EduBlog Insights

want to grow and learn,” said Ms. Hirsh of the National Staff

Development Council.” We have to narrow the scope of what we offer to

teachers and use it in a more deliberate way.”

Now it’s not this article in

particular. It’s just that I probably have read hundreds along a

similar vein. I really tire of all the discussion that goes on outside

our schools. I’d like to see some discussions from those inside the

school. Why don’t we put the focus on letting schools be responsible

for their own learning? We should work to make our schools learning

communities that are models for our students.

I’m talking about the pursuit of learning. It’s a questioning,

exploring, seeking solutions, making changes mode. Schools should be

places where teachers and administrators continuously seek and share

learning and then act on what they learn. Faculty meeting should be all

about learning, both for students and educators.

So, how about this scenario? Brainstorm. List strengths and weaknesses

of your school. Then proceed with a question, explore, change mindset.

It could be as simple as what is working in your school and what is

not? What do we need to learn more about so our students will benefit?

What are our school needs, what are our personal learning needs? Are we

preparing our students for the twenty-first century? Do we need to

redefine our definition of literacy? Are we

learning and growing or are we just content with the status quo? If

we’re just content, what do we need to do to change? It’s about posing

questions that are pressing and relevant to learning and your unique

school’s needs.

Once a question (or questions) is set that is perceived by the majority

to be worthy

of answering in depth, the whole school begins to seek knowledge.

Blogs could be used to share what you are learning and thinking.

Everyone has a stake in the discussion. You could start  small in

the beginning and ask faculty members to respond to one co-worker’s

blog. Then meet and discuss findings. Ask your students for answers to

the questions you posed. Share their thinking or better yet, provide

blogs for students and get them in on the process. Build your learning

community. Have your staff pursue learning based on their own

individual needs but have a school-wide focus on identified concerns by

a majority of the faculty.

Along the way, introduce some helpful tools like Bloglines, Furl,

del.icio.us, etc. to help school members manage the information they

are exploring. Create a wiki to record ideas and use as a guidepost in

making decisions about teaching and learning in your school.

Now this journey might be messy and be a lot of “trial and error” but

it’s essential. We educators have to be the change agents and we need

to have our voices heard.

Just think, not only would you be building a dynamic learning community

but the entire school would be writing. Writing to learn, to explore

our thinking, to make needed changes and to think about possibilities.

back at work! It feels good! 

I want to share a great editiorial I

read in the Seattle Times, It’s an uplifting piece and puts me in the

right frame of mind to get back into blogging! The editorial was “Remembering Mr. Greenblatt”.

Lynne Varner, the author, starts off by saying that all she needed to

know about good teaching was learned in her fourth grade classroom.

It’s a tribute to a teacher she had three decades ago. Wow! What teacher wouldn’t love that? The author tells

about how Mr. Greenblatt unfolded the day’s newspaper with an

excitement that made her believe he had driven all the way to school

waiting for the chance to share the news. She shares how he walked amid

the desks and paused to look his students in the eye. Mr. Greenblatt

expected the best from his students and he got it!

You’ve got to read the entire editorial but the last line says it all:

“I can’t remember a single thing I learned in fourth grade but I do remember how much I enjoyed learning it.”

To me, that’s what it’s all about. It’s not just facts and remembering

them for tests or worksheets. It’s making sure that students will be

interested in learning for learning’s sake. It’s instilling that joy of

learning and learning right along with and from our students. It’s

honoring them and their views. It’s listening and reacting.

It also made me think again about why I love using weblogs with my

students.

We get to be fellow travelers on the journery of discovery with more

than one teacher, more than one student. Wow!  It’s amazing. 

But the teacher is the one

responsible to unfold the use of weblogs with an excitement that let’s

them feel the possiblitlites. We have to share our enthusiasm with our

kids and let them know that

there voice is important. We also have to teach them responsible use

and at the same time have fun with the learning.

Oh,

the places we will go!

Yep, it’s good to be back……

That association is top notch. I haven’t been able to attend many of

their conferences but I think they are the best. I got so excited

reading eSchool News online this morning. Corey Murray’s article

entitled, ASCD speakers: Get authentic reform,

had so many excellent points that I just longed to have been a part of

the conference.The key theme for the conference was how to address a

glaring disconnect between the demands of the new knowledge-based

economy and the drill-and-practice mentality currently driving

education in many of the nation’s classrooms. Now that was more than

enough for starters but listen to more from his article……

century seem to be passing us by, she said: Many of the nation’s top

education leaders, including the framers of the federal No Child Left

Behind Act (NCLB), also are missing the point.

“One of the reasons we have NCLB in the United States is because the

group that cooked it up has no idea what they are doing,” James said to

applause from the crowd. “When you don’t understand something, the

first thing you try and do is measure it.

“Don’t get me wrong–I’m all for accountability,” said James in

reference to the federal law. But teaching students to memorize

information meant to produce higher marks on state tests is not the way

to prepare them for life and work in a global economy, she said.

“Technology is changing everything,” said James, who believes a “cultural shift” is under way in the nation’s classrooms.

But it won’t be enough simply to outfit the nation’s classrooms with

the latest gadgets. For technology to have its intended impact,

teachers must do their part to drive new methods of instruction.

Gene Carter (ASCD Executive Director)……..

 ASCD’s Carter reinforced James’ criticisms of the law, calling its focus on standardized test scores “inappropriate.” The idea, said Carter, is to create new environments focused on “deep

learning,” which includes the development of a rigorous, relevant

curriculum–some of which involves the use and application of

technology.

“In the 21st century, learning must dictate how technology is used,”

ASCD Executive Director Gene Carter told a group of educational

technology advocates during a special session on the closing day of the

conference. Although there are a few shining examples of effective

technology integration in schools, Carter said, “the average teacher is

Ted Hershberg (University of Pennsylvania professor)……..

Though our education system has worked well in the past, the increasing

presence of technology and the demands of a new century have made it

nearly impossible for teachers to rely on what has become an outdated

approach to teaching and learning, said Hershberg, who also serves as

executive director for Operation Public Education, a research group

that develops strategies for education reform.

If change doesn’t occur soon, he warned, the United States is in danger

of ceding its economic prominence to other, more aggressive

nations–most notably India and China, whose workers offer the same, if

not better, skills at a fraction of the cost.

“Our schools were good for the past,” Hershberg explained. But we

cannot expect “an old system to produce new results. … It’s time to

get on with the process of change and stop blaming each other.”

to tell a good story. In short, they need to sell what it is they’re

teaching. To do that, educators must build lessons that attract and

enthrall a generation of students weaned on the interactivity of the

The “Net Generation,” as she called today’s students, wants short,

interactive lessons dispersed with, but not dominated by, the use of

technology. To them, she said, technology is a tool to fuel discussion.

“Why is common sense not common practice?” asked James. Isn’t it time

our nation’s schools begin to reflect “the realities of the outside

And back to the key in classrooms

being educators telling a good story, selling what they are teaching.

Blogs can be the place to do just that.

goal is to expose, advance and preserve digital creativity at the

grassroots level. The site serves as a central gathering spot where

professionals and amateurs come together to share works, offer tips and

tutorials, and interact in a combination community space and virtual

library that will preserve these works for future generations. We want

to enable people anywhere in the world to tap into this rich repository

of media and create image albums, movie and music jukeboxes and more.

to BE the media. There are many howtos on audio editing etc. with a

focus on podcasting, vblogging, and more.As well as information on

journalism and documentary making. They are expanding the howto

sections all the time adding fresh content as well as looking for

contributers.

Dorman, whose Georgetown government class blog bubbled with a debate

over morality and politics recently, with students posting comments

from 7:30 p.m. until nearly 7:30 the next morning.

got hooked, and he said they became closer and more engaged than in any

class he has taken. When the semester ended this winter, students asked

the professor, David Lipscomb: Could they keep writing the blog?

class.  She was writing her midterm reflection. I’m pulling one

excerpt because it’s a good example of information overload and some

good that can come out of reflecting about what you are doing. I won’t

point to her blog just yet as she just might forget to breathe.

terminology to realizing that, while I may be causing the glitch, it is

repairable. I now know what address I need in order to blog and what

address I need to read others’ blogs. I can navigate and compose and

even risked placing graphics within my website. Once I learn the

correct way, it gets so much easier. It’s still taking me an incredible

amount of time to understand where I’m going wrong but hopefully the

course since I don’t have much opportunity for that, plus I am spending

so much time just completing assignments. I am feeling more confident

and was amused the other day when the subject of blogging arose and I

was the only one in my circle of friends that had a clue what that was

about. I may become the IT expert in my social circle by the end of the

semester.

I have developed one pedagogical strength from this. Before, having always been at the top

of

my class in my endeavors, I had wondered how I would handle the

challenge of teaching a struggling class of students. Last week’s

scenario that involved turning in the incorrect Lesson Plans coupled

with no memory of being shown how to access Documentation made me

realize that one can truly become so overwhlemed that one cannot hear

what is being said. I knew theoretically this happens to students and

having now experienced it, I think I’m better prepared to empathize and

(as you did) help them get over the sensory overload and back on track.

So, Mrs. Davis, continue to inspire us and power point us in the direction we need to go. We will blog and navigate as well as we can with hopes of composing a great final product. Will we improve–only our rubrics will know. You’re teaching us well and if we look faint–just remind us to breathe.

some good reflections from this class. We need to start these type of

reflections in elementary school and continue them in middle and high

school. It’s amazing information and helps us connect on the learning

This is terrific though. One of the middle schools, Mabry Middle

School, is front and  center in the discussion. The principal, Dr.

Tyson, is leading the discussion on his blog, From the Desk of Dr.Tyson.  He praises one of his

students for speaking out at one of the meetings. (way to go!) 

Here are a couple of excerpts from his post Tonight’s Informational Meeting.  

I found it interesting that one of our students was so outraged by what

he found to be offensive and uniformed remarks made by one of the first

adults to speak in the open forum, that he immediately found Mrs.

DeBardeleben to ask her if he could speak at the microphone.  She was a

little worried that he was too angry to speak.  But our student held

back his anger and was able to effectively articulate why he believed

his having a laptop would enhance his achievement in school.  Way to

go, Ben!  I was proud of you.

every single one of them did an excellent job.  As one very impressed

parent from another school told me, “Dr. Tyson, your students did you

has prepared for them. He goes on to ask his readers to print and distribute it to help inform

our community about The Power to Learn.

Now I didn’t see any student blogs but you just have to think that’s

coming, especially if the laptop proposal goes through. Right now the

blogs appear to be mainly informational and for communication. The

students created a video explaining teacher use of the blogs.

You can be sure I’ll be following this, as well as all these new blogs. I love to see principals leading the way!