I've gi@BluntEducator. (Another Tweeter, Greg Pearson @vptechnodork , then turned it into a poster with Canva, @canva, and I've copied it here.) It is true that risk-taking begets risk-taking and educators need to model and practise what they preach. Often, we cling to the status quo, our comfort zone, and if we're honest, what we are doing is really regressing because the different ways to learn today are being developed at break-neck speed. It's not enough to convert libraries into learning common spaces or to purchase tablets, ChromeBooks and iPads (though all of that is good too), we have to put exploration and curiosity and demonstration of learning at the hub of what we do and leave our prescribed curricula to the 20th century. Having grown so accustomed to our road map (curricula) has given far too many of us excuses to not take risks in the classroom with our students. How do we model collaboration, consultation, failure and success as steps to learning when we cling to our Programme of Studies and our old ways of evaluation and grading? ven this quote a lot of thought since it was tweeted on April 1st by The Blunt Educator, This year, I took the Tech Challenge that was launched by The Urban Teacher, @urban_teacher, and I'm pleased with how far I've come with some of the challenges. I've checked them off as I go along and really hope to be able to attend a Google Apps for Education, or GAFE, summit at some point this year. This is how my list looks now. |
It's only one piece of my professional puzzle towards reinventing how I teach and there is a lot more for me to learn (and I'm learning a great deal from my Professional Learning Network on Twitter!). I'm constantly amazed at those teachers that have thrown out their textbooks and their grade books and have focused solely on teaching/learning and giving meaningful feedback. Then, they demonstrate courage by documenting their failures and successes via blogs, Twitter posts or chats, Google Groups...you name it. These teachers and educational leaders inspire me and force me to reflect on my own practise. Sometimes, I feel like I'm moving forward and sometimes I'm drawn back to my own educational comfort zone. What I have learned is that taking those risks (especially with using technology in the classroom) feels like I'm moving forward despite the setbacks and the time spent trying them out. I see the students willing to take those risks with me and that is gratifying. I'm still debating whether I'm using technology effectively for language learning and I'm using Silvia Tolisano's (@langwitches) sketchnote based on Beth Holland's (@brholland) guiding principles/questions. Admittedly, the answers to the questions are sometimes "no, not really".
My goal is to be able to answer "yes, definitely" to these questions.
My goal is to be able to answer "yes, definitely" to these questions.