I wrote this post on June 11th, where I posted two times. Maybe it was missed...then again maybe not.. I would love to have your thoughts from your experiences and how you have dealt with these issues. So....I am posting again.
I wonder if it is a better idea to blog often or blog long.... Tonight I will blog long since I have had four days to reflect on our class last Wednesday. The intense storms on Friday evening kept me off line and I had time to do some reading. This in turn prompted many diverse connections in my head about how all this is connected; The TLA course, the new technologies we are learning about, the group work we are experiencing with our advocacy. New understandings have surfaced this week. In reading Davidson's case study on developing the role for an Educational Technologist (ET) I am transported to previous conversations I have had with our school's ITRT (Instructional Technology Resource Teacher). The issues that were faced by Davidson's subject Kevin McGullivray mirror issues that our ITRT and I discuss. "What is my role?", "How is it defined by the teachers and the administration?", "How can I get teachers to make use of my talents?", "How will others view me as part of this school if I do not have my own office space?" and "How can I get the school team to support my efforts?" are questions often discussed. It was very helpful to read this study in that it helped me legitimize what might be construed as complaining by our ITRT. Defining her role is critical--how teachers view her position and her role in the school is equally important to her effectiveness as a technology guru, as is how she views the role herself. With all the emerging technology and the integration desired by the school officials it is imperative that she is seen as a comrade, a liaison, a co-teacher, and a collaborator. What I have realized is hat this all takes time an doesn't happen during the first year. The second year is better. People need time to internalize change and process what it means to and for them. Teachers roles, themselves, have changed--we have been required to adjust to changing curriculum, standardized testing, ever-widening leadership roles and continually asked to incorporate new technology. There doesn't seem to be the luxury of the process time needed to easily incorporate all these changes. I can sometimes comfortably sit back and look at the big picture. It is not productive to view a week's, a month's, or even a quarter's progress or lack there of, to determine success or failure. Brown and Moffet's discussion of the hero's role is apropos--it is not enough to look linearly at cause and effect....sometimes the seeds we place take time to grow.
ARE WE THERE YET?
2 1/2 days until EE (exit experience)
1 comment:
I often find myself wondering how we assess our success with students. Do we simply look at the academic success in terms of how they perform on benchmark and SOL tests, or do we look at the impact that we have had on them as people? Really, we are training them in some curricular areas, but we are also preparing them to go into the world and serve as citizens.
I am increasingly concerned that I do not have adequate time to prepare my lessons using some of the tools that are taught through the ITS cohort. I am sure that my principal would love to see some application of the methods, but know that the "hard sell" to my colleagues would be both demanding and time consuming. Fortunately, I am not in the position of ITRT, so no one expects me to be a "technology pusher" and I am perceived as one of the "us" and not the "them" of administratrion. Perhaps the best method to encourage others is to put my students' products on display and let those who are interested come to me. As you said, it will take time for people to change and to accept change. I have nothing but time to wait...
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