An “Attitude Adjustment”
Educators know that it is virtually impossible to make someone learn something if they do not have a willingness and openness to the learning. We’ve all probably used the old cliché: you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink it, when reflecting upon the attitudes of certain resistant students. In a nutshell, attitude is everything.
Why would this be any different for teaching adults about technology? Can it be expected of teachers to embrace and learn new technologies just because they have been told to do so? If we try hard to make meaningful and relevant connections to our students’ lives in our teaching, we should be doing the same for teachers with how we deliver professional development. A “one-size-fits-all” approach simply will not be successful. "Technology use by teachers is strongly influenced by their own attitudes towards that technology..." (Becker, 2007).
Kadijevich’s research (2006) found that of the three factors which affect technology use in teachers (interest, support and attitude), the one factor which needs to be focused upon the most, is developing attitude. Computer attitude is crucial in motivating teachers’ intentions to use the technology. This is affected by how the teacher perceives the “usefulness” of computer technology.
Kadijevich found that a positive computer attitude may be developed through interactions and cooperation between inexperienced and experienced users of technology, through mentorship, that promote a teachers’ understanding of why, when and how to use technology.
He also stated that teacher development should be continuous, thus, not sporadic and without follow-up. When the use of educational technology is made more personal, teachers will maintain the use of the technology.
Asselin’s research (2005) maintains similar findings: teachers require mentorship and collaboration in order to support information literacy.
Based on these findings, I suggest that partnerships be set up with teachers, between experienced and inexperienced users of technology. Preferably, these partnerships could be formed within subject-specific departments. This way, teachers could approach the use of the technology with common goals and desired outcomes in their subject area which would not happen as easily with teacher-partnerships which are spread out across various disciplines. Regular, on-going meeting times for would need to occur in order to sustain development. Once every two weeks would be ideal.
Teaching teachers to use technology needs to be done so in a way which is: fun and motivating; personalized and practical; supportive and sustained over time.
References
Asselin, M. (2005). Teaching information skills in the information age: An examination of trends. School Libraries Worldwide, 11(1). (ProQuest)
Becker, K. (2007). Digital game-based learning once removed: Teaching teachers. British journal of educational technology, 38(3), p. 478-488.
Kadijevich, D. (2006). Achieving educational technology standards: The relationship between student teacher's interest and institutional support offered. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 22. p. 437-443
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Seeing is Believing: Blogs in Educational Context
What are Blogs?
Here’s an explanation, in “plain english” to help us better understand blogs.
(Blogs in Plain English by Lee LeFever – Common Craft)
Web 2.0 tools are important in the teaching practices of the new educational landscape.
(Why Let Students Blog? )
Source: http://mrcoyle.edublogs.org/
Here’s an explanation, in “plain english” to help us better understand blogs.
(Blogs in Plain English by Lee LeFever – Common Craft)
Web 2.0 tools are important in the teaching practices of the new educational landscape.
(Why Let Students Blog? )
Looking at the Blogs of other Educators
By visiting the blogs of other educators, we can start to see very quickly how other professionals are using this web tool. Mainly, these examples show how blogs can be used in the context of professional development.
As a starting point, let’s take a look at a few blogs of educators:
* 2 cents worth by David Warlick
* Weblogg-ed by Will Richardson
* Neverending Search by Joyce Valenza
A second site to visit in order to gain some understanding about how educators are using blogs is taking a look at Edublogs. Edublogs hosts hundreds of thousands of blogs for teachers, students, researchers, professors, librarians, administrators and anyone and everyone else involved in education.
This web site is specifically designed to provide blogs as a place for:
- providing blogging accounts for educators and students
- forums to answer questions
- troubleshooting
- feedback and discussion
- reflections
- support
By visiting the blogs of other educators, we can start to see very quickly how other professionals are using this web tool. Mainly, these examples show how blogs can be used in the context of professional development.
As a starting point, let’s take a look at a few blogs of educators:
* 2 cents worth by David Warlick
* Weblogg-ed by Will Richardson
* Neverending Search by Joyce Valenza
A second site to visit in order to gain some understanding about how educators are using blogs is taking a look at Edublogs. Edublogs hosts hundreds of thousands of blogs for teachers, students, researchers, professors, librarians, administrators and anyone and everyone else involved in education.
This web site is specifically designed to provide blogs as a place for:
- providing blogging accounts for educators and students
- forums to answer questions
- troubleshooting
- feedback and discussion
- reflections
- support
Blogging across the curriculum
Next, let’s start to narrow down our scope of the blogosphere, and try to imagine its uses in our classrooms. Although there are obvious connections for reading and writing which point to blogs having their place in English language arts classrooms, blogs can be used in all subject areas. Here are few suggestions to consider:
* Math – students can work on math problems with peers from another class
* Science – students can compare results of science experiments with other classes
* Language classes – students can converse with native speakers
* Phys. Ed. – students can log and analyze their workouts and/or diets
* History – students can construct resource sites for their studies
* English language arts – students can respond to literature readings
* Art – students can critique art work and projects
Take a peek at a few examples of some real examples of how classroom teachers are using blogs in their subject areas:
A Science blog: http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=84725
A Math blog: http://mykhmsmathclass.blogspot.com/
An Art blog: http://mshearman.edublogs.org/
An English blog: http://mrscaldwell0.edublogs.org/
(There are many examples of classroom blogs to be found at: http://supportblogging.com/Links+to+School+Bloggers)
These are only a few examples! What other uses for blogging can you start to see for your classroom?
Next, let’s start to narrow down our scope of the blogosphere, and try to imagine its uses in our classrooms. Although there are obvious connections for reading and writing which point to blogs having their place in English language arts classrooms, blogs can be used in all subject areas. Here are few suggestions to consider:
* Math – students can work on math problems with peers from another class
* Science – students can compare results of science experiments with other classes
* Language classes – students can converse with native speakers
* Phys. Ed. – students can log and analyze their workouts and/or diets
* History – students can construct resource sites for their studies
* English language arts – students can respond to literature readings
* Art – students can critique art work and projects
Take a peek at a few examples of some real examples of how classroom teachers are using blogs in their subject areas:
A Science blog: http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=84725
A Math blog: http://mykhmsmathclass.blogspot.com/
An Art blog: http://mshearman.edublogs.org/
An English blog: http://mrscaldwell0.edublogs.org/
(There are many examples of classroom blogs to be found at: http://supportblogging.com/Links+to+School+Bloggers)
These are only a few examples! What other uses for blogging can you start to see for your classroom?
Source: http://mrcoyle.edublogs.org/
Setting up a Blog
As Richardson suggests, teachers must become bloggers themselves so that they can fully understand the potential of blogs as a teaching and learning tool. Teachers should start out small; create accounts and gradually familiarize themselves with the blogging software and the experience of publishing online. They may wish to begin only responding and posting to existing blogs before writing and publishing their first post. As teachers get more settled into the rhythm and mental work that is blogging, they will learn to write more critically and indepth.
An introductory use of blogs for teachers can be as a course management tool to put basic information relevant to the class, such as: handouts, assignments, deadlines, upcoming events, etc. This does not require them to have students to set up their own accounts (unless they decide to do so later on). The information is completely controlled by the teacher. As teachers feel more comfortable, they can introduce their students to other uses of blogging.
As a staring point, I would show my staff the process of setting up a blog with Blogger or Wordpress.
Ideally, this professional development session would take place in the computer lab, with each teacher sitting at a computer station, while I guide them using an large screen projection of my computer screen. By providing a demonstration of how to set up an account, followed by instructions on managing the settings, teachers can then get started “hands on” with personalizing their blogs. It is important that an adequate amount of time be given for teachers to investigate the features and settings of their blog accounts.
This document, Setting up a Blogger.com account for use in the classroom, provides extremely helpful information pertaining to setting up a Blogger account; something I would use as a handout for teachers to supplement a demonstration.
(For teachers who are familiar with blogging, and wish to start investigating how they can set up blogging accounts for their classes, I would direct them to Edublogs.)
As Richardson suggests, teachers must become bloggers themselves so that they can fully understand the potential of blogs as a teaching and learning tool. Teachers should start out small; create accounts and gradually familiarize themselves with the blogging software and the experience of publishing online. They may wish to begin only responding and posting to existing blogs before writing and publishing their first post. As teachers get more settled into the rhythm and mental work that is blogging, they will learn to write more critically and indepth.
An introductory use of blogs for teachers can be as a course management tool to put basic information relevant to the class, such as: handouts, assignments, deadlines, upcoming events, etc. This does not require them to have students to set up their own accounts (unless they decide to do so later on). The information is completely controlled by the teacher. As teachers feel more comfortable, they can introduce their students to other uses of blogging.
As a staring point, I would show my staff the process of setting up a blog with Blogger or Wordpress.
Ideally, this professional development session would take place in the computer lab, with each teacher sitting at a computer station, while I guide them using an large screen projection of my computer screen. By providing a demonstration of how to set up an account, followed by instructions on managing the settings, teachers can then get started “hands on” with personalizing their blogs. It is important that an adequate amount of time be given for teachers to investigate the features and settings of their blog accounts.
This document, Setting up a Blogger.com account for use in the classroom, provides extremely helpful information pertaining to setting up a Blogger account; something I would use as a handout for teachers to supplement a demonstration.
(For teachers who are familiar with blogging, and wish to start investigating how they can set up blogging accounts for their classes, I would direct them to Edublogs.)
A Brief Introduction: Adding RSS Feeds Through an Aggregator
Although the primary focus of this particular professional development session would be to introduce blogging to teachers, there may also be an opportunity to demonstrate how RSS feeds can be utilized along with blogs. Therefore, only a brief introduction to this web tool might be given at this time. A PD session completely devoted to RSS feeds and the Internet would be a logical next step in the process of learning about Web 2.0. Richardson’s chapter “RSS: The New Killer App for Educators” from Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms would provide a guide for this explanation and demonstration.
Although the primary focus of this particular professional development session would be to introduce blogging to teachers, there may also be an opportunity to demonstrate how RSS feeds can be utilized along with blogs. Therefore, only a brief introduction to this web tool might be given at this time. A PD session completely devoted to RSS feeds and the Internet would be a logical next step in the process of learning about Web 2.0. Richardson’s chapter “RSS: The New Killer App for Educators” from Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms would provide a guide for this explanation and demonstration.
Making the Case for Web 2.0 Tools
The educational landscape as we once knew it is experiencing a time of unbelievable growth and change. Bob Dylan said it best: “…the times they are a-changin’”. Living in the Age of Information has prompted educators to rethink, revamp, and revitalize the goals of curriculum to prepare students for living in the 21st century; a new world where exponential changes in technology are happening.
Many researchers have acknowledged that the way students learn today has changed from a generation ago. As Ian Jukes (The Committed Sardine) explains:
Kids today are different. Clinical research shows that children neurologically adapt to their pervasive digital experiences, and that they absorb and process information in ways fundamentally different from their predecessors.
Technology has changed, and will continue to change education.
Students must be given the opportunity to actively construct their own knowledge, and to develop the ability to understand and apply key content concepts and ideas, to solve problems, ask questions and question answers, link disciplines, and explore multiple routes to knowledge. Digital Learners like to receive information quickly from multiple multimedia sources, multi-task, process pictures, sounds and video before text, have random access to hyperlinked information, network with others, learn "just in time", have instant gratification, and learn things that are active, relevant and instantly useful.
Education changed from the Agricultural age to the Industrial Age, and it needs to now change from the Industrial age to the information age (Ian Jukes, The Committed Sardine).
Will Richardson (Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms) also provides some key questions educators need to address about the impact of the Internet – the “Read/Write Web” on our futures:
* What needs to change about our curriculum when our students have the ability to reach audiences far beyond our classroom walls?
* What changes must we make in our teaching as it becomes easier to bring primary sources to our students?
* How do we need to rethink our ideas of literacy when we must prepare our students to become not only readers and writers, but editors and collaborators as well?
* How do we best put to use the reams and reams of “digital paper” that Weblogs provide?
We begin to realize that literacy is more complex than ever before; it is being re-conceptualized to encompass the multiple forms of literacy that students will need to develop in order to participate fully in the 21st century.
Make way for the teaching of the NEW literacies: the Internet and ITC (information technology and communication) which are central to the use of information and acquisition of knowledge (Asselin, 2005).
It is generally agreed upon that these new literacies are important goals in education, but how are classroom teachers really addressing and teaching these literacies? Are Web 2.0 tools an important part of how we teach the new literacies? The answer is, yes. As Richardson explains: “…these tools have considerable relevance to state and local core content curriculum standards, and there is much reason to believe their implementation in schools will better prepare students for a slew of new literacies and competencies in their post-education lives” (Richardson, 2006, p. 5).
Additionally, Web 2.0 tools support multiple intelligences and constructivist learning. All of these reasons point to the need for integration in our teaching practices.
Many researchers have acknowledged that the way students learn today has changed from a generation ago. As Ian Jukes (The Committed Sardine) explains:
Kids today are different. Clinical research shows that children neurologically adapt to their pervasive digital experiences, and that they absorb and process information in ways fundamentally different from their predecessors.
Technology has changed, and will continue to change education.
Students must be given the opportunity to actively construct their own knowledge, and to develop the ability to understand and apply key content concepts and ideas, to solve problems, ask questions and question answers, link disciplines, and explore multiple routes to knowledge. Digital Learners like to receive information quickly from multiple multimedia sources, multi-task, process pictures, sounds and video before text, have random access to hyperlinked information, network with others, learn "just in time", have instant gratification, and learn things that are active, relevant and instantly useful.
Education changed from the Agricultural age to the Industrial Age, and it needs to now change from the Industrial age to the information age (Ian Jukes, The Committed Sardine).
Will Richardson (Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms) also provides some key questions educators need to address about the impact of the Internet – the “Read/Write Web” on our futures:
* What needs to change about our curriculum when our students have the ability to reach audiences far beyond our classroom walls?
* What changes must we make in our teaching as it becomes easier to bring primary sources to our students?
* How do we need to rethink our ideas of literacy when we must prepare our students to become not only readers and writers, but editors and collaborators as well?
* How do we best put to use the reams and reams of “digital paper” that Weblogs provide?
We begin to realize that literacy is more complex than ever before; it is being re-conceptualized to encompass the multiple forms of literacy that students will need to develop in order to participate fully in the 21st century.
Make way for the teaching of the NEW literacies: the Internet and ITC (information technology and communication) which are central to the use of information and acquisition of knowledge (Asselin, 2005).
It is generally agreed upon that these new literacies are important goals in education, but how are classroom teachers really addressing and teaching these literacies? Are Web 2.0 tools an important part of how we teach the new literacies? The answer is, yes. As Richardson explains: “…these tools have considerable relevance to state and local core content curriculum standards, and there is much reason to believe their implementation in schools will better prepare students for a slew of new literacies and competencies in their post-education lives” (Richardson, 2006, p. 5).
Additionally, Web 2.0 tools support multiple intelligences and constructivist learning. All of these reasons point to the need for integration in our teaching practices.
Building Educational Experiences with Web 2.0 Tools
IntroductionFor this assignment, we have been asked to select a Web 2.0 tool to introduce to our staff, and outline the professional development that we would plan. Upon reflection of the ten new web tools I have just learned about in this course, I would like to approach this type of professional development by planning instruction about blogs and blogging.
Blogs are one of the tools which I believe provide a foundation or springboard for other Web 2.0 tools. The concepts about web tools learned through an exploration of blogging would be transferable to learning about and understanding other web tools.
Another reason for selecting blogs as a starting point for staff professional development is that blogs provide novice users a chance to “get their feet wet” and start to familiarize themselves with the “Read/Write Web” (Richardson, 2006). For more tech-savvy users, they can explore more the sophisticated uses for blogs, but can still use blogs as a place to reflect and showcase their discoveries.
Ideally, I would like to have copies of Will Richardson’s Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms available for staff to begin reading. Many of Richardson’s statements about why educators should be using web tools in the classroom are the same points I would use to introduce blogs to my staff.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Part 5 - Some Final Thoughts
Professional blogs have become an essential resource in my learning journey this semester. Until this year, I had never read any professional blogs. I did not even consider them a “reliable source” of information; mainly due to my lack of understanding about them. It was not until I created my own blog, and began investigating this particular Web 2.0 tool that I have come to recognize the important contributions made by professional educators in the blogosphere.
Another important realization I have made is that educators are some of the most generous, helpful and patient people around. This has become apparent by visiting blog after blog which has been designed with the sole purpose of helping and supporting other educators. One can see the effort and hard work which has gone into creating and organizing meaningful information to empower teachers. I have also been amazed by the positive feedback and interactions I have read in some of these blogs. I was most pleasantly surprised by receiving some positive comments from other educator-bloggers on my own blogs this semester. All of this has helped me grow as an educator in ways I would have never imagined three months ago.
I believe that blogs are truly a powerful part of a professional learning community.
Another important realization I have made is that educators are some of the most generous, helpful and patient people around. This has become apparent by visiting blog after blog which has been designed with the sole purpose of helping and supporting other educators. One can see the effort and hard work which has gone into creating and organizing meaningful information to empower teachers. I have also been amazed by the positive feedback and interactions I have read in some of these blogs. I was most pleasantly surprised by receiving some positive comments from other educator-bloggers on my own blogs this semester. All of this has helped me grow as an educator in ways I would have never imagined three months ago.
I believe that blogs are truly a powerful part of a professional learning community.
Part 4 - Learning from other Professionals through their Blogs
The way in which educators engage in professional development can be multi-faceted. Attending conferences, meetings, and workshops with other educators are often the most valued PD opportunities, since educators seem to thrive on discussion and interactions with one another. Whenever you have two or more teachers in a room together, how long before “shop talk” begins? From my experience, not very long! Sharing ideas, stories, successes and failures are all part of growing as a professional. Since blogging occurs on the internet, it is like having an on-line conference, meeting or workshop to participate in at one’s convenience. It is a new way for educators to stay connected.
Since the beginning of this semester, I have subscribed to the blogs of seven professionals: educators, technology experts and teacher-librarians. (I set this up through an aggregator; Google Reader, which brings RSS feeds directly to my blog). Each week, I have read about the various topics which have been timely or at the forefront of their professions. Their blogs have provided me with insights, instruction, resources, web links, book titles, opinions, rants, and ideas; all which I have “soaked up” like a sponge! I have come view these individuals to as guides on my journey to learn about becoming a teacher-librarian in the 21st century.
Here are a few of the professional blogs from which I have been gaining wisdom:
2 cents worth by David Warlick
Weblogg-ed by Will Richardson
Neverending Search by Joyce Valenza
Blogging in the Classroom by Lorna Costantini
November Learning News by Alan November
Technology in the Education Arena by Julia Zangl Colby
TL-DL Blog by Jennifer Branch
Although I have not spent as much time at Edublogs, this site has been referred to many times by colleagues. Edublogs appears to be a prime example of how blogging enhances professional development. The description of the site states: “Edublogs hosts hundreds of thousands of blogs for teachers, students, researchers, professors, librarians, administrators and anyone and everyone else involved in education.”
Edublogs offers educators:
* forums to answer questions
* troubleshooting
* feedback and discussion
* reflections
* support
One does not have to look far to find other online communities such as this, which attract like-minded people.
(Check out Top 100 Educational Blogs)
Since the beginning of this semester, I have subscribed to the blogs of seven professionals: educators, technology experts and teacher-librarians. (I set this up through an aggregator; Google Reader, which brings RSS feeds directly to my blog). Each week, I have read about the various topics which have been timely or at the forefront of their professions. Their blogs have provided me with insights, instruction, resources, web links, book titles, opinions, rants, and ideas; all which I have “soaked up” like a sponge! I have come view these individuals to as guides on my journey to learn about becoming a teacher-librarian in the 21st century.
Here are a few of the professional blogs from which I have been gaining wisdom:
2 cents worth by David Warlick
Weblogg-ed by Will Richardson
Neverending Search by Joyce Valenza
Blogging in the Classroom by Lorna Costantini
November Learning News by Alan November
Technology in the Education Arena by Julia Zangl Colby
TL-DL Blog by Jennifer Branch
Although I have not spent as much time at Edublogs, this site has been referred to many times by colleagues. Edublogs appears to be a prime example of how blogging enhances professional development. The description of the site states: “Edublogs hosts hundreds of thousands of blogs for teachers, students, researchers, professors, librarians, administrators and anyone and everyone else involved in education.”
Edublogs offers educators:
* forums to answer questions
* troubleshooting
* feedback and discussion
* reflections
* support
One does not have to look far to find other online communities such as this, which attract like-minded people.
(Check out Top 100 Educational Blogs)
Part 3 - Blogging as part of Research
Some professionals (such as those of us who are currently studying in the TL-DL program) are engaged in ongoing research for assignments and projects. Research processes are evolving with the expansion of technological tools.
Buffington’s article Blogging With Graduate Students looks at the use of blogs as a research tool. She wanted to explore the idea that the research process, the researcher’s thoughts and the publication process could be combined through a blog.
She describes the evolution of their blogging process:
"Our blog started slowly, with a few test posts and discussions of passwords and the functionality of the blog. As time went on, the posts changed to questions about the research process, testing out focus group questions, analyzing data, and generating theories about data. Additionally, the blog became a place to share successes and challenges with both the academic portions of thesis writing as well as the intellectual and family challenges of negotiating the thesis process."
Upon reflection, Buffington found two main factors which she believes contributed to the successful blogging experience of these graduate students:
* the nature and structure of the blog - its informality, the organization, and its focus
* the support of social interaction - the feedback and connections with those who have similar motivations
One of the students mentioned how this informality, as contrasted with the formality of the traditional thesis format, helped her think, generate ideas, and receive feedback, knowing that she could focus only on the ideas and not worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar, formatting, and so forth. This informality in tone, ideas, format, and length led to freedom to express ideas in emergent states and to experiment with alternate themes in data analysis.
Thus, professionals (and students) can utilize blogging as means to further their research and inquiry into relevant topics. Blogs can become the part of the process or journey of professional development. Because blogs allow for the responses and feedback of others, ideas can emerge through collaboration. Blogs are not meant to be a “soliloquy board” (Helms as cited in Bufferington), and only work when we read and respond to the work of others. To blog or not blog... that is the question!
Buffington’s article Blogging With Graduate Students looks at the use of blogs as a research tool. She wanted to explore the idea that the research process, the researcher’s thoughts and the publication process could be combined through a blog.
She describes the evolution of their blogging process:
"Our blog started slowly, with a few test posts and discussions of passwords and the functionality of the blog. As time went on, the posts changed to questions about the research process, testing out focus group questions, analyzing data, and generating theories about data. Additionally, the blog became a place to share successes and challenges with both the academic portions of thesis writing as well as the intellectual and family challenges of negotiating the thesis process."
Upon reflection, Buffington found two main factors which she believes contributed to the successful blogging experience of these graduate students:
* the nature and structure of the blog - its informality, the organization, and its focus
* the support of social interaction - the feedback and connections with those who have similar motivations
One of the students mentioned how this informality, as contrasted with the formality of the traditional thesis format, helped her think, generate ideas, and receive feedback, knowing that she could focus only on the ideas and not worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar, formatting, and so forth. This informality in tone, ideas, format, and length led to freedom to express ideas in emergent states and to experiment with alternate themes in data analysis.
Thus, professionals (and students) can utilize blogging as means to further their research and inquiry into relevant topics. Blogs can become the part of the process or journey of professional development. Because blogs allow for the responses and feedback of others, ideas can emerge through collaboration. Blogs are not meant to be a “soliloquy board” (Helms as cited in Bufferington), and only work when we read and respond to the work of others. To blog or not blog... that is the question!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
