months. The questions When? Why? and Where? are all valid questions for Supervisors, Principals, Superintendents and School Boards to ask. I hope the answers point to the improvement of student learning. I also hope face to face interaction with them hasn't been marginalized either. In the case of Prinicpal's as Twitterers, the same questions might be harder to answer.
I hope there's Quality in all that Quantity. My personal assessment? There is. Let's just be sure to keep it that way.
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1 comment :
You are right on so many counts here! Nicely done--
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