Anne and A Brave New World

Anne Jovovic - our thought leader for the week. Please read her post below and then go to her blog to give your feedback. Her post is a response in part to the video A Brave New World by David Truss which is required viewing for Week 4's blog reflection.

tech 1:1 week 4

First I'd like to speak to this week's videoes. Brave New World in its delightfully unusual presentation made a statement that I will tape on top of my computer, "See opportunties rather than obstacles" to help me when the frustration level rises when I can't make some tech skill work the way I want it to. Then the video went on to show the place of technology in the 21st century. I was afraid that the author would place technology in the center of the educational wheel. But it placed it as one of the spokes in the wheel. This too made a positive impression on me.

Now, in my head, I just need to try to understand what in education is no longer important -- handwriting, reading hardcopy books, grammar -- because I am seeing them all fade in importance.

Second: public domain vs privacy and the role of the teachers. I would ask first and foremost that parents be added to that topic. Schools must take on parent education in technology before anything that we do in schools has any lasting effect.

What would/should be published in newspapers/magazines or shown on TV might be good beginning guidelines to help students understand public domain.

We need students to know that:

• what they put into cyberspace never disappears and that it could come back and interfer with their lives at a later date.
• what they can't say to a person face to face has no place being sent out via technology
• what personal data/images that are posted can be accessed by people who will use it for dangerous purposes....financial, moral, physical
• what we take from cyber space nees to be credited just as one acknowledges sources from books
• what is in cyberspace is often not edited for authenticity, accuracy
• they will be drown with information from wonderfully exciting sources
• that it is easy to feel swamped
• that it will be tempting to just grab some information and stick it in a report without being critical consumers

The first step is that we as teachers see these trouble spots and now we must step back and teach more HOW and even less WHAT

1 comments:

Paul McKenzie said...

Wonderful post, Anne. You bring up crucial points we all need to consider and discuss on this journey into a new learning landscape. In this post you embody the imperative that everyone involved in educational decision making gain a literacy in the tools of communication and collaboration in the 21C. You have also shown how important it is we develop local communities of learning and support. I'm going to feature this on the course blog - everyone needs to read it.

Don't Let This Happen To You

I had a friend who didn't take part in this amazing and free Technology Preparation Program at her school. She had a great life up to that point, you know - the perfect family, the perfect pet, great car.... Then after four days of not taking part in the first module of the training program, things began to fall apart. First, she woke up on the Friday morning and her laptop wouldn't work.

After pulling herself together, with coffee and keys in hand she was ready for the drive into school.  Imagine her horror when she realized she had four flat tires.

Could things get worse? She immediately had a sinking feeling when she remembered the words of her school's technology integration specialist during the Monday meeting. "Through this technology integration course we will build a community of collaboration." She knew it was code for something, but what?

Distraught, she arranged a ride with a teacher who had already started the course. Incidentally, the day before,  this other teacher had an insurance claim come through which curiously included a free upgrade to her car.

On the drive down to the end of the street our unfortunate friend let forth a piercing cry of anguish. There in the middle of the road was her family pet possum, Polly. Things surely couldn't get worse... Right then and there, she resolved to put some effort into the technology program by starting a Gmail account and carefully reading the requirements of week one. 

Technology Preparation Program