...to blog more frequently, BUT so much going on. I spent a good part of early summer determining whether to return to the classroom as a humanities teacher or to continue as a MS tech integrationist. When I sat down and wrote my pros and cons, as well as engaged in conversations with trusted colleagues, I have decided to continue on my "excellent adventure" with technology.
The one thing I have realized about my current job is that I have had so many more conversations and thoughts about pedagogy rather than technology , which is really what it is all about. Lately, I have found great irony in the term 21st century tools as it is something to happen in the future. Not only is the future now, but, as I heard on a Ken Burns documentary,
" Today is the future of yesterday." We are 9 years into the 21st century. Did we refer to 20th century tools? And, as educators, is it about tools or is it about LEARNING?
I have determined that, for me, the focus should be on the students , their learning, their literacies,their learning styles and their lifestyles. When we empahsize tools, teachers get nervous, especially if they are new tools that they don't understand or are not part of our day to day life. In that regard, I have to agree with Prensky's concept of "digital immigrants and digital natives." The learning process needs to be a partnership of sharing information - content ideas by the educator and technology skills/possibilities by the student. or a combination of both. In effect, education is really all about social networking. At least, that is how I have been going about mine.
Photo from authorsden.com
