we are education

reading the "we are the internet" article really made me think about not only the age we are in, but also the progression of that age and how it affects the way we learn. like the article said, people (including experts) were TOTALLY wrong about what the internet could do. i particularly liked ted nelson who envisioned the internet as the sum of all human knowledge. as impressively grand as that idea is, it's also a bit sobering to realize that even he came short in truly grasping what the net could actually do.

with this initial misconception in mind, i wonder how well we are actually understanding the internet now. being in the information age, our lives revolve around the sharing of ideas and information. everything from our commerce to our national defense is directly linked to how effectively we can send information to where it needs to be. it's staggering to see how far we've come. my mother has always been skeptical of business majors because she thinks they're in the business of making money out of thin air. but when you think about it, making money from the internet really is kind of like making money out of nothing.

back on point. we might learn about all these things with technology and how to use them, but what is that doing to us as educators? i think as we begin to think about implementation and usage of technology, we have to keep in mind that it could very easily explode into something as huge as the internet. but i think this is important for us to grapple with as teachers because as future educators and possibly leaders in our field, we could possibly say that "we are education."

but still, it's hard for me to really have that kind of open mindset though just because it's so broad and uncertain. where can technology go in the future? anywhere.

where exactly is anywhere?

english and technology

this thought came up during 650 this morning when we designed lesson plans for re/mediation. our group focused on technology's affect on language. as we considered how we can teach our students about the impact of technology on writing. the thing we were going for is the students to realize that technology is so deeply ingrained in writing that they MUST think of them together and in relation to one another. from the invention of the hammer and chisel in the caveman days to gutenberg's printing press to word processing, it all affects not just what we write about, but also the way we write.

to really drive the point home, we planned two activities for two class periods that would require the students to write two short research papers; one using no technology beyond printed media and pens, and the other using only electronic sources and computers.

i think as educators, besides just using technology in our classrooms, we should help students to realize the technology around them. they've been born into a world so fast-paced and inundated with gadgets and such, that they take it for granted. helping them to think about it also helps them realize how much it affects the way they think and learn.

storyboard

my pedagogic creed

it's amazing and almost a bit shameful.

reading through the fanciful writing, i was amazed at how progressive this guy's thinking was. then, to my great chagrin, i realized that his creed was written in 1897. they say change is always slow to happen, but it's been over a hundred years!

in connection with technology, it makes me wonder just how quickly technology can be reformed if the pedagogy has taken so long. but perhaps this is too pessimistic a view. it is clear that the technology reform is happening pretty quickly, and that gives me some hope for the reform of the rest of education as well.

the whole idea of wikis in the context of teaching leaves me with a kind of mixed feeling. it's sort of like the taste you get in your mouth after drinking coffee. as i can see that it could be a very useful tool in teaching and organizing instruction, i also see it as an issue of availability. maybe i'm playing to role of the raincloud during everyone else's parade, but i am skeptical as to who can really use these tools.

i'm going to be teaching in belleville high school that has a very limited number of computers within the school. furthermore, the students themselves vary greatly in their access to computers at home. how should we address this in a sensitive way? hearing about all of these different tools, i get very excited to both experience them and use them, but i know not every child in my high school has access to a personal laptop, a legion of computers, and wireless internet pretty much everywhere.

i wonder how i'll be able to use these tools in a belleville classroom.