Time to get to work
I began the summer by reading Will Richardson’s book “Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and other Powerful Web Tools for classrooms.” Before I read it, I considered myself a new (I just finished my first year) but technology savvy teacher. Frankly, I have had a headache since I put it down.
In the meantime, I have been (as Will suggests) reading other edublogs, playing with Flickr, thinking through Wikis. Still, the headache remained (at least it didn’t get any worse).
Then I read an inspiring post on G-town Talks discussing the cost of avoiding change. After reading and reflecting a bit, I got to the source of my headache: I was resisting change. I was resisting participating in such a community-based set of activities. I was resisting really freeing up my students. I don’t think my motives were bad, but I realized that if I am serious about wanting to reach and engage each and every one of my students, that I had to get myself out of the way.
So, here I am. More as it happens.
July 18, 2006 @ 11:00 am
One of the best things you will teach your students is courage. Through modeling, taking this risk and others, showing students that even if everything doesn’t run perfectly you can still move forward, you will leave a lasting impression. Engagement is more than half the battle, meaningful content is the other. Blogging can give you a tool where you can accomplish both. Go for it! I can’t wait to read about your progress on your future posts. What do you have to lose?
July 18, 2006 @ 11:27 am
When a student realizes that we (the teachers) are learners too, not just feeders of information, I believe that a light bulb goes off for them. We don’t know everything and we must continue to learn and try new things. Modeling that: even as adults we continue to learn, grow, fail, try again, I believe, only fortifies our position as life long learners. Students respect that and respond. I tried blogging with a short story unit last year and it fell flat. This time, thanks to the HSNF Conference with Will Richardson, I will succeed because I know my students will come to a new level of understanding about reading and writing. Push on and good luck!