LEARNING FROM LACKING

Wow, not having power for about a week, and then my computer totally not working, has really made me think about the role technology has in our lives.  On the one hand, having my whole family spend days trying to stay warm in one room was very nice.  We did have a generator to run the fridge and a couple lights, and of course the TV (which didn't have a signal half the time because of the down trees), so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.  Again, having older children, we don't spend that much time all cozy together in front of the fireplace.  On the other hand, keeping my  house warm with wood, and constantly having to feed the fire was not easy, especially as I am trying to recover from back surgery.  So, the lack of technology did bring our family together, that is for sure, but I am not ready to sell everything and move to Lancaster just yet!!!

Interstingly, technology was also a way to know what was going on during the storm a few weeks ago.  My husband spend time on Bridgewater Patch looking at and posting to sites such as these.  http://bridgewater.patch.com/articles/trees-down-power-out-tell-us-and-your-neighbors-in-this-live-blog#photo-8290306

How does all this work together with  professional development? Well, I used to think I would love to live on a farm with not electricity, have a family who worked together to survive, and that would eliminate a lot of problems.  I have changed my mind.  Actually doing it, or at least a little bit like that, showed me what it was really going to be like.  So, I feel that the only way professional development for technology will work is the same idea, the teachers must "do" the technology.  In order for that to happen, the people in charge of professional development must also use technology.  Which brings me to this class.  When I first started reading Leading 21st Century Schools, I was confused.  Was this a class for administration?  I have no experience with that, but then it started to sink in.  Someone has to begin things.  In the district I was in, the person in charge of professional development hadn't been in a teaching position in many years, and they also were not tech savvy, so not much development happened. Shrum & Levin suggest having Technology-Planning Committees and Teacher Leaders (p 111).  We had a few teachers who were interested in technology, used it in their classroom to enhance instruction, and with a little encouragement would have probably worked their way up the Loti scale.  (see http://loticonnection.com/index.php/resources/publications/20-loti-framework for explanation).  But these teachers kept what they knew to themselves, resulting in no expansion of the mind or technology for  anyone.   Shrum and Levin suggest having teachers, administrators, parents, community, and even students for a Technology-Planning committee.  Wow, what an awesome idea!  Students!  "Begin with determining what students need to learn" is their suggestion.  Well, what better place than to start with the students.  Since they spend most of their lives outside of school engrossed in the world of technology, they really could be the innovators.  When students are included in developing instruction, they are always more active participants, which is what we want technology to do: Create learners who use technology to find information, and learn!

I have seen incredible work by students, who share ideas and communicate effortlessly through web 2.0 tools.  I have seen this not as a teacher, but as a mom and youth leaders.  We need to get the students doing life, in school.  This can't begin with administrators who don't use technology themselves.  Until taking Intro to Teaching with Digital Tools, I had no idea what was available.  We need to send our administrators to take classes such as this, and then somehow open the minds of teachers that sharing information is a good thing.  Our kids, get it, why can't we?