Well, it’s off to NECC we go. I can’t believe how much Read/Write Web stuff is going on. As David’s quick research shows , it’s clear that we’re not the new kids on the block anymore. About time. We’ve got everything from “Blogging for Peace” to “Blogging for International Audiences” to “Blogging for Dinner.” Well, maybe not the last. A whopping 35 blog sessions in all. 31 for podcasting! Whoa!
My how far we’ve come.
Still, we’re only talking about a small percentage of educators who really understand what’s happening here. And the percentages of parents and businessmen and folks outside of education who we need to support these changes now more than ever are just as tiny.
At some point, we have got to start taking this message and this conversation beyond our education circles, because as much as we want to believe that change will come from within, it’s not going to happen quickly enough if we don’t start sending salvos in other directions. We need to find other blogs to comment on, other conferences to take the message to, other magazines to write for.
So I’m going to enjoy NECC this year and take some time to really just enjoy the progress that’s been made over the last two years and just be in awe of all the good teachers that are out there plugging away. But Atlanta in 2007 has to be more than San Diego in 2006. The message is getting out, now how do we turn that into real change?
See you at the convention center.
Do we need to start talking outside education circles, or more deeply within them? I think we need to start talking about weblogs and specific pedagogical strategies. Weblogs and i-search papers. Weblogs and lesson study. Weblogs and the writing workshop.
Also, if we had better software, that would help. We still don’t have a clear recommendation for blogging software for schools, which is *very* disappointing to me.
In Caracas, Venezuela, the British Council started training teachers from some public school and universities to integrate ICT in their curriculum this year…We started with a workshop…As a result we have a yahoo group for EFL university teachers interested in ICT and a beautiful project with kids from municipal schools using blogs…Here’s an example of the things we are trying to do with them:
http://ictleonela.blogspot.com/
It might not be exactly blogging, more posting than anything else but it is a start…I believe the first thing we should do is explore the ICT tools available and adapt (not adopt) them to our context (economic resources, infrastructure, access to Internet, etc) to reduce the digital gap, mirror the way our digital natives are learning outside the classroom with the help of digital immigrants like me, make their learning more meaningful through activities based on either constructivism or making connections when blogging, skyping or chatting.
Will,
Blogging/podcasting, read/write is taking place… folks are here this year to spread the enthusiasm about these technologies that are starting in their schools. We must above all maintain this level of enthusiasm.
Secondly, I think more research needs to be done. Best practices, best technologies, best solutions. Our educational leaders who sometimes stand between the ability for educators to use these tools want assurances in how it can help students, how it can be safe, how it can revolutionize learning, as we all believe it can.
Research takes time… and yet, new technologies are on the horizon and will no doubt surprise us and capture our enthusiasm, too.
What a fun time to be involved in education, when technology is marching forward. We still need to show the way back home, to be leaders, but also colleagues. I many times fear that while I can get many teachers on board with the read/write revolution, others are slow to change. Yet, all students can benefit from the best practices of technology integration, no matter what we call it.
Hi,
Hi, I am writing from Turkey where I am blogging about my experiences instead of going to NECC. I have two observations to add here:
1. Most people that I have talked to here and in Greece (from many different countries) have no idea what a blog is. They still pay about $1 for every 15 minutes on the Internet at the Internet cafe and not many people have it at home. I think that when people can be online most of the time easily it makes a huge difference.
2. Blogging has opened doors for me that I would not have had. People are really happy to talk to me about what they are doing and to answer my questions when I tell them I am putting it into a blog for students in the USA!
Janice
janicef@jfriesen.net