Sometimes I Cringe
Thought(ful)( less) Meandering Sunday, October 12th, 2008At any given moment, the various social networks circles I run with will be all a buzz about the center of the Earth: the EdTech Community. Usually, I try not to let the egocentric mentality get to me but it is a bit hard when you read about the reality of Zimbabwe education only to “tune in” to the “network” to hear about how administrators don’t understand the 21st Century or it is all about going global. Oh, and don’t let me forget the one where you must use technology to be a great teacher.
Reading the article “Zimbabwe chaos wipes out education for 4.5 million pupils” makes me cringe about our focus sometimes. Even here in the corner of the world known as the US, there are bigger fish to fry than whether a teacher is using a wiki, a student is creating a digital story, a class is engaging in global collaboration, a school has a blogging program, or whether or not we are truly helping expand their literacies.
Sometimes it takes a little reality check to remember that there are schools struggling to provide a safe learning environment, there are students that come to school hungry, there are districts that have little to no money to provide basic supplies let alone technology, and so many more basics that we take for granted.
I know that web 2.0 discussion is important that you are engaged in right now on Twitter, Skype, Ustream, or some voice enabled video program, but maybe you could have a conversation about some of those other “big” issues facing education — heck, you can even discuss it in a global sense like the collapse of the educational system in Zimbabwe.
[Tags] education, globalissues [/Tags]
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Short URL: http://www.ryanbretag.com/blog/?p=420
Why are those conversations mutually exclusive? Might we have conversations about developing technology-infused, project-based learning initiatives where the problem under study is the plight of people in places like Zimbabwe?
I would cringe too at our focus but I’d say the focus on technologies represents such a tiny portion of the education community that it’s almost statistically insignificant. The spaces you and I might frequent may talk of these things but again, represent only a few.
I would guess if P.E. teachers gathered together in these spaces, you’d feel the same about them lamenting the physical fitness of our students. And they’d be right.
To me, stories like the “Water Buffalo” story represents what is possible. How someone in Chicago, or Moose Jaw or wherever can actually impact another human being. The technologies involved are not really important beyond the fact that they enable good things to happen. The focus is on human beings, learning, giving, sharing and caring.
I don’t worry too much about those who spend their time talking about whatever the tool of the day is. In the same way I don’t worry too much if folks are talking about their favorite sports team. Maybe these are means to an end. Building relationships sometimes involves trivial things to build bridges.
You’re right about focus. There are much bigger issues. Bigger than elections or economical collapse. As teachers I hope we can create a climate for change. Find ways for people/students/teachers first of all to understand the issues and then have the ability and wherewithal to make a difference.
Thanks for stirring thought.
Excellent point to bring balance to often tunnel-visioned technology imperatives.
However, there is no reason to ignore the waste of dollars invested in information technologies under the guise of improving education either. I think an ideal balance here would be to have a world perspective in learning, using technologies in powerful ways rather than trivial ways that make little difference in the larger picture.
To quote Mariana Umaschi Bers who cites Seymour Papert:
“The power of computers for education lies in their potential to assist children in encountering powerful ideas and to engage them in experimenting with and testing these ideas”.
I also appreciate Mariana Umaschi Bers when she writes, “While developing technological fluency is important for understanding the world of bits and atoms around us, it is just as important to provide children with the vision that technology can also be used to make a better world.”
More on one of my posts regarding this:
http://ransomtech.edublogs.org/2008/06/23/purposeful-learning-challenge/
Ryan, you have hit on a passion of mine – addressing the education gap through the affordances of tech tools and online spaces. Last Sunday, October 5th, was World Teachers’ Day (http://www.uis.unesco.org/ev.php?ID=7346_201&ID2=DO_TOPIC) – 18 million more teachers are needed globally. Rather than feeling as though the need for digital literacy pales in comparison (not true!), why not harness the tools and networks we have and address the education (and digital!) gap by offering our students opportunities to connect globally, research potential ways of making “education for all” a reality for 2015, and participate in global conversations that show our less fortunate peers we remember them and care for them? OLPC is offering another G1G1 program starting next month…. why not ask our students to consider participating? Imagine what WE can do with an XO with our students! We could put content on our XOs and send them overseas to schools so they could see and use our students’ projects and interact….
Not surprisingly, I would also encourage you to check out Teachers Without Borders and other such educationally minded NGOs who are doing terrific work “on the ground” with educators in many needy places in the world. Our students NEED to know the need, too. In my experience, they are longing to find a way to help out – this gives our youth a purpose in what so often is, a purposeless, if affluent, life.
http://beyond-school.org/2008/10/11/wordling-as-rome-burns/