TeachMeet is an informal gathering of those curious about teaching and technology. Anyone can share great ideas they’ve trialled in their classrooms, ask important questions or simply sign up to take part in learning conversations. Both Primary and Secondary teachers are welcome to take part in an informal and fun meeting. You can come along to chat, meet new people, or give a seven minute talk, a two minute nano presentation or lead a conversation.
Tim and Moby Explain
Teachmeet is a meeting of uh well Teachers. I’ll leave it to Tim and Moby to explain further technical details. I’d like to know if you are interested in joining me make it happen. Date, Time Venue, Publicity etc?
Hostname, username, computername, network, password, submit – are words that I see everyday and respond to without thinking. This jargon however, is a foreign language to a person on the other side of the digital donga. Yet the terms are thrust as a greeting at the struggling “digital immigrant”, aware of an information avalanche, threatened by a disconnected future, worried about tripping over hurdles as they try to login to the LAN.
Potholes ahead – caution advised
Goveia and Soule’s article argues that if we are to foster ongoing and sustainable use of learning technologies in schools, there are three common “potholes” that we need to watch out for, as these indentions could keep teachers at an operational level in their journey along the info-bahn.
Our focus needs to be on the learning process, and how the technology can enhance this. Educators need to understand what kind of learning they want and/or how they could use the technology to foster this learning.
Good and experienced educators can usually recognise tools that will enhance their professional and classroom practice. Real world examples and expert modelling of the process of technology use is probably more more valuable than lecturing about how they could use technology. If an expert is required, then the “expert” should demonstrate appropriate uses of technology and encourage educators to experiment and design teaching and learning activities for themselves.
Learning new technologies and applying them is a lifelong endeavor. Certification verifies that a particular skill or skill set was obtained at a particular time. It does not illustrate how the skill was used to promote learning. If you want to identify competency, then it is more significant to take a look at an educator’s portfolio demonstrating their experiences in using technology than examining a collection certificates.
Training will not launch educators onto the road towards computer competency. An expert might know about the finer points of computing, and might inspire staff to use ICT, but a guru’s knowledge is best accessed when needed. Experience is best demonstrated, and certification does not indicate ongoing competency.
Granted, the three aforementioned “potholes” could would look good on your ICT professional development programme, but in the long term, they will not encourage a DIY approach amongst teachers and let them take ownership of their own ICT development. If we are going to encourage teachers to adopt, appropriate and innovate with ICT, we need to think about ways that teachers can take themselves beyond entry-level ICT use, and sustain their own educational ICT development.
Further Reading