The K12 Geek

Is it just me, or does it also amaze you that some folks expect things to work with just one short run-through and no other practice?

I’m guessing that most people wouldn’t try to take a drivers test having only practiced driving a car just once, 12 hours before the exam. Why do folks think they don’t have to practice using simple pieces of technology before a major workshop or presentation? Then when things don’t work, they of course, blame the technology.

Is it a teacher mindset? Is it over-confidence? Are they hoping that it will fail so they can say: “Look, I tried, but the tech doesn’t work — so I’ll never try it again!”

Sure, there are times when you have to ‘wing it’ - we’ve all been there, have had to do that. But if you have a month or more lead time, is it simply procrastination that leads to this sort of behavior? Are we so busy and bombarded that we give up quality for quantity so easily? It really drives me crazy at times.

Ok - rant over - thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

Saw this on my Starbucks cup today:

“I wish grown ups could remember being kids.”

Think about that the next time you start a long lecture with your students.

Wow… it’s been another long time since I posted here.  Seems like I lost myself in the business of life / work / cutting my lawn (that is growing at exponential rates this year with all the rain.)

I kept making excuses that I was too busy to read my RSS feeds (that are now in the 1000+ range,) too busy to stop and read the books that are piling up in our work room, too busy to simply stop and take a photograph from time to time.  My head has been swirling in the past few months (but who’s isn’t?! I’m not special!)

Then Will Richardson helped me out with three simple words: “Let it go.”

Our department took 15+, k12, school district curriculum directors to a two-day seminar last week. First, we invited Will Richardson to come chat with them on Thursday about the changing face of education/social networking/technology tools and had great conversations. On Friday Chris Lehman was an accommodating host down at the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia. We chatted with Chris about SLA, visited classrooms, and witnessed something you don’t always see in today’s classrooms: total student engagement in learning. If you are in Philly and get the chance, stop by and see Chris and SLA. No, it is not some brand-new, spectacular, multi-million dollar, spotless building that was funded by a technology company. It is simply a haven for teachers and students who care about each other and have a passion for learning — and it’s working.

But, back to Will’s three simple words…

Nearing the end of a rigorous and insightful day, Will showed our curriculum directors the power of RSS and how his Google Reader account connected him with the rest of the educational world. Many were flabbergasted by the number of feeds he skimmed on a daily basis.

So I felt compelled to ask: “How do you keep up with all your feeds and all that reading? Many times I get overwhelmed with the amount of information pouring in, and I just can’t keep up - how do you deal with that?”

He smiled and simply said: “Sometimes you just have to let it go.”

His point being that it is simply impossible to keep up with everything — sometimes you just have to click the “mark all as read” button and start with a clean slate. He made a great point that you might miss something this time, but those things that are worthwhile will bob up to the top several times in several places, so chances are your network will revisit the good stuff.

So when you start feeling overwhelmed with the fact that you had better be keeping up with what’s going on  - don’t let it get to the point where it shuts you down.

Just let it go.

(Then take a deep breath and start with a fresh, clear mind.)

It was nice to be knocked back into reality the other day. As I was presenting to a group of educators on the wonderful resources Thinkinity.org has to offer, I was astounded that no one in the audience had heard the term ‘digital native.’

I had a group of 25 educators sign up for my two-hour Thinkfinity workshop. While planning, I wanted to make sure that I hit three areas:

1. Show Thinkfinity.org and what it has to offer.
2. Give teachers time to explore the interface.
3. Allow teachers a chance to create and/or take away something for their classroom.

I always, have in the back of my mind, the notion that I should probably tie what I’m talking about to the ideas on 21st Century Teaching and Learning - but I’m never quite sure how far to go with it. To be sure that I’m not preaching to the choir, I usually do a short formative assessment (ask ‘em a few questions) and see where folks stand on tech integration, some of the ‘buzzwords’ of the times, etc.

This time I was astounded at the lack of awareness.

• No one was familiar with the idea of ‘digital immigrants vs. digital natives.’
• No one had heard the mantra of “21st Century Skills.”
• No one could identify the acronym  KUD. (Know, Understand, Do) As in, “what do you want your students to Know, Understand, and Do after this lesson.”

I’ve been taking things for granted since I get to go to several conferences and workshops a year that deal with teaching and learning and how to use tech to help engage kids. I didn’t bother trying to convince the powers that be to let me go to NECC this year after they said it wasn’t in the budget. Last year I felt that I’d heard many of the messages over and over, and I felt that I had enough for this year — and I was tired! (Is that ok to say, or am I just being a wuss?)

Long story short - it was a good feeling to actually dive into some of these concepts with folks who hadn’t heard them before. I felt like I was making a difference with this group - though they were very quiet. They sort of looked at me like I had three heads when I gave them time to explore Thinkfinity, suggested they talk to each other, collaborate, and work together. It was almost as though they thought I had ulterior motives or wanted to catch them goofing off.

In the end, it was refreshing to read their comments about the workshop:

• “We never have time to actually try things out in these workshops - thanks for letting us have hands-on time to explore.”
• “Thanks for time to search for resources - we are always shown the tools but are never given a chance to use them.”
• “I found several resources that I can use in my classroom - thanks for the time to dig deep into Thinkfinity. What a great resource!”

This scares me.

It isn’t rocket science that teachers need time to actually try things out and ‘kick the tires’ on new tools. Why aren’t more workshop organizers recognizing this need and supporting our teachers in their quest to improve their classrooms?