Believing that one's teaching style need not change to take full advantage of technology. Using technology to simply add sounds and pictures to lectures is stupid. Smart technology use is about changing the roles of both teacher and student. The computer-using student can now be the content expert; the teacher becomes the process expert asking such questions as “Where did you get that information? How do you know it's accurate? Why is it important? How can you let others know what you discovered? And how can you tell if you did a good job?” The world has changed and it is rank stupidity not to recognize it and change as well.
I think this statement by Doug Johnson is one of the most important points that he made. I believe that teaching is an ever changing field. Teachers that do not change and become comfortable are not beneficial to their students. Technology is a big part of people's lives. It changes everyday and teacher's need to realize that we are gonna have to change too if we want to impact students. That means we are going to have learn new things all the time...we are going to ask the kids to do it, so we should be willing to do it too.
Accept the role as a co-learner. One of the best signs of intelligent people is that they tend to willingly admit when they don't know something. Brilliant teachers not only accept the dismal fact that they will never know all there is to know about technology, they also turn that condition into a classroom advantage by having their brilliant children teach them how to do something techie now and then.
I think this point coincides with the other point. Basically, it just reinforces what I have said. We have to be co-learners and reach these students. We have to be in touch with the new technology and know how it works, why they like it, how can we use it to benefit them in the class. We are role models and we have to set an example, that if we don't know an answer, we can work together and find the answer. One of the main goals of a teacher is to make it relevant to the student. Learning new technology will help us achieve that goal.
Thinking online communication is ever private. Eventually, everyone sends an embarrassing personal message to a listserv. I've heard of some tech directors who get their jollies reading salacious inter-staff e-mails. Your school e-mails can be requested and must be produced if germane to any federal lawsuits. Even e-mail deleted from your computer still sits on servers somewhere -- often for a very loooong time. Think you wiped out your browsing history? Don't bet that is the only set of tracks you've left that show where you've been surfing. Your Facebook page will be looked at by the school board chair; your superintendent and principal know who the author of that "anonymous" blog is. Not assuming everyone can see what you send and do online is stupid.
I've always been told that if you couldn't let your mother see it then it probably isn't something you should put up. I am amazed everytime I turn on the computer there is some kind of crazy picture or message out there. It really makes you wonder what people are thinking when they do this stuff. All I have to say is keep it to yourself!
Make conferencing real-time. Brilliant teachers don't wait until scheduled parent conferences to communicate with homes. Through e-mail, Web sites, online grade books, blogs, wikis, and, yes, even telephone calls, technology gives teachers the ability to make parents partners who help assure students' timely, quality work. They post newsletters, spelling lists, assessment tools, assignments, grades, calendars, discussion lists, and tips. They read and respond to parent e-mails. Most parents want to be involved, but they like knowing how.
I think this is important because we want the parents involved as much as possible in their child's education. Finding out the best way to reach a parent is very important. Some parents are very busy and sometimes all it takes is an email. Using technology to keep them involved is great I think. It will help both the parent and student stay active in their education. Click here to read the full list of Doug Johnson's seven stupid/brilliant things teachers do.
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