Tech & Learning - June 2008 - (Page 34)

FEATURESTORY BeachReads to stay focused and to master the material in a way consistent with each student’s way of learning. As the monolithic system of instruction shifts to a classroom powered by student-centric technology, teachers’ roles will gradually shift over time, too. The shift might not be easy, but it will be rewarding. Instead of spending most of their time delivering one-size-fits-all lessons year after year, teachers can spend much more of their time traveling from student to student to help individuals with individual problems. Teachers will act more as learning coaches and tutors to help students find the learning approach that makes the most sense for them. They will mentor and motivate them through the learning with the aid of real-time computer data on how the student is learning. This means, however, that to add value to this coaching, the future will require very different skills than those with which education schools are equipping teachers today. Since customization will be a major driver and benefit of this shift to student-centric online technology, teachers will increasingly have to be able to understand differences between students, and to be able to provide individual assistance that is complementary to the learning model each student is using. There is another potential benefit for teachers. Because student-centric technology allows for far more personalized attention from a teacher, we can do something counterintuitive in education—increase the number of students per live teacher. Facilitating this disruption of instruction has the potential to break the expensive trade-offs in which school districts have been trapped so that individual teachers can do a better job and give individual attention to more students. As a result, there will potentially be better pay for teachers. What T&L blogger extraordinare Ryan Bretag suggests for this summer I admit it. I’ve fallen into the trap of reading the business-minded books that seem to be quite the rage amongst many educators in the blogosphere. I’ve read the one talking about being flat and left-or-right-handed/brained/footed/something, a couple with –‘–nomics’ tied in nicely, and quite a lot about swells, networks, connections, ones, 2.0s, and everything else that makes me think of buzzword bingo (and yes, someone could easily play that game at my expense). While all of these offered something and were worth the read, most seemed to be well, the ideas in them lacked that lasting impact. Yes, there was initial excitement—those head-nodding moments of ”Yes! Someone understands what I’ve been thinking.” Then, it slowly faded to “it was a good read” though I couldn’t really recall anything specific that was good about it, other than a few pearls or quotable moments. However, included in this stack of non-education-specific books are some great educational pieces that challenge, expand, and potentially shift (A1), which makes these great additions to an educator’s summer reading list. Bretag’s actual stack of books as seen on Flickr. Nine Shifts: Work, Life, and Education in the 21st Century by William Draves and Julie Coates Results Now by Mike Schmoker Turnaround Leadership by Michael Fullan The Children’s Machine: Rethinking School in the Age of the Computer by Seymour Papert On Common Ground by Rick Dufor Building Engaged Schools by Gary Gordon Dumbing Us Down by John Gatto Learning by Heart by Roland Barth THIS BUSINESS WITH BLOGGING Excerpted from: Web Literacy for Educators By Alan November Copyright ©© 2008 by Corwin Press While the words blog, wiki, and podcast are used to describe the enabling technologies, the real focus should be connecting students to an authentic audience and challenging them to create work that can have an impact around the world. Of course, to a student the word blog means free Web site and a potential connection to friends and the power of expression. Alternatively, in many schools, the word blog represents something that is automatically blocked via the Internet filter. Of course, no one can argue that there is very questionable content on free blogging sites such as MySpace and What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy by James Paul Gee Summer Learning List It doesn’t always have to be about the tech. I’m plotting my new summer learning list with a mindset on expanding and deepening my thinking. Here is my starting point that I will surely add to based upon recommendations: Cultivating Communities of Practice by Etienne Wenger, Richard McDermott, and William M. Snyder And What Do You Mean by Learning? by Seymour B. Sarason Reframing Teacher Leadership to Improve Your School by Douglas Reeves In Schools We Trust: Creating Communities of Learning in an Era of Testing and Standardization by Deborah Meier Learning Places: A Field Guide for Improving the Context of Schooling By Michael Fullan Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for Teaching, 2nd Edition by Charlotte Danielson 34 | TECH & LEARNING

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Technology & Learning - June 2008 Contents Editor's Desk News & Trends They Said It: What Tech&Learning Insiders Are Writing Online Junket Justifiers Back Office Business Students of the World Unite! Get Small for Fall Summer Reading for School Leaders They Can Hear You Now What's New - NECC Highlights and More Leader of the Year Profile

Technology & Learning - June 2008

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