That’s a question that I’m really trying to get my brain around of late. In the past few weeks, I have really ramped up my rhetoric to teachers in terms of trying to get them to examine how these technologies challenge their own personal learning. How can the connections we make with these tools affect their own learning practice? How can they begin to understand what the implications for learning are for their students until they at some level understand them for themselves? And so on. And for the most part, heads nod politely in agreement.
But, here’s the thing. By and large, most of the questions that come up during the workshop or the presentation run along the lines of “how do we keep our kids safe with this stuff?” or “if I want to put up my homework for my kids is it better to use a blog or a wiki?” or “so parents could subscribe to these RSS feeds, right?” All good, useful, legitimate questions. But very far removed from the personal learning focus I’ve been trying to articulate. In fact, when I stand by these teachers and hear their questions, when I look at them directly and say “well, that’s a great question, but I really want you to focus on your own practice here, your own learning,” more often than not what I get is a scrunched up face, a biting of the lower lip, a feeling that their brains are saying “AAARRRGGGHHH.”
And even as I sit in this session with Tim Tyson at Building Learning Communities, one principal says “I want to learn more about these tools so I can help my teachers use them in the classroom.” I want to jump up and say “No! You are missing a step! You want to learn more about these tools for yourself so you can help your teachers learn from them too.”
So what’s that all about? Is it just habit? Is it just such a focus on curriculum delivery that “learning” is all about how to do that job better? Is changing the way we do our own business just too darn hard? Or is this such a huge shift, this idea that we can actually learn through the use of technology that most people just don’t think they have to go there, that they can just keep using it as a way to communicate without the surrounding connective tissue where the real learning takes place?
Or, maybe it’s just me…
(Photo “Having to read the old books again” by Edublogger aka Ewan McIntosh.)
Technorati Tags: blc07, learning, education, read/writeweb
What’s Ewan doing there … seriously … he is well worth a listen to … you will not be the same afterwards!!
Hi Will
Same issue in Public TV – we want to use these tols with out “Viewers” but the real lesson is to learn to use them inside so that we become what seek to have with the outside world
Rob
Maybe the answer is that technology doesn’t affect learning much at all – the type of learning that takes place in the brain, anyway. There has been talk that that “digital natives'” brains are in some way different. If that be true, although this seems unlikely and certainly not proven, then perhaps hyperlinking (and that is what most of Web 2.0 appears to be about) in some way does change how learners learn (teachers included). As an aside changes so wrought would probably be unfortunate as hypertext reading as well as writing induce disjointed thoughts, and shortened attention spans for those unused to extended periods of deep, thoughtful study or writing.
However, if the brain is the organ of thought, the seat of learning, and changes at an evolutionary rate (not an Internet rate) the question “How can the connections we make with these tools affect…learning practice?” is reducible to “What does it mean to learn?” and I suspect the same lip-biting will occur among your workshop attendees.
Perhaps many simply take it granted that in trying to help others, you’re also learning for yourself. But it’s not clear to me that you can assume that they’re not interested in their own learning. Rather, they come to listen to you talk with practical questions in mind. I imagine that once their questions are answered, they might then move on more explicitly to their own learning.
I have similar feelings. I have been all about getting educators to realize the powerful impact of web 2.0 tools on our own learning for a while now, and Im glad to see one who is considered a guru put voice to my same thoughts. Until it is valued for self-learning, how can teachers truly embrace it for the possibilities with kids? I have been involved with conferences, grad classes, staff developments and more, but I know in my heart I have learned so much more from my own participation in blogs, podcasts, and other web 2.0 tools–that it almost seems a shame to invest financially in more of those old 1.0 ways of being professionally fed. But I confess, I am just green with envy over all the folks at BLC. I wish i could be there NOW. I always love your thought provoking posts.
Will,
You are asking lots of different questions here, but it seems two in particular stand out.
1. Why are teachers resistant to change? Just google that question and you’ll see there are decades of work on this and suggestions to overcome it. Many of these reasons are things that you have no control over in the format and time constraints that you work within.
2. Is my vision inspirational enough to change people’s lives (not just professional practice)? Maybe, maybe not. I think it’s more like evangelism than education in a way, and ask any preacher how that is going for them. They probably get really tired of people asking what the best psalm is and why there’s no potato salad at the potluck.
I don’t think it’s just you!
Right on Will…
I find that it is an impossible task to teach using these tools unless YOU learn from them yourself. If you do not regularly reads blogs, have a blog, or know your way around the web, how can you teach your students using these tools?
In a recent interview for a teaching position, I explained to the Principal all of my visions, expectations, and use of these tools with my new class. I could tell that everything I said went over her head. It is not good enough to experiment using these tools with your class. We need to use these tools to learn also.
As an outsider beginning to work in K-12 for the first time a few years ago, I noticed the same thing. Most teachers did not want to learn using the same methods that “best practice” suggested that they should want their students to learn. They weren’t walking the walk.
Teacher/Astronaut Barbara Morgan has an interesting comment on this, answering a question about why she stayed in the shuttle program after the Challenger accident, she said because she wanted to model for her students what grownups do when there are problems and difficulties; that they don’t (some of them, anyway) just quit.
So what I try to do now in teaching teachers is to model problem-solving and self-directed active learning, and then explicitly meta-talk about the modeling (“What did we do when we didn’t know how to …”) in the hope that they’ll do the same when they get back to their classrooms.
I’m guilty of being one of those teachers you are talking about who want to use the technology with their students before really diving into it myself. Although I can only speak for myself I think there are two main reasons teachers respond this way:
1. A combination of excitement and impatience. I get really excited to use these new tools and I want to start using them right away.
2. Time. Most teachers are trying to take things off their overloaded plate not add things.
I’ve been reading your book and at the end of your chapter on blogs you strongly advocate teachers have their own blog to more fully understand the power of it before using it with students. In theory, I agree. In practically, starting a new blog is like adding another job that would, most likely, have to be managed and updated on a teacher’s personal time.
Can’t I still reflect on my own learning as I use the tools with my students? Am I “missing a step” or combining steps?
My Google Reader feeds have provided more professional development than any one-shot workshop or Superintendent’s Day conference I’ve ever attended! I get to access the latest information, interact with colleagues in all corners of this flat world, then gingerly (I’m still new at this) offer my own perspective via a personal blog. It’s difficult for me to understand why some teachers are reluctant to join in the fun. No one has denigrated my efforts and I feel that I’ll have much more to offer my students when school resumes in the fall. Most importantly, I feel like I belong to a vital community of lifetime learners.
Maybe it’s about baby steps…I first heard about blogging last November, and thought it would be a great marketing tool for my library. I didn’t start reading blogs until a few months later. Now, I receive so much information and idea connections that I cannot imagine doing without anymore.
Isn’t it a little like we are doing with our students? Trying to engage them with something new and trust they will take off and begin to utilize the tool(s) more fully?
The teachers with whom I work don’t know they need this stuff yet. Repeated exposure will hopefully get through to them over time.
Our project dealt with this very question today. Fifteen teachers were given their laptops and were told that they were the learners. It was difficult for them to grasp the idea. They instantly wanted to turn everything into a tool for their classroom use. We made it through Day 1, it will take perseverance to keep them in the focus, I think it is uncomfortable for them, hopefully with time. . .
I am not too far removed from that “how can I implement this in a classroom” stage. My first exposure to blogs was one year ago. I sat in a workshop designed to teach blog creation in a ten minute time period. Almost immediately upon returning to school I created a blog based on my instructions. Strangely enough, it just sat there. I didn’t know how to use it. I had very little traffic, and frankly I struggled with what to write. Only in the last month or so have I spent time teaching myself about blogging and its uses. The professional development I’ve achieved just from reading and interacting with other bloggers amazes me. There literally is a whole world of information out there. I so yearn to be able to share these experiences and this knowledge with others on my staff, but they hesitate to become involved because of the “time” issue. Those who do show a hint of interest almost always begin with “how can I use this with my kids”? You CAN’T, until you learn to use it for YOURSELF. As a previous comment said, “Repeated exposure will hopefully get through to them…”
I think the biggest challenge is getting teachers comfortable with technology. Many are not proficient at email and word processing, let alone blogging and learning. I think the best we can hope for is a gradual shift as more people “experience” learning through blogs and online collaboration.
There are some in our profession who are resistant to change, but I sense that as veteran teachers retire, those entering teaching will have a better understanding of the power of technology, not only as a tool, but as a vital source of growth and learning.
Please don’t be discouraged because I think you’re making a difference and are stoking the fire.
Right on Will
We can not make change as educators until we make change ourselves. I was introduced to Web 2.0 by David Warlick in February when he was in New Zealand. I have spent my time blogging, playing with RSS, wikis, twitter (new today), flickr, etc etc.
I am now begining to feel comfortable. Time to tell the other staff. (I am a principal) Then the learners, woops they already know.
Is this assumption true: all teachers are learners. Yes, but for different reasons. Some learn from fear. They are the ones who are afraid of being left behind or not getting tenure or of looking bad. This is very shallow learning at best. Of course they will not entangle themselves in the tools. They fear them. Just like students don’t really learn for the long term when fear is the motivator.
Some learn from curiosity which is really another form of love. They seek because they are confident and have faith in the power of knowing. It is a power that grows from within and because it radiates then they can share it. That is called teaching.
Which kind do most schools encourage? Our systems (technological, social, institutional) do their best to quell the Protean shifts that learning loving folks must embrace. Until our systems become more convivial than they are, we will have our strategic “teachers” who are little better than the baffled student who in frustration demands from the Socratic teacher, “Just tell me how I can get my A.”
Teachers want to know what the kids know when it comes to technology just because, they do not really have a purpose to use the technology because they do not own it like the kids do. Therefore when we tell them to experience it (technology)for themselves they do not know what to do or how to begin. This makes their anxiety grow and they become nervous. When they find a purpose for its use, ownership begins and technology can be a friend.
Hi Will,
My wee guys also subvert what I am trying to teach them, they just want to have fun, get on to the next thing and have some more fun(they also want to minimize the time spent on things that are not fun).
When you started on the Web 2 learning curve were you trying to improve you learning or just have some fun?
When more often than not what I get is a scrunched up face, a biting of the lower lip, a feeling that their brains are saying “AAARRRGGGHHH”. In my primary six classroom if I kept getting that response I might think I was asking the wrong person the wrong question. Maybe my wee guys need some other experience before they tackle this question, maybe they need some revision of something I though they knew.
Will,
Some truly spot on comments on this thread. When I reflect on the questions you pose, I am inclined to agree with David R. above about the issue of TIME. Teacher time has been so confined by administrivia and poor administration choices that the learning that we all desire of our teachers has no place (and often no space).
What is required is a shift in how a school day is arranged for both students and educators. Andy Hargreaves writes about this in his text _Changing Teachers, Changing Times_, a seminal text that many people find both depressing and uplifting.
There is also a notion of desire and passion that needs to come from within teachers– a desire to learn more and a passion for their subject matter. If these ingredients are also missing, there is really no hope, as you are already painfully aware.
But by all means, Will, keep on your message. Get in people’s faces and tell them what they are missing. You’ve got the chops, man. Keep rockin’ it!
-cs
I’m just guessing here but probably the 20 people who have responded are the learners. The teachers who still believe themselves to be the font of all knowledge often have trouble letting down their collective guard long enough to actually listen, read, learn from others. They already think they know everything and see themselves as just helping everyone else to learn. Our best teachers are those responding to your blog, those who aren’t afraid to say, “geez I don’t know, let’s find out.” I’m thinking more and more about creating an atmosphere where our teachers are NOT independent contractors, but are collaborators, and that atmosphere is going to be difficult to achieve as it’s a deep change. But what am I waiting for?
While I am still going to try to employ these tools in my mathematics classroom during the next school year, I am dedicated to making that first step and becoming a Web 2.0 learner first. I hope to spread the word to my colleagues as well. I will let you all know how it goes!
This summer is my first immersion in all that is Web2.0. I didn’t get it as I was looking from the “tools” perspective and I didn’t see it as a hook at the elementary level. Since NECC07 I have been using my Bloglines account to read, setting up new rss feeds, attending webcasts and setting up many new connections to other teachers/learners. These are all new adventures and now I get it as they are having a huge impact on me and how I think about learning. One prompt was a survey of my 4th graders and a result that 97% use the Internet at home with 65% using it 2 or 3 days or more each week. What an opportunity for us to influence the learning options during that time!
Please add one more line to the principal’s quote;
“… and so the teachers can then help their students use the tools to learn more.”
That is the missing piece here.
Could you please tell me how I can listen to your podcast? Or any other podcast on this site?Do I need a certain program or how do I connect. I have created an account on talkr.com and pasted the site in from your podcast. It cannot find it. So what am I doing wrong? I have a MacBook Pro.
Kimberly, I think you’re dead on with your comments. As soon as teachers/instructors realize that they are NOT the subject matter experts on what they teach our kids we’ll be better off. I think it’s Will or someone who said with Web 2.0 tools (read/write/connect) the world is now your teacher. Now if we can just get folks to let down their guard and join in the conversation.
Terrific question, Will.
A few points to add:
Teachers are trained in, and rewarded for, a very narrow path of learning – professional development. That has very narrow, well-defined, and usually socially restricted parameters – workshops, courses, papers, presentations, many f2f.
Professional reinforcement is still tied to institutions. Institutions have been slow to engage with Web 2.0. Reinforcing, vicious circle results.
Good points Will. I am sitting in a presentation with you right now, Before lunch, in another presentation, you touched on the issues you present in this post. I liked your idea of pursuing a passion and using that pursuit to tie into using technology (blogging about that passion or utilizing RSS – what you are sharing with us now) and building a network. It is about practice: trying out, using, learning, discussing, and eventually better understanding our own learning processes. This can eventually grow into abilities that can be passed on to others, especially students.
I totally agree with H I T–until we as educators and instructional leaders, “Walk the Talk,” we won’t be effective in our efforts. It starts with us….
I totally agree. The best thing about the internet is the ability to google something and instantly have hundreds of resources to filter through. According, to prensky, I am along the borderline of being a digital native, however i consider myself one nonetheless. I have learned 75% of what I know by myself on the internet. The best thing….all of it has been 100% relative to what I care about. I think kids already are a step ahead in that regard.
I can recommend David Buckingham’s new book, ‘beyond technology. children’s learning in the age of digital culture’, in particular the chapter ‘Waiting for the revolution. The unfulfilled promise of technological change’ where he talks about teachers and the resons why they may be resistant to change. The book is very much worth reading.
A suggestion — introduce the issue about the importance of personal learning independent without any mention of the technology as a driver; instead focus on the joy of doing the work, how their teaching may have changed over time and why, whether they’ve had other professional development experiences that affected they way they teach.
You might still strike out that way, but if you don’t, then you should have time afterward to bring in how the technology might be helpful for framing an sharing their reflections.
I’m a teacher. I’ve been learning for 48 years (that’s my age). When I started blogging some months ago I discovered I could learn through trial and error. I would have sworn I couldn’t do that. It was really shocking to discover myself as a different kind of learner. Shocking, but terribly moving. The old rational “I” was safer. I’m happy to have shaken my safe side a little bit, though.
I fully agree. We have been having the same problem. I was recently introduced to the concept of You the Learner, You the Teacher, You the Leader. We now start all our Web 2.0 workshops with this concept. We emphazise that until you use the tools yourself to learn you can not move onto teaching or leading. It has really made a difference for us.
I agree that the focus should be on a teachers personal and professional growth. I have held a series of workshops in my district focusing on communication and collaboration, building your own professional learning network. The teachers are using Moodle, wikis, blogs and soon we will be adding Second Life and Ning to the mix. I find once they use the tools themselves and see how they have affected their own learning, then they want to bring the tools to the classroom.
This really hit home for me. After NECC07 I realized, if I want the teachers I service to really get what I train them on in professional development I was going to have to model what I am talking about. I blog here and there on random locations to test out sites for teachers but I never looked at seriously keeping up a blog. BUT now I am … I have been out of town a lot but I am making a concious effort to keep write my thoughts about technology integration on my blog. Its really the age old practice what you preach… I hope me doing so will spark a change for some teachers.
I have found that the most authentic leaders and teachers are those who use these tools in their personal practice and their learning.
So many times, professionals whose job it is to “train” teachers, spend the time talking and telling from the front of the room with a PowerPoint presentation. Telling is not teaching.
I have a great job where I am responsible for facilitating collaboration between and among educators mainly using room-based videoconferencing systems, but increasingly using Web 2.0 technologies to support the asynchronous conversation that inevitably develops. I use the same tools with my teachers as I expect them to use with their students and the teachers LOVE it and come back year after year to our projects. The teachers also send me additional ideas of how to evolve the projects to take them to the next level.
Those of us who “get it” must continue to be patient with those who are reluctant or who don’t. I always frame people who question or challenge my statements as giving me the gift of deepening my understanding behind why I do what I do. I will continue my path of “Walking Our Talk”!
http://www.edlink12.net/vcrox/2007/01/23/walking-our-talk/
Will,
I heard your talk at TIE conference in Colorado and have been mulling over your philosophy all summer. As a former tech worker cum economics teacher, I am anxious to put some technology to work in my classroom. One of my worries is that I’ll just be using technology for technology’s sake. It will wow the kids by using the blog format ala Fischbowl style. They’ll be able to get web updates and classroom materials from my web site. I may have them create wikis for their final projects. This is all well and good. But are they learning more or just doing more with technology? I can’t get my hands around it. I’m excited, especially with my school behind me, but also uncertain as to the benefits.
(nothing yet on my web site – I just set it up at TIE)
Maybe the step is missing because as a society we don’t really place value in learning for itself. If we did, would we have to qualify why we want to learn something?
Simple. I am a teaching fellow. In business world all aligned to ensure a great product etc…In the teacher world, you have a chancellor who tells us we stink, the principal union and the teacher union should be one, but they are not and aligned different. You have no child left behind demanding schools to reach stupid AYP. In business you improve step by step. In the teacher world, you try to do this, your school is shut down.
I have trouble just getting teachers to come to a free professional development on any technology let alone the web 2.0. Until there is a major shift in state requirements and No Child Left behind takes a back seat it is going to be an up hill battle for the masses to adopt these changes.
Some co-workers are reluctant to engage with computers. Some are reluctant to engage with mathematics, or history, or physics. Not a few have stated they will only do “professional development” if they are given paid time.
I’m not sure what to think about that, except to think people who stop learning for fun will all too soon take the fun out of the learning that happens around them.
I don’t want to be mean, but “lifelong learning” Has to be more than a slogan for educators.
All educational and training institutions should embed strategies for ongoing training and learning of teaching staff ie practice what we preach. Professional development should encompass the lifelong learning mantra for teaching staff with a ‘learning by doing’ approach; it’s practical and in this way teachers and trainers will incorporate their new knowledge of technique and delivery into classrooms; use of the technology to deliver creatively and with innovation is required for virtual classroom delivery to achieve successful learning outcomes for learners. We are all time poor but need to extend ourselves to be at the cutting edge of the education process.