Well, I am finally back from a hiatus from all worlds technical. My MacBook Pro was in for service (sadly for the third time) and using other people’s computers was just too frustrating to maintain this blog and my other blog www.classroomblogging.com. So – a belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
It is too late to list all my new year’s resolutions and for sure the one about losing weight but here is the BIG one in my list of things to do in 2009. I still want to motivate parents and teachers to support student learning by using web 2. tools in the classroom. My resolution is to get parents, administrators and teachers involved in using web 2.0 tools.
I have written on several occasions about why web 2.0 tools are not being used in the classroom. I will list them shortly but I want to discuss the chicken or the egg reality first.
Consider this:
Parents are afraid. They do not trust the Internet and immediately reject attempts to provide appropriate learning environments using web 2.0 tools. They may not interact with their computer or the Internet on a daily basis but they do read the paper or listen to TV and radio.
Administrators are afraid of parent criticism and want no part of things like social networking ( Blogging, Wikis, Facebook ) if they will make life difficult. I am guessing that they are thinking – there is too much already on my plate. They use the computer and the Internet as a communication tool and they read the paper or listen to TV and radio.
Teachers are afraid of upsetting parents and administrators. They use the computer for student records, resources and communication and they read the paper or listen to TV and radio.
Until the fears of parents, teachers and administrators are addressed – our students – all over the world will do a lot of learning online without guidance.
The chicken or the egg question is where do we start? Convince the parents to ask for change? Convince the administrators to convince parents? Convince teachers to convince administrators to convince parents?
Jump in anyone! I contend it is the job of readers of blogs (like this one), the people who are already doing good things. The people who know the benefits could/should reach out to those individuals who are not online. Tell them the story. Tell them something other than what is wrong with Facebook, Myspace, blogging and YouTube.
photo credit: .countz
If the reticent folks are going to change their opinions and support the use of web 2.0 tool in the classroom, they need to read about the benefits to students in the newspaper. The conversation must go beyond the online communities and venture out to magazines and radio and TV programs. The people who need convincing are not online.
What can we do to initiate a media campaign? If you have some suggestions, please let me know with your comments. Does anyone have a direct line to Oprah?
Now my promised list of blog posts about why the implementation of such powerful tools continues to be blocked.
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Parent Engagement in the 21st Century a presentation at the K12online Conference
Order for closure
But I need permission
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The family is a critical component to any child’s life. When it comes to education, no greater statistic stands truer today than the achievement gap between students whose parents are involved in their education process and those who do not have that support. Personal responsibility, safety and education are key elements to bringing up the next generation.
After 10 years of experience leading a volunteer program in my children’s elementary and middle schools, I launched Schools And Families Engaged (the S.A.F.E. TEAM on Campus) in 2008 to meet the needs of schools and families. Many of the school’s families do not know where to begin in school. Many parents today never had an example of their parents supporting the school let alone they may not have enjoyed their personal schooling experience. Why would they have a desire to serve? You only know what you have experienced.
Make time to check out our site http://www.thesafeteam.com . On the About SAFE page, click on the 40 Developmental Assets link. This will tie in all the benefits of families and communities supporting their students both in school and out of school.