Journal #6 "Interview with Will Richardson" NETS-T III

Rebora, A. (2010, Ocotober 11). Change agent. Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/tsb/articles/2010/10/12/01richardson.h04.html?cmp=clp-edweek&intc=bs&sms_ss=delicious&at_xt=4cb7dc75d0303b73,0


Summary
Will Richardson is a former teacher and now a technology expert. He seeks to find new ways to bring technology into the classroom and then use his knowledge to influence and help other teachers do the same. The interviewer asked many questions and I'll make point of the most important ones. Richardson credits teachers to not using technology very often/enough to the fact that it's a culture shift. People are very stuck in their ways of teaching and don't like change. He brought up a very good argument to those who say kids are born "tech savvy", explaining that kids have less of a fear of technology then adults but they know more of the social advances of technology and less about how to use technology to learn. Richardson also shows a little bit of concern when he talks about how technology implementation is really an uphill battle. With the budget being as bad as it is, teachers don't even get the basic utensils for a classroom, let alone computers.

Q#1- With public school systems being in such poor conditions, in terms of finances, how can I still manage to teach my students using the web?
Just because every student does not have a computer in front of them does not mean we cannot teach them or show them what is out there. People cannot use tools if they do not know they exist. A very simple example could be an instance where I have students working on a research project. In an effort to show them better ways to reasearch more narrowly or simply to have another outlet as a search engine I could introduce delicious.com. I could show the students how it works how to tag, bookmark, and share with others. What they chose to take from that is all individual but at least they know it's there and I am giving them access to an instrument they would otherwise not even know was available.

Q#2-  How can I change the way of thinking and convert other teachers to using more technology?
I would do as Richardson suggested and make sure that I am constantly modeling the use of technology. Reminding the other faculty that the computer has so much value. I would also try to be an advocate of technology by maybe not only modeling the use of technology in the classroom but sharing it with others. Send others emails about new ways of using technology so they can implement it at their own pace and it doesn't feel too forced.

Classroom Newsletter: NETS-T III

Newsletter


This newsletter is a basic, one page summary used to inform students and their parents about what they can expect from my class. It's an easy way to introduce myself to them and also give parents and students the most efficient ways to communicate with me. I made it using Microsoft word and really utilized many of the features word has to offer.

Test Survey: "All About Me"