1/21/2007

Lessons from Level 1

Our site has recently gone through the painstaking process of becoming Level 1 Proficient. Hypothetically, the benefits of Level 1 is that the district will give us funding for technology and we will all be able to say we have a common knowledge/ability to use computers, esp. in the areas of email, word processing and internet use. All very valuable I will admit, and I am pleased to say that in the process my staff was exposed to blogs, teacher webpages, podcasts, educational powerpoints and the like.

A potential pitfall is that they complied with creating these technological masterpieces because the were expected, or as some see it, forced to. And as it is there is nothing in place to "keep the magic going". I am considering restructuring our staff development program to address this need so that all our hard work doesn't go to waste. Even if its only 15 min out a month, just to let them make a new post or update a page. But as important as that is, I still see it as an "outside technology", something teachers can do without the students being in the room. So how do we bridge the gap, and bring the technology "inside" and make our classrooms more engaging and interactive? Baby steps, yes and see my post on First Steps (coming). But a change at the core of who teachers are is necessary to make this happen on an epic level.

I realized this as our teachers were transformed during this Level 1 process from capable and confident adults to whiny, complaining, insecure kids. Suddenly teachers who are used to having all the answers, are students without a clue; and they pick up quickly if they are the lowest in the class and they give you hell. Not all teachers responded this way. Some were able to ask for help with confidence, many worked outside of school to polish their skills, but all (including myself) felt some level of anxiety during our test out.

I believe this is a reflection on our teaching philosophy more than our personalities. Yes there are the perfectionists and those who are laid back. But I think our level of panic is directly related to how much we value risk-taking, real-world purpose, and collaboration. And those 3 things directly influence how you run your classroom and how much you will value and be able to utilize technology. Those that could see the benefit of creating communication through blogs, websites, powerpoints and podcasts instead of seeing it as a hoop to jump through, most likely plan activities in their classroom with real world purpose like student run newsletters, class books and performances. Those that saw their test out as a chance to assess or showcase their skills and although may have felt nervous were also grounded in the confidence that failure is as much a part of learning as success, understand the value of risk-taking and most likely plan opportunities for their students to run the show, plan and assess their own learning. Those that enjoyed working with and learning from others, even if it meant admitting that they were weak in certain areas appreciate collaboration and probably allow their student time in class to do the same.

The basics of a constructivist philosophy, collaboration, risk-taking and real-world purpose, is an open door for technology. Those teachers will see the immediate value of technology, be able to make connections and see how it will fit into student learning and have the kind of classroom structure that allows for easy integration (given the proper support of course:)

So what do we do for teachers who work from another philosophy, traditionalists, behaviorists, objectivists?
Invite them into our classrooms.
Invite them to be a part of our classrooms.
I think once you see it work, see students engaged, excited and learning, you get it.
And once you are a part of it, you won't want to go back.