What Will Your Three Personal Growth Goals Be for This School Year and You Must See This Impressive Presentation About Technology and How We Should Be Teaching . . .

Usually at the start of the school year, teachers are asked to identify three areas for personal growth.  I was reminded of this in the oddest place Wednesday, my tanning salon.  Two moms with children in two different high schools and one in middle school were at the front desk and we started a conversation. (Apologies for the few days break, but I broke my toe and was an angry person for a few days and not able to focus.  My rotator cuff surgery is scheduled for next Wednesday, September 3rd, so I'm trying to think through all the changes that will entail. Now, back to your regularly scheduled blog.)

One mom was explaining that her local high school sent her child home with an IPad and two pages of do’s and don’ts.  She wasn't sure what the IPad was loaded with - presumably her child’s text books.  I told her that I was blogging about this very topic as a retired school teacher.  I shared that from what I had learned most tablets came with the text books and specified apps that would help build vocabulary, writing, math, and science skills. But wait there’s more . . . teachers could customize the tablets with a variety of apps and probably had received training.

My concerns were that tablets without teachers working across the curriculum could be ineffective.  She was worried that there was no insurance available to replace the tablet if it got lost, stolen or broken.  I shared with her that I had read about two different scenarios – one high school where the tablets were hacked and stolen in the first two weeks.  It was a nightmare.  In the other high school things went smoothly and everyone was happy, but it was a private school or charter school.  One other thing I noted was that I would like to see a program like this start with a small group of tech savvy teachers who got to work out the bugs and then expand the program. I have a friend who is working on a B.A. group project and he said the Federal Regs for protecting the information on these systems must be robust and he was most concerned about the magnitude of the issues surrounding issuing this technology.

The other mom, loved her children’s experience both at the middle and high school level, but no tablets were issued.  We talked about the fact that a robust technology program could be created and offered at school without having to send home either textbooks or tablets.   I told them that if I sent home a reading assignment in the text, most students didn't do it and they copied the answers to the chapter questions anyway. 

Personal growth area number one:  Make homework assignments something students can do independently or as part of an outcome-based-learning project – be sure any homework you assign you would be willing to do yourself.

Personal growth area number two: Investigate building a tech friendly classroom using sites like Vimeo and others that will help students learn core subject information and skills and apply them to “safe” technology sites.  Refer to the academic research paper I shared in an earlier blog

Personal growth area number three: Take a class, workshop or indulge in some activity that is just for you, but it is something you are unfamiliar with – it should challenge you perhaps more physically than mentally.  I’m dancing up a storm for my physical health, but the gains in my mental health are evident. 

When I worked, I did my “Combosizing” – my own form of exercising every morning before coming to school and treated myself to a wonderful cup of coffee on my cool down. Visit www.jjcombosize.com to find out how.  

I left the moms in the tanning salon with the following thought – it doesn't matter whether you have super computers or use a quill pen and parchment – if a teacher is well-trained and passionate, then the child will have a great learning experience. Be sure to visit your child’s teacher and teachers, now that you have your personal goals – usually, the school division has figured out your professional goals for you. Check off one task and get a cup of Joe and relax this weekend.

One last add-on and this is very important.  I’m part of a storytelling group on and was asked to like 21^st Century School’s Facebook page.  My visit there turned into an epiphany of finding a presentation  from Michael Wesch that covers two areas of important information for teachers facing how to implement technology in the classroom appropriately and dealing with the reality of just how ineffective the strategies we have been forced to adopt to educate our students.  I realize the time investment for watching this presentation is a lot (over an hour), but it is very important for educators to take the lead in reforming how we deliver instruction.