Someone must have done something like this before on the web, but I’m not turning up much…any ideas?

FYI, my recent post on ‘No Facebook for you!’ may be of interest here:

http://snipurl.com/35e8e

Administrators are notably risk- and controversy-averse. That makes it tough to make change (which, of course, involves risk and controversy!).

@Michelle: In the U.S., nearly all of the university administrator preparation programs have NOTHING in their programs regarding digital technologies, 21st century teaching and learning, etc. I’d say less than 10 programs (out of 500) nationwide are even trying hard to do any of this. Get in touch if you’d like to know more. See also:

http://snipurl.com/35efb

[Sorry. Not trying to drive traffic to my blog. Just had a couple of posts that seemed relevant...]

Spot on… I have been doing this same thing with teachers and administrators for a few years now and typically get the same results from the group. I felt so strongly about it, that I am now an administrator, specifically to move the educational community forward!

The lack of ‘tech-savviness’ by teachers and even less by administrators is something that needs to be corrected. I have my own wiki page “Guerrilla Learning” and my own presentation on Information Literacy, but there just needs to be more than the few screaming to the masses who either don’t care to listen or don’t think they have to!

Part of the issue is that teachers will do what they are evaluated on, therefore part of the solution is that we need to work with administrators so they can identify the skills necessary to be a good teacher in the 21st Century.

One point I’d make is that admin and teachers should be on sites like Facebook not so they can use them in class but so they can better understand the students world (and perhaps also enjoy themselves). Also so they can understand how this kind of communication can be used in a positive way within organizations to facilitate communication & collaboration and provide for a platform for networking on which learning can happen (both student and teacher). If those that are fearful have a fear of “social networking in education” as being the same as “facebook and myspace in education” they are missing the point.

I left NECC so full of excitement, passion, and energy. I thought that just being in my presence would be enough to spark my coworkers interest in technology. After all, we are ONLINE educators! Aren’t all online teachers supposed to be edtech enthusiasts???? This is the first year that the four of us (yes four—we are a very small school) will teach together. It is also the first year for us to teach online. We have a lot to learn and it would be much easier if everyone was onboard with learning how to teach online. Virtual teachers have to know how to seamlessly integrate technology into their courses. It is just what we do. It frustrates me to no end when I hear my coworkers tell me they don’t have time! My service unit is the first in western Nebraska to offer online classes. We are supposed to be the leaders. How can we lead when we refuse to learn? I don’t know if it is sad or scary that we are the “leaders” in our area. The average teacher in my area has rejected technology completely. They don’t use wikis (WetPaint rocks!!!). They have never blogged and don’t plan on starting. And podcasting……yeah right! The average teacher still freaks out when they come across a student with a cell phone. They have never thought about harnessing the power of cell phones in the classroom. That would take work. And like you said…it is summer. It is not in our “job description” to work during the summer! (I hope the sarcasm in that remark came across!)

I can relate to the part of your post about teachers just ignoring what is going on in education. So many teachers and administrators are so caught up in the fear that they might get sued. But what they don’t realize (or pretend to not know) is that their fears are unfounded. The few stories that circulate each year tarnish the reputation of social networks. I am proud to say that my forward-thinking administrator approved my request to set up a Ning for my students this year. However, the a handful of the people who outrank me are still feel that it ous our job to protect the students. I think we are missing a great teaching opportunity by not removing most of the filters (some are required by the state) and teaching them how to conduct themselves online. We also have to teach them how to evaluate the information they find. It is amazing how students are so quick to believe everything the read on the Internet!

I wonder how many colleges and universities need to re-vamp their teacher and administrator education courses to include discussions exactly like this? Kudos to your mom for asking you to meet with them.

There were many things I wanted to say and even more I wanted to show them but that would have taken longer then the hour I had. Even now as I think about to the conversation is blows me at the “That’s what kids do” mentality that it seems schools are taking on.

…..we got a ways to go.