What does it mean to be "tech savvy"?

In a world where technology is all around us, what does it mean to be ‘tech savvy’? I have been told by some that I am tech savvy, but I am not sure what that means exactly. If one can perform basic PC functions, do they fit the bill? What if they can use a PC, yet they are lost on a Mac? (or vice versa) Does tech savviness know platform boundaries? What about basic Windows stuff? Basic web stuff? Education specific software? Does tech savvy mean differently than “technologically proficient”? I think so. At one point does a novice become savvy and a savvy person become proficient (or an expert for that matter?)

What does this have to do with anything? I was just thinking. What do we look for in a teacher of educational technology? On what basis do we label a teacher that uses technology the best and most appropriate ways that it can be used? What evidence do we use to quantify or validate the work of a tech savvy educator? The time in the computer lab? The depth of the projects? Using technology to create extension activities that are genuine and eye opening for the class?

In this ever changing, dynamic, and insane world, what does it mean to be a 21st Century Educator? What does it take to be one? What does take to remain one? These are all subjective questions, but still they are worth pondering.

Who Needs a Board Room?

I played around with a site called Scriblink. While the idea of an interactive virtual whiteboard that welcomes collaboration is enticing and exciting, this software falls short somewhat. Its shortcomings are not its features, but its interface. It uses mouseovers that can easily jump to a function that you weren't looking for, the text editing is just that - text without any formatting save for color, lines and shapes that are basic, and a way to import images but you can't really do anything with them once they are on the board. Where it shines is the "free" tool. That's how I made the "WOW" text. I could see using JUST that tool while working with others. The shortcoming there is that you must be skilled with a mouse (or even better - the touchpad!). I used the latter with some practice.

Despite the fact that this is not the greatest web-based application out there, it raises several key questions. First, is a truly interactive collaborative digital space that far away? Second, what implications (or possibilities) does this hold for the classroom of tomorrow? I like to think that walls that keep us physically inside our classroom do not exist digitally, so there ya go. Meeting rooms might not be needed, or at least not at the size and importance that they once had. There is a ton of space out there on the Internet... pull up a kiosk sometime.

Therefore, while Scriblink might not be the digital tool to expand our technological horizons, it might be the grandfather (grandmother?) to the application that is. I wonder if the inventor of Pong ever envisioned the video games of today...

Oh Shift!

In our T.E.A.M. survey (you can't imagine know how much I love filling out surveys), it was asked how I felt after watching "Did You Know 2.0" on YouTube. I watched it, and I felt many emotions. I was surprised with predictions like China being the number one English speaking country in 10 years (but whether that is based on total population or a relative percentage I don't know), and how today's learners will have 10 to 14 jobs by their 38th birthday. I guess gone are the days of working in the same job for 20 or 30 years. Our economic environment has changed greatly, and it seems to be moving faster than ever.
The video demonstrates how powerful the Internet is as a medium to reach people, as a resource for children of all ages.

Education has always meant to prepare students for the world they would soon inherit. They are the policy and decision makers of tomorrow, and each day we give to them we do truly build and invest in our futures. How can we prepare our students today for the challenges of tomorrow without knowing what will make them "21st Century Literate?" How can we integrate skills into our curriculum that will be relevant to jobs that do not exist yet? I guess the fact that many of us are thinking about this helps plant the seed of educational reform to some extent. Call it a subconscious pedagogical awareness of sorts.

The most powerful quote to me was Albert Einstein's:

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

My own daughter, who is not even two, knows the computer as a source of information. She enjoys watching her favorite Disney channel characters singing and dancing using online video sites like Youtube. She doesn't fear technology - she embraces it. She will grow up in a world - an on demand world where information is all around her. My hope is that she will be able to differentiate the useful from the useless. I also hope that she will guide the wave of knowledge and not be swept up by it.

Teaching the American Evolution

Well, the new semester of T.E.A.M. has officially begun, and I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Mark Weston, our new mentor. He challenged us with this notion of educational revolution, and asked if we believed it to be inevitable. Of course, I said yes. My philosophy is that our classrooms are true extensions of the world around us, therefore if the world is constantly changing so shall our classrooms. New social situations, economical environments, life skills, technologies, instructional models, facilities and our ever changing population make education an inheritantly dynamic setting.

That being said, I challenge with the comparison of revolution vs. evolution. Revolution is defined as a radical and pervasive change in society and the social structure, especially one made suddenly. Now "suddenly" is a subjective word, and I think it should also be based on the change that it is relavent to. Evolution, on the other hand, is defined as a gradual, peaceful, progressive change or development.

Getting back to Dr. Weston's question, I believe that change is inevitable based on the reasons I mentioned above, but I challenge that it's more evolutionary than revolutionary. I don't believe that it is realistic to think that there will be this dramatic shift in education. The basic principles are there, but the media, resources, theories and practices will change, or evolve. I believe that whatever change in roles that teachers and students alike will go through will be gradual.

Today's teachers are increasingly taking the role of facilitator, helping students along a path of exploration and self-discovery rather than depositing information into the minds of students like putting money in a bank, but the change has been relatively gradual.

In the fourth grade, we study the American Revolution, where the colonists (founding mothers and founding fathers) decided to seperate from British rule and be free. They fought a war over it, risked it all and won (obviously). The life of a colonist was much like it was before, but they had control over their own decisions and their destiny. Perhaps the education revolution won't change too much of the day to day, but rather the big picture and the direction taken... maybe allow educators to play a greater role in educational policy and have politicians stick to politics.

I look forward to interacting more with Dr. Weston.

Start Your Engines!

Yes... I do love Mustangs... and I wanted to play with inserting an manipulating an image. That is a 1993 Mustang Cobra doing a sweet launch... anyway...

Another 2 weeks and the new semester will begin. I wonder what new technologies will be introduced and explored. I wonder how this semester will creep into my teaching, my classroom, and the lives of my students.

I would love to embrace a new technology-based project for my class for the second half of the year. The "CrayCast" project was a huge success, and they are enjoying our Classblogmeister page very much. Both take a decent amount of time to set up, but in the end they are well worth it. I guess I am looking for the next big thing (along with educators all over the place!)

Only time will tell I suppose. Just like that 'Stang above, all we can do is point our noses forward, keep our eyes open and forge ahead!

'Tis the Season

Whether or not you believe in the fat guy in the red suit, you do believe in the holiday season. Regardless of your religious affiliation, Christmas time (or the holiday season as retail capitalism would like to call it) has somehow infiltrated our very culture so much that other religions are scrambling to find relevance to it (in my opinion). I am reminded by the South Park song "It's hard to be a Jew on Christmas", and I laugh. Yet, I know that children of any religion are expecting presents for whatever reason can be squeezed out of the marketing machine.

Okay.. what the heck does this have to do with technology? Stay with me here; I promise I will do my best to make sense of this.

The day after Thanksgiving is called "Black Friday". Bananas of all ages and genders flock to their local shopping places, and they push, shove and jockey their way to the best bargains of the season that has just officially started hours before the stores usually open. Some live for this insanity. Being someone that dislikes... no make that absolutely loathes shopping malls during the rest of the year, let alone holiday time, Black Friday isn't even close to being a suitable option.

I remember when I first heard of people buying over the Internet. Everyone was worried about stealing credit card information, stores that didn't exist etc. Consumer confidence was not all that great.

Oh my, how things have changed. Nowadays the market share of Internet purchases is so strong that there is a day called "Cyber Monday" that shows the first big day of online purchases (at the expense of employers!)

What does this have to do with anything? I challenge that as technology becomes more used, more relevant and more accepted to the general community, it will become much more commonplace. The rate at which this has happened with commerce is staggering, but yet the rate at which the education system is transforming is not quite as quick. What must we do? Do we have to provide that level of safety, security and comfort to our teachers and administrators? How do we give them that warm, fuzzy feeling about emerging technology?

One thing that I have noticed about the Internet today (and web 2.0 tools in particular) is that they do not cater to the "coders" as they used to. Applications are much more user friendly and 'approachable' than they were years ago. The Internet, once reserved for the power user super geek, is now home to countless students of all ages and people using it for many uses. So here we have something that reaches ages and tech familiarity of all levels, but how can we bring that comfort to our schools? I don't know.. I am just wonderin..

Merry Microsoft or Mac to all... and to all a good night.
Happy holidays.

Mnemonic Awareness

Which is the real penny? Whatever one is worth one cent of course. The cognitive theory materials are really making me think (and if the theory is correct I should have the capacity to do so). In one of the materials, it said "Learning results when information is stored in long term memory in an organized, meaningful way. Forgetting is the inability to retrieve information because of memory loss, inference, missing cues, inadequate cues, etc."

As a learner in high school, memory was my saving grace. Despite the fact that I studied a bit (not as much as I could have or should have) memorizing was what saved me. Memorizing bits of information and regurgitating it on an assessment might get the good grade, but it doesn't mean that the learner has truly synthesized the information. When it has been applied by the learner, it is clear that it has been learned.

Another item that hit home was the use of mnemonic devices. Strategies like "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally" and "My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nine Pickles" served me very well in my academic journeys. The fact that I still remember them to this day is a testament to the power of such devices, but I must questions whether memorization truly is learning, or is it a pathway or resource to learning.

Before I begin a math, social studies or science lesson (those are the vocabulary heavy subjects to me), I begin with relevant vocabulary. Instead of handing out the vocabulary premade or simply reading it from a book, I have the students read it and record it themselves. My hope is that they will understand, internalize and memorize the vocabulary and the concepts that will be explored. Of course we revisit the material throughout the lesson and through subsequent lessons, but I think that the initial plant makes a difference in how it is presented.

So what does this all mean to the learner? Activating prior knowledge is something that we as teacher depend on every day. One skill is most often built on another, and without that foundation it will surely be more difficult. There is much to be said about familiarity. it eases anxiety and increases comfort. Memorization aids that, but for information to be really 'learned' it must be more than just memorized.