I just read David Warlicks blog post about ISTE. I love his comment "There were those who pursued new tools and their mastery. And then there were those who wished to walk away from the presentations and conversations with new insights, better understandings, new stories, more philosophical backing, and a richer and more practical vision of contemporary education." I think it would be very easy to attend a conference of that size and try to take it all in. The first day I certainly did just that.
On day 2 and 3, I chose to S-L-O-Wdown! I realized that I WAS using many of the tools and resources I heard about in the sessions. However, I totally agree with Lee Kolbert's response from the above blog: "I think there are lots of people in the same boat where we’ve hit a point where we have some great tools, now let’s slow down and figure out some authentic, compelling reason to use them; if there are any. And let’s stop spending more money on items we’re not using. It’s like the buffet where there are so many good things to eat so you take a little of everything. Now that I’ve tasted the items, I’m ready to fill my plate with just what was really good and make a substantial meal of it."
I hope to go into this year and use fewer tools and focus on the ones that I know can get me to the authenticity and deeper level of understanding I want my students to have when they are in my classroom!!
QUESTION: If you had to choose only three tools/sites to use in your classroom, what would your top three picks be?
I really agree with this that we need to be careful about making sure technology is enhancing learning, not being used just because it is available. With the exponential growth in tech, it can be hard to sort through what will really be long term and impactful, and that which will be a fad and fade away quickly. (like the 8track for those of you old enough to remember like me!)
ReplyDeleteIt's great to have somebody like you who is knowledgable and good at deciphering the value of the new things and then passing on your insights and wisdom to those of us less well versed in tech, but trying to get up to speed.