 |
| Join on Twitter! Every Tuesday. |
The discussion was intense, engaging, heated and widely debated. Teacher, administration, IT personnel, everyone was present! Some people were talking about how IT (tech teams) worked (both positive and negative) at his/her school while others were accusatory of who's fault it was, teacher asking a lot, tech never saying "yes'". I was a little frightened that this was going to be a blood bath on twitter. Then all of a sudden some tweets came out talk about how it is all about communication and both sides need to come to a better understanding of what the other does. This of course started a huge debate of whether IT members should be teachers, or if they should be in the classroom to see how a teacher works. I loved how people were so passionate and realistic in their responses.
Since I was on my TweetDeck I could see many pairs of people were having side conversations and people were being re-tweeted left and right, but to be honest sometimes I think the deepest thoughts and comments were lost by the increased traffic. Personally I would find a comment to respond to, but by the time I made my comment under 140 characters, the new "hot topic" took center stage. Soon I just focused on tweeting individuals and responding to others that commented on my thoughts, but there were many things that I think were left unsaid. Being a "new-be" I just need to practice getting my ideas out, but for the most part I learned a lot today.
 |
| Is there a gap between teachers and technology? What about the IT staff? |
The major concerns, coming from a teacher, is that IT has more of the decision making power when it comes to hardware and software in the classroom. Since teachers are the ones using the systems it seems odd that teacher are not given the same input as the IT has. This is were the communication becomes key. Something I kept mentioning is that the war is not between the IT and teachers, but the administration need to help bridge the gap. Personally I think during the summer the IT and teachers need to come to an agreement on next steps, and even have a refection moment of how the year went. I think teacher sometimes view IT as the people who fix our computer or the people that run around when the internet is down, but they are so much more. During the chat there were many IT staff that were present and in my opinion the #1 problem IT had with teachers was that they were being undermined as "fixers" and not "innovators". As teachers we need to take the initiative in the technology we are given and try to play around with it to get a better understanding. We also need to help our peers instead of just asking IT. At my school we have the whole "Ask 10, then Ben". What this means is that before we write an e-mail to IT, we ask a few people (around 5, the 10 was to rhyme with Ben), and if our co-workers or even our students (the biggest techs!) couldn't figure it out, then you can message IT. This gives teachers a bigger connection to the technology and helps create a professional support group. However this may be more of a reality if teachers were trained more with how to resolve technology problems instead of just learning how to use the technology. This is where I see the rift forming, but also where the rift can be resolved.
In the end the #edchat was a very exciting moment of my day. I wish I was not limited to 140 characters, but in the end I'm glad some people are limited! I can see how twitter is a great professional development tool and I think I have made some relationships in the educational world that I will keep in touch with for years to come. The best line for day was about how "teachers need to be teachers, learners, IT, front desk support, and even janitors." I'm looking for the exact quote, but it was still very powerful. As teachers we are so much more than just the person giving grades. We are part of a community.
Just thought you'd like to know!
~Ms. Davis
Good for you for committing to participating in edchats! I'll have to check out the archive of this one--sounds interesting! As for my 2 cents on IT and teaching is that anything we adopt should be pedagogically-driven. I love technology but I'm not a fan of 'technology for technology's sake'. That being said, I think you can explain a use sound pedagogical use for any technology you want to use, the intention to use it to drive quality instruction just must always be in the forefront (no way I could have put that in 140 characters;)
ReplyDeleteI applaud you taking the time to join #edchat. I hope you will consider joining #ntchat as well. Much smaller chat, geared for new and pre-service teachers. In any case, when I was a principal, I was fortunate to have great relationships with my IT peeps. There was a huge mutual respect for me, by them, for my knowledge of the hardware and particularly of the power that the software could bring to support our teachers and students. This created a tremendous opportunity for my schools to be on the cutting edge of tech supports and permissions. I had wireless hubs installed on my campus,before other sites,as I was typically one of the few that would ask for them. Long story, short...an admin can do much to advocate for their teaching staff to lead the way in using supportive tech and unblocking, internet pathways. Mutual respect and staying knowledgeable is key.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lisa, #ntchat is a great chat to follow as well and is definitely easier to follow! And it's great because most people are really open to all ideas because everyone is either a new teacher or pre-service teacher. This does sound like it was an interesting chat. I don't know much about the issues between IT and teachers because I haven't had to deal with that, but I can see where there can be a disconnect because of lack of understanding of each others' roles. I think that teacher's should know exactly the role of IT (like you commented about them being seen as fixers rather than innovators) but I also think the the IT department should recognize teachers as capable of being a part of the decision making when it comes to technology in their classroom. Great post, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete