Nebraska Change Agent
' I am entirely certain that twenty years from now we will look back at education as it is practiced in most schools today and wonder how we could tolerated anything so primitive.' John W Gardner
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Change Agents
I put a lot of thought into naming my blog. In fact, it took me longer to name my blog than it did to name my second child. I wanted it to represent how I feel about my role in education so I decided to call it Nebraska Change Agent. In retrospect, maybe adding “Nebraska” to the title was not such a great idea. People from Nebraska are not usually leading the charge to large scale change. When naming my blog I also took into consideration a message from fellow educator, Howi DIBlasi. He said that only one in ten educators are truly dedicated to changing education. Over the last few months I have spent a considerable amount of time thinking about the implications of that and I have come to some conclusions.
I became an active participant in the edublogosphere late in the spring of 2008. After I discovered the NECC 2008 and Classroom 2.0 Nings I was hooked! It was not long before people from my PLN turned me on to Twitter. Between Twitter, blogs, and nings I am able to keep up on everything related to my job.
The thing that comes up over and over again within the edublogging community is how to get more teachers involved. How do we get teachers to invest themselves in education? How do we encourage teachers to start collaborating with their colleagues?
I believed so much in the power of PLN’s that I set up a ning for Nebraska educators. As of yesterday there were 26 members. TWENTY-SIX!!!! I sent out 1200 emails announcing the network! Would you like to venture a guess as to how many of my coworkers have joined? One. If it were not for Josh Allen agreeing to be a co-coordinator the Ning would be dead!
The question I have been grappling with for several months now is what makes me different from other teachers? Why do I care so much about networking with people from my PLN? Are teachers who do not embrace technology and push for change not as good as those of us who do?
For what it is worth this is what I think. I believe that for a teacher to be well-rounded they must do everything they can to not only master their subject, but also teacher 21st century skills in the process. Teachers have to step up and become 21st century educators. They have to master the necessary tools. Ignorance is no longer an acceptable excuse. Teachers who only use computers to track grades and check emails need to be ashamed of themselves. I understand that tight budgets and Nazi-like IT departments can hinder the process, but that does not excuse teachers from learning how to use the tools to communicate with their colleagues.
Training does not happen overnight and it does not just happen without a plan. Schools have to set aside time to train teachers and teacher education programs must begin training future teachers. Teachers must be shown how different tools can enhance their curriculum. Until this happens I am afraid we are going to keep preaching to the same choir!
4 Responses to “Change Agents”
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November 20th, 2008 at 3:39 p
I think there are a lot of reasons why more teachers don’t get involved with using web 2.0 tools in the classroom.
1) Time – few districts are willing to commit the hours to good in-service instruction and follow up with giving teachers time to work with it. In small schools, many of the teachers are also coaches and advisers for extra activities. They have lost their after-school time and weekends to those activities.
2) Knowledge – Most teachers haven’t heard of these tools. See #1 for solution.
3) Comfort level – As I registered for this site and put in my birth date, it occurred to me that many change agents were born shortly before or years after I finished my first year of teaching. Many of the teachers in our system are my age and older. I have always found technology to be challenging but fascinating. Many of them are intimidated by technology. I can’t tell you how many times I have had to calm down a tearful teacher. These people are afraid to get into a classroom full of restless students when the project doesn’t work. Solution: See #1!
4) IT people who are good at fixing equipment, but are afraid of web 2.0 . A solution could be found in #1!
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November 24th, 2008 at 9:18 p
Chris,
I can understand that teachers who have been in the classroom for a while are apprehensive about trying new tools. But what about the new generation of teachers? The students who are graduating now are the ones who grew up on the Internet. Where are they? I don’t think there is anyone in my PLN under the age of 30.
I understand that many teachers have extra duties, but their main concern needs to be teaching! What does it say about educators who are content with not learning new things? Would you go to a doctor who graduated from medical college in 1978, but who had not continued his education? Of course not! Why then do we allow teachers to quit learning? I know teachers are required to show professional growth, but you know as well as I do that most of the time that is a joke.
I am not too understanding when it comes to teachers who refuse to grow. I am busy too, but I still find time to learn new things that will help me become a better teacher.
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November 29th, 2008 at 8:32 p
Beth,
I think it would help if the administration understood and used web2.0 tools. Our administration does not understand these tools or the value of an online PLN. They are fearful of these tools. We are not supposed to have a personal page on Facebook, I do, we aren’t supposed to blog with our students and wikis are questionable. If I had my own classroom I’d probably be sneaking in some blogging but I do use wikis in the lab.
Last year I tried holding after school workshops to introduce teachers to different online tools. Attendance ranged from 0-3. I gave up on them this year. In January I’m hoping to start a a 15 hour class reintroducing them to some technology programs we already have and while I have their attention begin to show them how they can have an online PLN too. But sadly, I doubt many will pursue that option. Time and fear are the biggest excuses.
Ok, now on to read some more of your blog.
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December 23rd, 2008 at 1:16 p
Hi Beth,
I ran across a blog with an entry from you about Engrade. You wanted to know about other grade book programs. I worked for an information technology center for 5 years in Ohio, during which time I implemented ProgressBook in more than 40 school districts. It has been so successful that 75% of Ohio school districts now use it. I eventually went to work for the company that designed it, and in just the last 2 years ProgressBook has entered 9 additional states. I am sending the link to our website where you can watch a video overview of ProgressBook. https://www.progressbook.com
Feel free to call or email with any questions. I could also set up a webex demo for you.
Thanks,
Chuck Getty
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