Loggin' Some Bloggin'

One of our recent responsibilities for our EDUC 504: Teaching with Technology course was to engage in some discourse with established edubloggers by way of commenting on a post of theirs. I found this to be, on one hand, a simple matter; we SecMACers have been talking in similar ways with our classmates through each others' own blogs. In this way, I felt prepared. On the other hand, I found this task to be a little daunting, primarily for the reason that I feel as though I'm less qualified than I want to be for the purpose of striking up conversation with those who are established in the field. That being said, I can see the immense value of this assignment. Not only was it a great opportunity to offer our own thoughts to the blogosphere -- it was also a terrific learning opportunity.

I commented on two bloggers' posts. The first post was from Bill Ferriter on his blog The Tempered Radical, which is hosted by the Center for Teaching Quality. In "New Slide: Being Responsible for Teaching the Bored", Ferriter laments the lack of curricular time available for differentiating instruction to appeal to students' passions and interests. The persistence required of students to succeed, he says, is a "whole heck of a lot easier for people who are pursuing things that they are passionate about." He asks the question of whether teachers who are restricted by standards and other curricular demands are totally out of luck if they want to bring interesting, relevant instruction to their students. I responded to this question that I don't think teachers of many subjects are unable to teach this material in a way that brings metacognitive clarity and a new-found perspective. I did recognize the fact that, as a teacher of English, I'm especially (guiltily) lucky to be able to integrate meaningful questions into my subject's curriculum. In his response to me, Ferriter argued that his subject was, indeed, not like English in that it wasn't skills-based but rather facts-based, and that the standardized tests on it reflect this. I agreed and offered support for his recommendation that skills-based curricula for all subjects should be the norm.

The second blog post I responded to was on Dr. Frank LaBanca's blog, In Search of Scientific Creativity. In "Technology changes 'note taking'", Dr. LaBanca admits his puzzlement with teachers who institute no-tolerance bans on students' cell phone use in class. He himself has seen his graduate students use tablets and cell phones to take pictures of material on the SmartBoard. His stance reflects a healthy balance toward technology use in the classroom: "I think the important consideration is that when technology is used to ENHANCE learning, that’s a good thing, but when technology DISTRACTS you from learning, that’s the bad thing." I commented on his blog that I agreed completely, saying that "banning mobile devices outright does our students a disservice if they graduate and move on to a college or employer who doesn’t have such explicitly stated policies. If our students don’t understand why succumbing to the temptation of a text is not an optimal strategy for learning, working, or general self-betterment, then they’re not on the best path." Another commenter, Ray, later agreed with us both: 'Right on Mike and Matt! My school is a “technology free zone” as by district policy. It needs to go. It does nothing but hamper learning for digital natives and increase the digital divide for some of the most needy learners.' Participating in this conversation was very affirming.

The learning experience that this assignment offered was personal and significant. From Bill Ferriter I gained a new sense of some key traits of skills-based education; I find that a recommendation for skills-based curricula falls strongly in line with my belief that, given the newly instantaneous trove of data widely available via the internet, we owe it to our students to teach them not the data itself but how to find it, read it, apply it, evaluate it, and create it. From Dr. Frank LaBanca, I developed a more pointed opinion on how teachers should support students' use of cell phones for the purpose of learning. From them both, I learned that, on the internet, the only qualifications one needs to have an effective, horizon-broadening professional discussion are an ability to offer opinions respectfully and thoughtfully, and a willingness to learn from those who have been furthering their craft for years.