Unpacking the mind…
My Educon 2.0 (and SLA) takeaway thoughts…not fully processed…but I’m trying!
- For all the talk of global communication, it is just as important to build a sense of community within the school. Teacher to teacher, teacher to student, student to student - these types of relationships and sense of “we’re in it together” will make the experience of school more meaningful. This is a big one for me. As a technology coach, I had been attempting to discuss outside the walls collaboration with some of the teachers. When a teacher that had taught at out high school for five years told me there were still some teachers she didn’t know at all, it really hit home that we should focus on our internal collaborations first.
- Through different discussions, there was talk of whether to work from the bottom up or the top down. Starting from the bottom up means finding the value for a teacher and making small inroads. Trying to push from the top down means finding value for the administration and trying to make small inroads. One participant likened the process to growing a garden. You plant the seed and wait for it to grow. Not sure that one sits well with me. I’m looking for the Miracle Gro for this plant I’m tending. I’m having trouble seeing when the bottom up and top down will meet in the middle?
- One of the reasons I decided to attend Educon was to continue to clarify my role, my plans and my goals with regard to pushing for a change in teaching practice. I came away with a clearer idea of what I’m doing and where I’m going. I know I’ll work harder to focus on the learning needs of students. That may mean that technology won’t even be mentioned in a conversation with a teacher - and that’s okay with me.
- In my third year as a third grade teacher, I realized that the kids weren’t responding as well as I would have liked them to and I wasn’t enjoying myself as the teacher. I began to make a conscious effort to make class more fun for the kids - it was my goal for at least one of them to say, “that was fun” during the day. The efforts were worth it…I liked being there more, they liked being there more and we got more done with less struggles. And my test scores were just fine. That’s one of the other big ideas I brought back from Educon - have more fun in school and school will be more fun!
One presenter, Glenn Moses, thanked the audience at the end saying, I learned as much from you today as I had planned to teach you…Wouldn’t you like to hear your student say that?
Other conference attendees have posted conference reflections, summaries, etc… If you couldn’t attend, you can gain some insight from Chris Champion, Will Richardson, Arthus (who I didn’t meet, but would have liked to), and many others if you search the educon20 tag in Technorati. You can even go to the wiki pages for the sessions to see the archived recordings and notes taken by those in attendance.
Technorati Tags: krill educon educon20 technology SLA
Powered by ScribeFire.
Filed under: Reflecting... and
Michelle,
Your Miracle Grow analogy rang true with me. I feel that frustration more than anything else. I would like to see it all change, but I want it to do so know so I can spend the bulk of my career teaching in a way that is more meaningful than much of the last 15 years has been. Ah, well. We’ll keep plugging away!
[Reply]