My district brought in ed-tech guru Will Richardson to speak at our professional decelopment day. He posed a lot of questions and spoke about his own experiences and beliefs in education. I was also fortunate enough to have been selected to participate in a small group of educators to informally speak to him afterwards.
He spoke about using technology in education, or course... but the points that resonated most with me were the following:
1) Our students are 'hyperconnected' through text messaging, instant messaging, etc. The entire network is literally 'in the palm of their hands'
2) I have already read and heard people speak about how web2.0 is more of a participant experience than a spectator sport. Will said "it's not read/write and not just read".
3) Business is now more about the conversation of the conversation about the product than the product itselves. The Internet allows people to open dialoges about their experiences in a way that is so powerful it helps to drive consumer purchases.
4) We are preparing students today for a world that we know is changing. The top ten jobs for the very near future have not even been created yet. How can we best prepare our students for success in tomorrow's world when we don't even know the skills?
and finally..
5) We must prepare our students to anticipate being "Googled". He spoke about asking school administrators if they use Google to check out potential hires, and then went on to ask them "How do you prepare your students for the job interview of tomorrow?" I found that very interesting.
Social networking can be a powerful tool. It can make or break you. It can create global and local connections that can empower students and enrich their learning experiences. On the other hand, it can damage one's credibility and destroy reputations. It can provide reasons to take a chance on someone or disregard their potential.
I believe that we need to transform the definition of technology in education. It is not hardware or software. It is not the presence or the absense of visible technology. I believe that is an underlying theme or way or thinking. The visible tech resources are used as tools to carry out this new mission.
Will said that we must "live this ourselves." Thank you Will Richardson for speaking to us and planting some ideas and cultivating other ones.
2 comments:
Hello Adam, great post. I also had a chance to listen to Will at our first PD session of this school year. His presentation changed my teaching practice forever (in a very good way). His book is a great read! It was interesting to note the number of people nodding their heads and agreeing with what he was saying during the presentation. I wonder if any of those people actually implemented any changes to their program though?
Mike Poluk
www.mikepoluk.com
Mike,
Thanks for the comment. Will generated a good deal of buzz and discussion that day and the days that followed. Many people do not know exactly what "web 2.0" is (more importantly) and where do they fit in their respective curriculum?
Our district is looking within to find teachers that can shed some light on both areas.
I am very hopeful that the excitement will work its way into our classrooms.
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