Are teachers in your school utilizing web 2.0 activities, such as blogs and podcasts, in the classroom setting? Are the teachers you work with open to incorporating relatively new technology in the classroom?
My school is not using any Web2.0 tools for instruction or for staff collaboration, which I think would be the place to start. In a school with a lot of "veteran" staff (meaning tech-phobic), I think offering staff opportunities for a clear understanding of how to integrate Web 2.0 into daily activities to save time (virtual meetings, less copy paper, collaboration among staff, etc) would be a great training mechanism for teachers to understand HOW to use Web 2.0 tools with their own students. There is so much resistance to trainings where a technology expert tells a teacher how to re-do lesson plans to integrate technology that the teacher is not comfortable with. Instead, if teachers see that Web 2.0 is a time saver related to their professional duties, maybe they would be more open to using it in the classroom.
My school has YouTube blocked for students, but staff can log into a secure server to get around ALL blocked sites, for better or worse, and can then show youtube videos in the classroom over a projector from a teacher computer.
Dr. McCracken good question. For my school, many websites are blocked to prevent teachers from getting on facebook..haha. But we do have access to some important technology websites which is good.
Rachel, thanks so much for the feedback about the resistance you are seeing by the "veteran staff" you work with, haha. I can completely relate from my experiences where I work as well.
There are many Web 2.0 tools that are blocked through our internet filtering software. About the only tool a teacher can use through a school computer is blogs. I do not ever see teachers using this tool with their instruction and would bet most have no clue what a blog is. As far as innovative technology, smart boards and elmos are being used county-wide almost daily.
My school utilizes many 2.0 tools, such as moodle and google docs. Many teachers use google sites for students created collaborative projects. I think they are great tools but produce new issues with monitoring student use of technology in school.
Good question, I also wonder how many schools have Web 2.0 tools blocked by their filtering software?
ReplyDeleteMy school is not using any Web2.0 tools for instruction or for staff collaboration, which I think would be the place to start. In a school with a lot of "veteran" staff (meaning tech-phobic), I think offering staff opportunities for a clear understanding of how to integrate Web 2.0 into daily activities to save time (virtual meetings, less copy paper, collaboration among staff, etc) would be a great training mechanism for teachers to understand HOW to use Web 2.0 tools with their own students. There is so much resistance to trainings where a technology expert tells a teacher how to re-do lesson plans to integrate technology that the teacher is not comfortable with. Instead, if teachers see that Web 2.0 is a time saver related to their professional duties, maybe they would be more open to using it in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteMy school has YouTube blocked for students, but staff can log into a secure server to get around ALL blocked sites, for better or worse, and can then show youtube videos in the classroom over a projector from a teacher computer.
Dr. McCracken good question. For my school, many websites are blocked to prevent teachers from getting on facebook..haha. But we do have access to some important technology websites which is good.
ReplyDeleteRachel, thanks so much for the feedback about the resistance you are seeing by the "veteran staff" you work with, haha. I can completely relate from my experiences where I work as well.
There are many Web 2.0 tools that are blocked through our internet filtering software. About the only tool a teacher can use through a school computer is blogs. I do not ever see teachers using this tool with their instruction and would bet most have no clue what a blog is. As far as innovative technology, smart boards and elmos are being used county-wide almost daily.
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Thanks for the information Zack, I will definitely check out your blog..
ReplyDeleteMy school utilizes many 2.0 tools, such as moodle and google docs. Many teachers use google sites for students created collaborative projects. I think they are great tools but produce new issues with monitoring student use of technology in school.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen anyone using these applications in my school yet.
ReplyDelete