Technology Proficiency 2.0

My last post asked you to share the 'technologies' you think our students should be taking with them after they graduate and why you think these technologies are important. My thoughts on this topic are based on how I see students using technology today outside of the classroom and are very different from what I would have said five years ago. This may come as a surprise, but, I think the most important technology tools students should take with them when they leave high school are those that have helped them become connected to others.

I lean towards the constructivist side of learning. By that, I mean, and very simply, that students build knowledge through their own experiences. Technology tools can play an important role for teachers and students in this regard. Social networks, in particular, allow students to connect and learn from one another’s experiences in order to construct their own understanding about a topic. Many of you are already using Web 2.0 tools as social networks such as blogs, wikis, online storage sites, Delicious bookmarks, Bubbl.us concept mapping, etc., in your classrooms. In fact, blogs and wikis are the two most common tools I see when I peruse teacher websites and these are a great start. I am so proud of you for taking a risk and exploring how these tools help students connect. You are already on your way to helping students learn to evaluate resources, organize information, and communicate with one another as well as with experts they may contact. These are some of the most important skills our students will use the rest of their lives.

Wendy Drexler, has created a short four minute video (I also have it below) that nails this idea of students being connected as learners. Given enough time, resources, and desire, this video paints a picture of what our classrooms could look like. Wendy says it best near the end of the video when she describes the teacher role as:

• Learning Architect
• Modeler
• Learning Concierge
• Connected Learning Incubator
• Network Sherpa
• Synthesizer
• Change Agent
  

Wendy has also made the transcript of this video available for you!

So, what do you think? Is this realistic for you? Please let me know if you would like to explore other tools such as RSS, RSS readers, Ning, Skype, podcasts, Twitter, wiki's, Zoho, Google groups, Wordle, VoiceThread,(or pick my brain to see what else is out there!), that will help you move towards building a classroom of networked students.

Technology Proficiency

Discussion at a recent meeting centered on the question of requiring students to take a technology proficiency class. On the surface, this is a great idea. However, what if our students were exposed to this technology everyday in our classrooms? Would they really need to take a class? I mean, we are so tight with rooms as it is in our building. So, I posed the question. Why not, instead, make teachers take a class and demonstrate proficiency in the technology students are likely to see in the work force? Here is a chance to really infuse technology into lessons in ways that our kids are already familiar with and use daily but rarely for academic purposes.

Silence.

I mean, really scary silence; the kind that lasts forever even though it was only a few seconds.
It got worse. The committee moved on without discussing my question. I immediately shrunk into my little cocoon. I think I got whacked and whacked pretty hard. Or, maybe I stunned them to the point where no one wanted to respond or were not prepared to respond. I began to think about this more, in my cocoon, and wondered what the list of technology skills, web 2.0 tools, programs, etc., would actually be should teacher/student proficiency in ‘technology’ become a reality.

NETS
The National Education Technology Standards for Teachers and Students already exist, as put forth by ISTE, the International Society for Technology in Education, but they have not been readily adopted by state boards of education.

Further, the standards do not dictate what the tools or programs are that teachers and students should be using. I think this part is left to teachers. In fact, ISTE does have a wiki where teachers can contribute how they are using technology to promote the standards. There is also a video that that simulates what the NETS for Students looks like in the classroom.

So what do you think about this topic? I am interested in learning what 'technologies' you think our students should be taking with them after they graduate and why you think these technologies are important. Please don't feel you have to be exhaustive in your response. I know that what we would like to see students learn is often times different from what we actually have time for them to learn.