I went to a conference awhile back where a workshop presenter made the comment, "Every teacher should design apps. It's how we make sense out of content. It's how we make sense out learning. Avoiding this fact is negligence on the part of an educator."
While I see his point, I disagree. I make sense out of teaching through movies and yet I've never made a movie in my life. I make sense out of my content through novels and stories and yet I've only written two works of fiction. I make sense out of my world through long walks and through games of catch and yet I have created a pathway or sewn my own baseball. I learn from blogging and from discussion with fellow teachers, but I don't need to build the platform that I use to communicate or create.
I mention this, because I read an article (can't seem to find it) listing reasons why teachers should blog. Another post implored all teachers to use Twitter, because it will transform their practice. So will front porch conversations. So will a week in the woods. So will learning to ride a Harley or baking bread or getting really into an intricate video game.
If we say that students should find their voice and that teachers should differentiate instruction, why would we push all teachers to use a particular social network or engage in blogging? Instead, I would rather teachers find their passion and learn in the process. I would rather them find ways that they reflect metaphorically on teaching as they engage in things they love.
I would rather have a teacher who is passionate about living than one who really enjoys Twitter.
Ultimately, too, I want teachers to find their voices. I want them to speak up in neighborhoods and cafes, in their social circles, in cocktail parties, in political rallies, in churches and in theaters; and yes, even online. And I would love teachers to speak boldly about the real meaning of education and what standardization has done to that. Whether they use Twitter or a front porch is their prerogative. What's important is that they speak up.
John,
ReplyDeleteAs always you are a master of words. Anytime people say "everyone should ____" I tend to stop listening. The only thing everyone should do is live.
I have the same knee-jerk reaction, Brett.
DeleteWell-put! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Delete"I would rather have a teacher who is passionate about living than one who really enjoys Twitter."
ReplyDeleteexactly. Twitter is only one way of showing your passion about living. Excellent post.
(also known as @dukkhaboy !)
Thank you for writing this. However, I do not believe that writing two works of fiction deserves the "only.". Two works of fiction is quite a lot; two more than most people.
ReplyDeleteWell . . . when neither of them were picked up by publishers, it was certainly humbling.
DeleteGreat post! My mom always said, "The only things you HAVE to do, are brush your teeth, pay your taxes, and die." She still does whatever the heck she wants to do, and has been a superb teacher for me. I hope to do the same, by following my passions! @JoyKirr
ReplyDeleteThat's some great wisdom right there!
DeleteSo how do they believe sn EYFS teacher should mske use of twitter?
ReplyDeleteTotally agree and Thank you for highlighting this issue!
ReplyDelete"would rather have a teacher who is passionate about living"
ReplyDeleteLove it!
Some of my favorite teachers have little to no online presence, but are full of life. Maybe that's not so horrible.
DeleteGreat post! You put it so well; thanks for writing this!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteI agree with all said, but whilst I don't think all teachers should make use of social media I would like all to have an awareness of it.
ReplyDeleteThat awareness piece is critical. We need to know how it works and how it is changing our world.
DeleteAs a "new" user of twitter....and a nature lover, talker to friends at a cafe person and many other things...as well as a teacher and parent...the reason I would still say "consider" twitter and blogging - is because they encourage you to relearn and see education with "different" eyes. Our students are already "messing around" (Mimi Ito) in the digital world, and we (as parents and educators) need to find a way to connect our "world" with theirs..We don't have the same skills, but we do have something to offer, and we need to find a way to "meet" and "learn from each other"..As such, I don't advocate for facebook because it's like a teacher listening to me on the phone when I was a teenager...but twitter and blogging offer a unique way to connect and learn as peers in similar interest groups...like no other learning opportunity I have ever experienced.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that we need to bring our passion to the classroom- but we also need to "meet" and "accept" our students, and children, as peers. One way to do this - is through learning about and using social media.
@verenanz
Here! Here! Well said, in fact as a Mum and Teacher educator, I have always ensure I was ahead of my kids and trainees
DeleteCouldn't agree more, but for entirely different reasons. It has been disheartening to see the quality of conversation + collaboration in places like Edmodo and even #edchat decline. Why are so many of the people who fight standardized test scores as a measure of their students' success in hot pursuit of a high Klout score? It would be nice to see some put the effort in their community that they do into their online presence.
ReplyDeleteI do think that there is a great deal of self-promotion that goes on and sometimes that's dropping the quality of the discourse. And yet . . . the conversation is still great. I love the interactions I have with my peers online.
DeleteI think it's respectable if teachers use all social networks to connect with their students and even understand what's going in their students lives. Twitter is awesome if you use it correctly!
ReplyDeleteFor me, Twitter has become a group where I feel that I can be myself. I can engage in the conversation in a way that is sometimes not possible in the staff lounge.
DeleteHi John,
ReplyDeleteNew to your blog and LOVING it! I really appreciate the insights that you provide ... a LOT of introspection as well as the modelling of courage to share it. This particular piece resonated for me as I'm always reluctant to Tweet yet I am one of the most passionate learner/ teacher out there. I just feel more empowered with face to face and yet I know that I can be as effective with reaching and sharing with other teachers. Thanks for brining this to light for others.
Thanks for the kind words. I think the online world needs folks who listen as much as they speak. Sadly, there's not always a way to "see" that, though.
DeleteJohn, I confess that I struggle with this idea. Not in theory but in how it often plays out in practice. Here's what I said in an old post (2007!):
ReplyDelete"A few days ago I asked this question:
Given the realities of our modern age and the demands of our children’s future, is it really okay to allow teachers to choose whether or not they incorporate modern technologies into their instruction?
Many of the comments to that post rightfully insisted that teachers must make the decision whether or not it makes sense to utilize digital technologies for an individual lesson or unit. No one wants teachers to use technology for
technology’s sake and no one wants digital technologies used in inappropriate ways.
But the collective impact of all of these individual teacher choices, often made by teachers with little pedagogical fluency with digital technologies, is much like my weight loss example above (or Mike Schmoker’s example of the ‘Crayola Curriculum’). Any individual choice seems quite rational and/or trivial at the time. At the end of the year, however, we look back and see that most students have little meaningful or substantive interaction with learning technologies, which of course is of particular concern for disadvantaged students who have limited opportunities outside of school to use technology at all, much less in creative, interesting ways."
From http://bit.ly/cOB1Wy
Any thoughts on this? I strongly believe in teacher autonomy but I also recognize that systemically we're not getting the job done. When we let people opt out, many will...
Maybe the answer is that as a teacher you have to do SOMETHING but you get to choose what you do?
I think there are two issues there. The first being what a teacher uses in the classroom. To me, that shouldn't be an option. Teachers cannot simply say, "No tech for me. I don't like it." The reason being that their decision is forcing students into a place of tech segregation.
DeleteWhat I'm referring to here is the question of whether a teacher should blog or use Twitter in their free time, for themselves, as professional growth. I have mixed feelings on that. My best friend is hardly on Twitter or social media, but he's a great teacher. He blogs maybe three times a year and his posts are always incredibly insightful. But he's busy reading articles, talking to people and teaching professional development classes. My mother-in-law doesn't use social media for professional growth, but she is always reading professional literature, reflecting on her practice and active locally with a community of teachers.
Fair enough. Thanks for the distinction. Just for fun, I'll add this into the mix:
Delete"I wonder how many P-12 teachers or postsecondary faculty have had transformative experiences using technology. In other words, how many of them have personally intersected with some of the world-changing and paradigm-shifting possibilities that are out there? And for those who have, how many of them really understood what happened (i.e., how many recognized the bigger implications of the event that they personally experienced)?
Can we realistically expect educators who have not personally had (and understood) transformative technology experiences to create such experiences for their students?"
From http://bit.ly/cxQHUq
I think yes and no. I have taught kids coding (just a little bit) and then watched them take it to a new, powerful, transformative level. So, it's possible, but it takes a solid initial understanding of the power and the functionality of the technology.
DeleteBut on another level, no, it's not possible to use technology if one never uses it him or herself. In the case of my mother-in-law, she has had her students blogging in her subject and they've done amazing things. However, she had to create her own blog, explore other blogs, etc. The difference being that she didn't blog about education. She blogged about an interest and then she got tired of it - and I think that's okay. My friend Javi is far more tech-saavy than me. He reads technology trade magazines and keeps up on new trends. He explores tech in amazing ways. Although I do a ton of video and my kids make documentaries, Javi knows the art of videography and cinematography more than me. And yet . . . he's hardly on Twitter. His PLN is much more local and much more about looking at tons of resources and experimenting on his own.
So, while I think it's critical that teachers know technology, I don't think they need to spend their free time blogging and using Twitter. This is why it's critical that teachers experience the transformative element of technology in their own professional development.
Anyone else bothered by the term "free time"?
ReplyDeleteCare to elaborate?
DeleteTo me, free time is something profound. It's something valuable and it's not something I take lightly. I spend hours on my free time doing just that - being free. This means freedom from district pressures, freedom from contractual obligations, freedom from overly professional jargon. The fact that I spend that time speaking about education shows that I am a committed educator. However, if I choose to be on Twitter or choose to do the laundry, either way, it's my free time.
By using "free time" in your comment above, one assumes that blogging and Twitter are things that are relegated to frivolity. Things you do just when you have some time to spare. While I agree with your basic premise that teachers don't necessarily HAVE to use blogs or Twitter (but I DO believe they need to be on THIS side of the 21st century and take personal ownership of their own learning which is easily accomplished through blogging and Twitter), I don't believe Twitter & blogging need only be utilized during "free time".
ReplyDeleteAppreciate the post & comments!
-Michelle
I think you and I have somehow miscommunicated - and it is most likely my fault. I think we might have different definitions of free time. I think leisure if valuable for thinking well about life. I watch movies, read books, have conversations, etc. that all help me professionally. Leisure time is valuable in the fact that it doesn't have to be a set, schedule, hyper-structured activity. It's a chance to be free. To me, that's how Twitter is. I take it seriously, yes, but no more seriously than I take playing catch with my kids or chasing bugs in the back yard. For me, that's the beauty of free time. It isn't frivolous. In fact, it is often deeper and more profound than many tasks within professional, contractual obligations.
DeleteI also think there is a different understanding of contexts. I would love to see Twitter and blogging used during professional time. However, for many teachers, that simply isn't an option. My PLN time has to be outside of my professional time.
I savor 'free time'. Think of it as those in-between-commitment times when the only agenda is often, no agenda. In my work as an artist and consultant I use twitter professionally. And I also use twitter socially. sometimes the two mesh, and at times the tweets could be easily classified by their differences.
ReplyDeleteLike Scott, I too worry about the disconnect that happens when schools are populated with adults who have little to no familiarity with living in a connected world and yet their students may well be living highly connected worlds. Those differences can be significant. As a mom, I see this firsthand with my son and the school he attends. The no social media policy, the absence of tech savvy know how is an impediment to learning.
I'm not sure I know the language yet that can capture this tension. It's serious though.
As always, John thanks for a provocative and open-ended post.
It's hard to disagree with you John as I continue to advocate for teacher autonomy. While I'd never mandate blogging for example, I'd suggest it's one of the affordances and power of technology in allowing teachers to, ask you suggest, "speak out." The front porch or community meetings are far and few between. In particular working with teachers in rural areas, isolation is a major challenge.
ReplyDeleteI would also suggest that while we have many great teachers who never share online, they would likely be even better if they did. That said, i don't want to be the one to mandate how they use their time but I'd be very careful on giving others a free pass as if it's simply one of many ways for teachers to share and reflect. I say that because very few do a great job of it outside of technology. That's not entirely the fault of teachers but the reality of the busyness of the job. There aren't many opportunities for teachers to reflect and share. Given that, it's makes using technology to share a little more than simply another option.
I'm all for giving instructors flexibility on how they teach the curriculum. Everyone has their own style of teaching and learning. If an instructor feels prompted to appeal to the class in a unique way I'm all for that.
ReplyDeleteYour favorite justification appeared to be on the web the easiest thing to be aware of. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete