Teaching now for about 17 years, I feel at times like I am Mr. Winkle. I can't keep up. I can't keep pace. I don't even know what's out there as far as technology is concerned. I’m a person (in my most humble opinion) that is very comfortable using technology. However, I must admit that as I get older I am finding myself unable to keep up with the newest advancements in technology. I try, thinking I’m doing well, but it still evident that I cannot ever know fully how much I really don’t know about the latest and best in technology. As an educator, I believe that it is pointless trying to keep up with the rapid changes of the technological world. Having said that, I must also add that as an educator, I must be keenly aware and open to the use of available technology to best help my students learn. If I will not do that, then I miss out on helping my students learn, and I fail as a teacher. I become like Mr. Winkle.
My very first teaching assignment was to teach the Math and Sciences to Jr. High students. Along with that load, I was required to teach computer usage to students. Computer usage involved teaching word processing, basic database, and basic spreadsheet skills to my students.
My course rationale and philosophy for the class stated..."As technology continues to grow and expand at an ever increasing pace so does the need for our students to not only keep pace but to endeavour to go beyond. Since it is understood that the students of today will inevitably be the leaders of tomorrow, it is the responsibility of the teachers at [school name] to prepare students to use, evaluate, and incorporate appropriate technology in preparation for “tomorrow”."
However that was 17 years ago. Now, the situation is a little different. My school is still a small school and still a small school computer budget but the access to resources and to software resources has exponentially increased (at least it feels like it has exponentially increased). When I taught HTML, I had to go out and look for physical resources, books etc. to teach it. If I need resources now, my first stop is online. Google and Youtube have become my best friends.
About two weeks ago, my school had its grade 9 graduation. In his speech, the valedictorian thanked a number of people who had helped him along his educational path to achieve success. Among the list of those he thanked was Google. Now that has got to be saying something about the time we live in, when we thank an online resource to help us achieve success.
So, as Friedman says in The World is Flat, he is absolutely correct. A digital revolution has taken place and many of us may very well be like Mr. Winkle and have completely missed it. Unfortunately, I believe many of our educational institutions are completely missing it too.
Our society is changing. The way we learn is changing. The way we connect with people has most definitely changed. Our current model of education maybe somewhat archaic, a throwback to the industrial revolution perhaps...it needs to change. A paradigm shift is absolutely necessary to align the way our children learn to the way schools should teach. We once lived in an education system where the teacher was the imparter of knowledge, but we now live in a system where the teacher has to be the facilitator of learning. As a teacher, I’m not there yet, but I am trying to get there as best and as quickly as I can.
A few years ago I had the opportunity to visit with a previous student of mine who had graduated from Jr. High and was at that time enrolled in Sr. High. I asked how he was doing in school, particularly in math (for this was the subject he struggled most with). He said he was doing great. I asked if he had a great teacher, or tutor, or school. He replied ‘no’ to all of those inquiries and proceeded to tell me that his success was a result of YouTube videos that helped him understand basic trigonometry and some
advanced algebra. I thought, if he could use this tool, why couldn’t I use it in the classroom? As a result I now consistently use it in my classroom. I search YouTube on a weekly basis to find appropriate videos and I share them as I deem necessary. What’s more, since using YouTube in the classroom, my students are more engaged because this is ‘their’ technology and they’re happy to have it in the classroom. This is just one example.
Our students are plugged in students. They are plugged in to the digital environment around them, social networking, instant messaging, texting, etc. As some say our students are hyper-connected students. They are connected to the world around them through the technology they carry with them, anything that allows them to be online. However, our schools and our teaching methods are not hyper-connected. We are not plugged in as they are. And this is the point where we become like Mr. Winkle.
So in response to the question, "Is it a good or bad thing that Mr Winkle feels that he is in a familiar place when he finds a school?", well that all depends on if you want to be like Mr. Winkle.
If you do, then good. You're at a good place, status quo never hurt anybody (sarcasm added). If you don't, well then you've got to do something about it. The world is changing and our students are responding to those changes faster than the education system is. If we are to make learning meaningful for the student, then our current model of education has to change too.
Check this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tahTKdEUAPk
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