Dr. Harland’s Hangout

I’m pissed! Sorry for the foul use of language. But since I made the move from high school teaching to university teaching, I’ve realized how much I should have been doing–and all the opportunities I had that I didn’t take advantage of. My Ph.D. is in educational technology, but in the time I was designing, collecting data, and writing my dissertation, then teaching for 2 years, I got behind. Then even when I was done, I was isolated. I didn’t know what was going on. I didn’t get any support from my administration to pursue what I loved–which is integrating technology into the classroom. I was one of the few teachers who had a projector hooked up to her computer…that was high tech! But I wasn’t using it to its full potential. I should have known better.

I’ve spent several hours today getting twitter contacts and as I read blogs of you all, I have to say I’m impressed. Where do you get the energy? Planning is hard enough already! But there is a big group of you out there that really are doing some AMAZING things. I’m diigo’ing your sites, and hope to share these with my future teachers in the fall…meanwhile, I’m feeling guilty. I have so much I could have done with my high schoolers but I just didn’t have the support or connections to do it. I was unfamilar with the new ways to connect with like-minded individuals/educators on the web. Man-oh-man, I’m going to make sure my future teachers don’t make the same mistake I did! The high school classroom can be so isolating! But with the www, and Web 2.0, it isn’t that way any more!

I just read Karl Fisch’s post titled, “Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?” This post won “Most Influential Post of 2007.”

You can read the post http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2007/09/is-it-okay-to-be-technologically.html

I consider my self new to the educational technology community, and I’m still getting used to hearing people say the things I’ve observed and never had the guts to say (or had anyone to say it to for that matter!). Like, Karl I was often offended when parents would say “Well, I never did well in Biology either, so I wouldn’t expect my kid to like it either.” It was as if they were giving their kid permission to give up and settle for mediocrity. All teachers–no matter the content area–are most likely offended by this statement. So why do we give teachers a pass on their ability to use technology?

Students use technology in every aspect of their life and they thrive on multitasking. When they come to school and are forced to sit through a lesson that could just as well have been taught 30 years ago, its no wonder students are bored and don’t see the connection of what they’re learning to their personal life. As one student so eloquently said, “I have so much to learn, and I’m stuck here in this classroom!”

On the other hand, future teachers often don’t see the power of the same technology they use for socializing in the professional world. Therefore, if even the young teachers coming up, keep technology compartentalized and out of their teaching life, we are doomed and students will continue to be bored!

The problem may be with how we teach future teachers, or the types of individuals who are attracted to education in the first place. Very few college students I’ve had in my courses have had high school teachers (or college for that matter) model the effective use of technology in their courses. If future teachers don’t see technology modeled well, they won’t use it. We can talk about how to use technology (just like we can talk about using cooperative learning, instead of modeling it) but if they don’t see it seamlessly used as part of the educational process, technology will continue to be viewed as “something else” a teacher has to do.

Frustrated but trying to make a difference!

A San Fransisco Chronicle article published on March 7, 2008 titled, “Homeschoolers’ Setback Sends Shock Waves Through State“, brings up several huge educational issues. California just decided to uphold laws that have been on the books for decades regarding the laws that determine what constitutes a “school.” Apparently, parents in California do NOT have a constitutional right to homeschool their children.

The article says that unions are “pleased with the ruling” which isn’t surprising, because these homeschooled children, who will be considered truant if they don’t attend public or private (accredited) schools, have the potential to bring a lot of money back into the school system, and more jobs for teachers. Some homeschooled students are taught by well-educated parents who act as their teachers, being an active component in their learning. However, other students are taught by outdated distance learning techniques (videos taped in the ’80’s) that leave it to the individual to learn on their own, if they have the motivation. As an educator, I morn the later, wondering how much these students could enjoy the camaraderie of a classroom. As the member of a teacher’s union, I do believe that if parents want to educate their children at home they should be required to have some sort of educational training.

On the other hand, there are enough problems with the public educational system the way it is now, it seems understandable that parents believe that they can do better than what is offered to their children. I have come to believe that although teachers are some of the hardest working people I know, that it as a profession, attracts people who like education the way it is, not individuals who want to change it. For that reason alone, maybe parents, with little educational training can educate their children better than the school system the way it is.

There’s a lot more I could say, but that’s enough for now…