Tying it Together

Oops! I guess I already did this as part of my Blog 2 posting. Well, in my defense the “2” was deleted from where it said “reflect in a paragraph or two on Module’s readings…” on the instructions for the Blog 2 posting, so I thought it meant the readings for the current module. Anyway, after reading Chapter 9 I gained a better understanding of the importance of teaching the art of collaborative learning. I don’t just mean teaching concepts that incorporate collaborative learning – I mean actually teaching students how to learn collaboratively. For example, telling students that “studying for a test will help you score higher,” doesn’t help them unless they know how to study for that test. Likewise, students will not necessarily learn better in a collaborative situation unless they have been taught how to use collaborative learning tools to their advantage.

As I stated in Blog 2 above, my career goal is to work as a technical coordinator (or support person at the very least) in a K12 environment. I described how web tools will help me integrate collaborative learning into the K12 curricula. There is one thing I need to retract though. In fact, if I had reread my writing before publishing it I would have changed it right away. I said that the main reason collaborative learning is not used in K12 is because teachers lack the necessary training. Honestly, I have no idea why I said that! Surely there are some teachers who do not have this sort of training, but there are many, many more who would be willing participants if given the opportunity. In addition, I’ve realized that the biggest stumbling block is more likely to be the fact that schools typically operate on low budgets and do not believe they can afford the “luxury” of a good technology setup. News flash – the day has passed when technology was a luxury and it has now become the running standard. Schools that get on board with this approach to learning will be at the front line of producing forward-thinking students: students who will adapt more quickly to the change in society’s demands. We have a wonderful K8 district in my town, and it would be very exiting if I could in some way help the teachers and administration incorporate collaborative learning tools into their curriculum.

The most important thing I learned in the readings and activities is about tools like edublogs. Edublogs seem like the most simple and comprehensive web tool that can be used in a k12 classroom. They can be used to set up group and individual blogs, collaborative group areas (like the Wiki), newsletters, calendars, demonstrations, assignments listings, and other communication between teachers, administration, students, parents, and others. All of the other web tools we have learned about can be tied into an edublog anyway. RSS feeds, photos, audio/video files, text files, and TeacherTube demonstrations can all be linked into a class blog site. I realize that I probably will never have my own k12 classroom, but as a technology coordinator I will have a vast opportunity to train teachers on how to integrate these tools into their own curriculum.

The most important skill I learned is how to refine my web searches. It is a very basic skill and one that many people probably take too lightly. It’s true that most Internet users probably know how to key a topic into a search engine. However, as more and more information is added to the web it will become that much more important to know how to finely tune those searches for the desired result. Not to sound presumptuous, but I also think having good searching skills could earn a person a reputation of being indispensable to coworkers who need help finding information.

The most important idea I learned from a fellow classmate was something I overlooked in my study of Flickr. In the group discussion responses (Group 4), a few people mentioned the use of comments on pictures for diagramming. It’s so obvious, yet I did not think of it. Maybe it was a case of not being able to see the forest for the trees. The reason I see this as the most important thing I learned from a classmate is for two reasons: 1) it is an extremely useful tool to use once the semantics of Flickr for classroom use are worked out, and 2) it humbled me from believing that I had covered every aspect of my critique. I will hope to remember that even the most exhaustive study can still leave facts and ideas unturned. Remaining open to the suggestions of others, which is part of the foundation of collaborative learning, will always reveal a more thorough learning experience.

All in all, I know that the K12 system must get on board with the read/write web. In doing so, they must realize that they cannot oblige the teachers to attend an off-campus workshop or two and then be ready to make full use of web tools in their classrooms. The districts will have to decide, if they haven’t already, to keep a tech person on staff at all times. Depending on the size of the district, the school may someday even be able to employ a person whose sole responsibility is to help teachers bring their class work online and into the realm of collaborative learning.