Learning Side by Side

Yesterday, I was disturbed by both a conversation I had with a colleague as well as reading an editorial in the Washington Post. But my spirit and passion were re-energized by blog posts that further looked at the issues brought up by the dialog I engaged in as well as the editorial I am referring to.

First, one of my colleagues told me about his struggles with implementing the use of a collaborative tool in schools (I’ll be writing this in general term so I don’t out any of the people involved in this discussion). The issue involved this person’s experience with having the accounts to access this tool made available for teachers but finding it not being used once the resource was made available. So when he was given a request by the school to provide access to more accounts, he suggested that they first learn how the tool could be applied to classroom instruction with the help of his facilitation. Unfortunately, his immediate supervisor showed dismay in denying the request for more accounts. The dilemma for my colleague was that he believed they should learn how to use the tool with what they already have to encourage the rest of the faculty to see the value in its use. My own opinion regarding this would be that implementation of the tool would not succeed at the school unless it was rolled out with professional development that shows the potential value of the resource and increase the chance for the faculty to have buy-in.

Photograph of T.C. Williams High School, Source: http://www.acps.k12.va.us

At the same time, I read an editorial titled A School That’s Too High on Gizmos that was published recently in the Washington Post and written by English teacher Patrick Welsh at T.C. Williams High School, expressing his feelings toward the implementation of technology tools in his school. He blamed the wasted class time and low staff morale on the different tools that the teachers were expected to use. This has certainly caused many to criticize his writing, but it also served as an illustration of how technology tools introduced without buy-in from the faculty will certainly doom projects that were meant to help students in their learning. How timely it was that I could depend on my personal learning network on Twitter to guide me to two posts responding to the Welsh editorial that helped ease the tension regarding this issue. I first read Sylvia Martinez’s take in the Generation YES Blog post titled Oh there’s so much wrong with this story. Her examination of the editorial included pointing out that Mr. Welsh created a sense of false choices when he quoted a principal at another high school saying, “[Technology] will never replace good teaching.” Like Sylvia Martinez, I do not think anyone is claiming that technology is supposed to do that. But the use of technology in the classroom provides more ways to engage the learner, provides a venue for a variety of expression, and brings so much more to the teacher if implemented with guidance.

Late last night, I also read Diane Cordells’ post in Journeys titled The Extension of a Man’s Hand. She looked at the Mr. Welsh piece and posted several questions to try and further understand the situation. For example, she asked, “What professional development was provided for staff members in preparation for moving into such a high-tech facility?” Her thought-provoking probe into T.C. Williams High School provided me with personal support in my beliefs that you cannot just offer up a tool and expect others to use it or want to use it. I like what Diane Cordell wrote in her post and provide it here:

“Tools change but the need to facilitate learning remains constant. It is possible to educate students without high-tech “gizmos” but when they are available, it is foolish and irresponsible not to utilize them.”

And so I find my task to help facilitate the learning necessary for teachers to use technology in ways that are valuable to student achievement. When I lose my heart to continue on with this personal goal, I find others who help me down the “yellow brick road” to find it. This form of collaborative learning continues to benefit me.

I finished off last night with inspiration from Sharon Peters in a presentation she did for Alec Couros’ students. See it yourself on a pre-recorded Ustream video at http://eci831.wikispaces.com/CollaborativeLearning.

I hope you get as much out of it, as I was moved by her words to examine my spheres of influence.