1. With unlimited potential to celebrate student work, what is the best way to manage this?
I think as time and resources expand, teachers will find ways to manage this task. I love how November references the ideas of students who are presenting information (book reports, etc) in class to have their parents skype in and participate or view the presentation. What an excellent idea - or even to have community professionals participate in relevent conversations.
2. How to create authentic work to give deeper meaning to complex issues?
When November writes about having foreign language classes participate in videoconferencing wth other classes from other countries it helps to break down the stereotypes and creates a new paradigm for the students to experience other cultures. Using technology in this way adds relevence and authenticity to a students work -- talk about a new type of penpal!
3. Most effective design for teachers to share best practices?
I find this a difficult question to answer because it seems like it is asking a very personal style type of question. Personally, I tend to read a lot of teacher blogs and that it is often how I get new ideas to use in my classroom. I like the idea of using blogs as a way of sharing information, because you can share with people you don't even know and learn from those you don't know. You a follow the blog or read it with an RSS reader, you can search it bookmark it and otherwise share it.
Barbera - I agree with you. I feel it is a personal preference on how you share with other professionals. Just recently I started sharing on blogs and reading other blogs of primary teachers. I love it and I wish I was introduced to it a few years ago (I think they have been around that long) LOL.....I haev found facebook very helpful in sharing with others and learning from others. One of the sites I belong to is The Organized Classroom Blog....love it.....I have networked with a few teachers off of that site and have created many new ideas for literacy centers.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Barbara and Jen on this issue. Teachers should be given a good deal of freedom when deciding how to best share best practices and materials. I have stated in previous posts that each school seems to have their own specific way to organize discussions, websites, and databases, and these methods do not always translate to other communities outside the school in question. In one school I worked in I was expected to post classroom materials onto the schools online database for students, teachers, and parents. The program was not what I would call user friendly, nor did it have many features, and even though I had uploaded all of my materials onto google docs for free, I was still required to use the mandated program. Without the freedom to share best practices across a world that does not end at the classroom door, we will stifle collaboration and create even more insular schools.
ReplyDeleteHi Barb,
ReplyDeleteI thought your response about creating authentic work for a deeper meaning and the reference to foreign language classes was right-on. I can just imagine being a student learning a new language and being completely lost and frustrated. How awesome to have technology that allows for video conferencing. You can speak with your peers and get a real feel of the dialect. In the past, in order to get a real rich understanding of the language and culture you had to go to that country and be totally immersed. Now, you can have that experience on a daily basis. There seems to be no end to the enrichment of learning one can have with video conferencing, blogging and so much more that I'm not even aware of for global socialization.