Letter to my Colleagues

I have been spending some time recently responding to a listserv discussion that has many brilliant, award winning teachers on it who are not sold on the idea that we really are going to have to change education to remain relevant; that *they* are going to have to change.  I thought I would share my most recent letter.

One member writes-
I've been waiting and wondering when someone would take up the thread that Mark began during our "Here Comes Everybody" discussion, wherein he talked about how the printing press put scribes out of work and wondered whether or not technology would have a similar effect on teachers.

I am often asked as I travel to various places to present why I would spend so much time talking about technology knowing that with outsourcing and such that I am undermining job security in that computers could replace teachers. To that I respond,  If you can be replaced by a computer then you probably should be! The truth is that technology will never replace teachers, however teachers who know how to use technology effectively to help their students connect and collaborate together online will replace those who do not.

Change is Here
The way we "do" school in the 21st Century will change. Teacher will be/is being redefined. (Lord knows it is time- while the rest of society has changed in its response to technology, education has
remained timeless the last 100 years.) What we have to do is ask ourselves what principled changes need to take place in order to remain relevant in the lives of the students we teach?

It Doesn't Change Some Things- It Changes Everything
With knowledge expanding at the rate it is and the world changing at a dizzying pace- to keep the status quo is to accept obsolescence. Teachers will need to accept the fact that even with all we have invested, the pace of change is going to demand us to unlearn and relearn. Every major technological innovation through time has demanded it of its users.  Think of the world and how it functioned before electrification and the how it functioned after electrification- before television- after television (the way we fought wars and politics alone because of TV changed drastically)-- As Mark alludes to, technology doesn't change *some* things, it changes *everything*. Before TV, the thought of allowing someone to interrupt you constantly trying to sell you things you didn't want was unheard of- people were run out of town for such antics. But now it is part of our culture- to the tune of 500 channels-- which have figured out that by providing mediocre content (like reality TV)  we will sit still and let them sell us things we do not really need and we will hum their jingles and use their products, all the while our culture becomes more and more superficial and kids lose out on developing deep, meaning (which they are so capable of grasping).

Incremental is becoming Exponential

Technology is and has changed society and the students we teach. The question isn't are you preparing for 21st Century teaching and learning- rather the 21st Century is here. The party has started. The kids have already arrived. We are 8 years into it.

Ask Them- They Know
Want to know how a 21st Century learner learns? Ask them. You will be amazed at what you hear and if you are smart- you'll act upon it. Sylvia Martinez says we are trying to solve this 21st C PD issue in schools with 6% of the population (teachers) when 94% of the population (kids) are better positioned to help us learn what we need to know to be successful. Turn your classrooms into learning ecologies- learn with and from your students. Get rid of top down, expert driven instruction methods and nurture self-directed discovery- both your own and theirs. Turn your passions into classroom curriculum. Get excited and mentor your kids integrating your passions with core content and foundational knowledge. Help them develop a love and understanding for culture and our rich heritage. Advocate hard to get the metrics we are using to measure classroom effectiveness changed- for we teach what we measure. Leverage NCLB to push for personalization of curriculum in an effort to meet AYP and all the various needs of your subgroup populations.

It Isn't "If", it is "When"
Technology WILL redefine schools- good or bad- it will/is happening. We are one node, one means, one stop in a 21st Century learners learning journey and options. We need to be having conversations about how to make sure that their time spent with us is preparing them for jobs that haven't been invented yet and enabling them in authentic ways to be a productive member of society now. As Dave Mathews says, "The future is no place for your better days." 

And teachers need to be driving these discussions and this change- not policy makers. However, it will require you to redefine yourself. It will require you to unlearn and relearn which means an implementation dip in terms of personal power and knowledge-- but oh well, you are in this for kids remember? This will be messy, but you can't give away what you do not own. You have to own these tools and concepts before you can give them (empower) your students with them. However, once you do- get out of the way and let them show you all the ways to use them to learn that
you never dreamed possible.

Want to be amazed? Check out Laura (a 5th grader's blog) from a project I helped lead in WNY. How many of you can say you have the attention of 30,000 readers and that companies who are known for their giving acts are in regular contact with you? http://twentyfivedays.wordpress.com/   

We think as teachers -- oh ok blogs can help kids learn to write - they will supplement what I,  the teacher does. When the kids think-- hmm blogs, you mean people can hear me? Watch what I can do with this- outside of school- in another node (space) of learning- my home.

Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach
Virginia Beach
Networked Learner

photo credit: http://www.jobs.ac.uk/careers/images/articles/stages_of_change.png

Comments

[AllanahK]

Thank you for posting this here. Laura is indeed an amazing young lady.

[Carolyn Foote]

Sheryl,

I love your concept and Sylvia's quote about the power of utilizing student power to help drive the change. I do think in our approach to change that sometimes we leave out that key element--talking to and with students about what school 'could' look like.

Your concept of learning ecologies is powerful.

Coincidentally, I had just blogged about a group of students who were asked their views of 21st century education, and Patrick Higgins has been writing about driving that change in his district as well.

Your comments about the shift we have to make are spot on. In his book Passionate Learner, Robert Fried talks about the shift you write about as a shift from a Ptolemaic to Copernican view of the universe.
I think it is that significant a shift, really.

I think one thing that trips educators up is that having been subject to many "trends" over the years, some of them see this as one more "fad" that will fade away. But the shift we speak of is so much more substantial--it's not something added on to the top of what we do, it is a fundamental shift in approach. That's why I think Fried's analogy is so powerful for me.

Thanks for the thought provoking post!

[Carolyn Foote]

Sheryl,

I love your concept and Sylvia's quote about the power of utilizing student power to help drive the change. I do think in our approach to change that sometimes we leave out that key element--talking to and with students about what school 'could' look like.

Your concept of learning ecologies is powerful.

Coincidentally, I had just blogged about a group of students who were asked their views of 21st century education, and Patrick Higgins has been writing about driving that change in his district as well.

Your comments about the shift we have to make are spot on. In his book Passionate Learner, Robert Fried talks about the shift you write about as a shift from a Ptolemaic to Copernican view of the universe.
I think it is that significant a shift, really.

I think one thing that trips educators up is that having been subject to many "trends" over the years, some of them see this as one more "fad" that will fade away. But the shift we speak of is so much more substantial--it's not something added on to the top of what we do, it is a fundamental shift in approach. That's why I think Fried's analogy is so powerful for me.

Thanks for the thought provoking post!

[Michelle]

I've been arguing (?) for the exact same kind of change in our district. Too many ostriches with heads buried in sand... blocking websites that we should be USING to our advantage, banning CDs and mp3 players as nuisance items, etc.

Bravo! Great post.

[Pavel]

I'm interested by how this debate parallels what we've been discussing at the college level - with some of the same challenges to adopting new forms of media and learning. What strikes me is that, in essence, the technology is just a vehicle that facilitates engagement and collaborative, integrative thinking. Technology itself isn't driving change, just making it possible.

[Charlie A. Roy]

Sheryl,
Love the post. Watching teachers embrace technology will certainly be entertaining. I love my staff to death. They are however extremely varied in their approach to technology. It should be fun though to watch the changes next year. We are adding a director of instructional technology along with a major hardware software network upgrade. Should be fun.

Charlie

[Brandi Caldwell]

I have been a believer for quite some time. I am one of the small percentage trying the drive the others towards implementation, but here is the irony... it is much closer to home than I thought. My husband the math teacher has always been a big fan of my passion. At least I thought. It was not until his classroom was hit with technology (or might I say BACKSLAPPED WITH IT) that I saw his true colors. He has been teaching for 15 years. He teaches Pre-Calculus. He assigns a factoring project which is just an assignment that involves a large number of factoring problems. He had a student come to him and say she did not finish because she did not want to "cheat" by using a website the kids found. She showed it to him, and he came home to me screaming about how he could never give homework again because all students wanted to do was cheat. After he calmed down we got into this discussion about teaching and learning in a whole new way. Of course, I say- don't fight it. Use it. Have them create the problems, and defend the answers. Have them find applications for the problems. He is even in training this week for the Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative. He called and said, "They want me to make my kids write about math, can you believe that?" I am loving it. He is learning about having a collaborative classroom where students are responsible and engaged in their learning. I am excited to see how he copes with the shift. He will be using groups, manipulatives, Promethean Board, Interwrite Pad, etc. He better learn to deal with it because Shift Happens! Thanks again Sheryl for your thoughts. I am anxious to start my year with some crowdsourcing myself. Unique concept!

[Britt Watwood]

Fantastic letter, Sheryl. Reminds me that a few weeks back, several university teachers were discussing why they should ban laptops in their classes because students were more engaged with their laptops than the teacher's lecture. Might that suggest the problem is not the laptop???

[Jenny Luca]

Laura is Skyping into my Yr 7 classroom tomorrow. while I think this is an amazing learning opportunity that will extend my students beyond any set writing task, I have a parent complaining about too much blogging and an administrator telling me that maybe I should concentrate on the curriculum and not do this for awhile. I'm struggling with this reaction and hope that tomorrow's experience will open some eyes as to the power of this as a learning opportunity for our students.I need to stay focused and not let the lack of understanding move me away from what I passionately believe is the future of learning.

[Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach]

Allanah- Thanks for dropping by- see you soon.

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Carolyn,

You always add to my library when you post. I have ordered the book. But I so agree, we are talking fundamental shifts in the way we think about and "do" school.
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Michelle,

Are you making any headway? Have you tried building a relationship with those doing the blocking? I left a comment on Miguel's blog post http://www.edsupport.cc/mguhlin/archives/2008/06/entry_7177.htm about this topic that might interest you. Check it out and if you are willing come back and let me know your thoughts.

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Pavel,

You said- "...the technology is just a vehicle that facilitates engagement and collaborative, integrative thinking. Technology itself isn't driving change, just making it possible."

I stand and applaud you and plan to quote you. Well said!
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Charlie,

Keep us posted as to how that goes and the changes that occur, if indeed they do occur.

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Britt,
That is almost too funny, if it were not true. I think you ought to send it in to Fireside- it would make a great comic would it not? Oy!

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Brandi,

What a great story about your husband and how fortunate he is to have you there to help him process. It will cut his learning curve in half.

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Jenny,

Parent education about the changing learning landscape is perhaps the most overlooked area in this new shift. We have to bring admin, colleagues, and parents on board. I would organize a technology family night. Have simple challenges that parent/kid teams sign up to compete in. Use it as a way to show off some of the new strategies and tools you are using. Giving parents buy in allows them to become your advocate and scream loudly when the kids aren't getting the edge they need to be successful in the future.

[Karen]

Sheryl,

You always inspire me with your visions and I think you've got this one right on. Plus, I think most of the teachers I've met would agree with you. But I would disagree that policy makers are less important here. In fact, this is going to have to be a system-wide change, and when I say system, I mean the whole shebang from the feds to the state to local school boards to, as Jenny points out, to parents.

I say that because this year I've seen dramatic evidence of how important it is to provide teachers with the kind of access that you and I take for granted. I've been in schools where every teacher has a laptop cart in the back of the room, a presentation system that is always hooked up, and unfiltered access to collaborative tools. They are doing amazing things and excited about the future possibilities.

But, I've also been in schools where teachers share one interactive whiteboard among 30 people, still must schedule lab time two weeks in advance, and aren't permitted to use the network at all for most of the month of May because the testing is done online. They want to do amazing things but seem stymied at every turn. For the innovators, they continue to try to find a way but for mid-range adopters, those obstacles are enough to make them less enthusiastic.

Of course, teachers must become more proactive here but they need to be in a system that is ready to hear them, ready to provide the kind of funding that that is going to take, and ready to do more than mouth platitudes about 21st century education. You're right about one thing: education is going to have to change, but I hate to put the burden on already overburdened teachers.

[Nigel Robertson]

Hi Sheryl

Great post that succinctly makes some powerful statements. I agree wholeheartedly that change and the fear of change is one of the biggest stumbling blocks in empowering education this century. Education hasn't faced such a radical change for hundreds of years. We've had changes within education - learning styles, pedagogical models etc - and as you note some see these internal changes as not much more than a fad. The technological changes though are external and have entirely changed the way that we communicate, collaborate and connect. The whole landscape has changed and such fundamental changes haven't occurred since the invention of the printing press or the mass movement to cities in the Industrial Revolution.

Besides the practitioners, we must also convince the institutions. We need a graceful handover sharing of power among all the constituents in the learning landscape so that all parties are empowered. With constructive institutional support, more teachers and lecturers will feel enabled and hopefully the time axis on the graph will become compressed. Convincing though can be hard!

[Josh]

I always laugh with people who complain that their district blocks everything. We are one of the more "open" districts in the area, but we don't know how to use what we have! I know there is a long line of educators who would GLADLY switch filters with me!
I think the more posts like this appear, the closer we will get to making this change. I've seen it swell more and more...whether that's me developing a better PLN or the uprising is coming remains to be seen. But I see more and more people mount up and ride out, ready to fight the good fight. It starts with one person, and can be done one person at a time. But it has to be done, it has to start with that person, and someone has to start making that shift in the thinking. Shift may happen, but it does happen without someone shifting. :)

[Linda George]

Wow! I just sent this entry and comments to my principal. Thanks for such timely, good stuff!

[Nancy D.]

Well stated. In reading the comments, Britt W stated that her administrator indicated less time needed to be spent with technology and more with the curriculum...we ought to have both. Curriculum should be written to include technology standards/indicators as applies to each content area. Such an approach can help find funding for technology integration (if your BOE approves the curriculum with technology written in, they must fund it or allow for grant writing) and encourage teachers to move past "traditional" approaches to instruction. That said, I have to wonder how technology integration will feed the division already seen in our disparate school systems. Gary Marx, in his book 16 Trends Their Profound Impact on Our Future, indicates the true disadvantaged of the future will be those lacking a technology and diversity rich learning enviornment. He states that appropriate use of technology will "help unleash the genius of...people." It will be interesting to see if the American education system will harness or unleash the genius of its students and teachers.

[Nancy D.]

Please note my correction: it was Jenny's post, not Britt's, that referenced curriculum and technology...

[KerryJ]

I cannot thank you enough for the post and the link to the 25 days blog. Is the chart on change in your post yours? I found that very powerful. Cheers from KerryJ

[Bob Heiny]

Thanks for a thoughtful article. You reminded me of two things that I'm sure most teachers know:

1. Schooling with or without computers is to increase student learning rates, not to provide vehicles for collaboration, etc. unless collaboration, etc. document the fastest learning (and they do not).

2. Computers have already replaced some of what teachers used to do and will likely replace more teachers' duties, including which learning venues yield the fastest learning rates, in or out of school, for selected topics.

I mention these so they do not get lost in the discussion.

[Andrea]

Sylvia -

Your point on technology is so true. I teach at a gifted center where we have always strived to have the lastest in technology, to be on the cutting edge. Now we have a younger administrator who has decided to put the money into an outdoor classroom. (That none of us want to take care of.) Not that I am talking down on the outdoor classroom experience, I just feel as you stated our classrooms need to be beyond where the students are at, or atleast with them. Where it isn't top down instruction. Where teachers and students explore together.

[Anna]

How exciting it was for me to encounter this article today! I'm working with my colleagues on preparing for the work of our PLC on school climate/culture. Your posting today, hits it on the nail. Thanks for the great ideas and timing. It will be nice for my colleagues to read someone else's insights other than mine. I'm adding your post to our wiki right now. Thanks.

[tft]

Good lord! So many of you commenters have the exact same voice. You use jargon that I am not even sure you understand. Many of the sentiments here (and that's what they seem to be, as opposed to observations or refelections) are vapid, devoid of meaning, and esoteric to the point of indecipherable.

Your spelling errors are an embarrassment.

Your sentence structure, screwed up it is.

Using technology is not an end, nor, is it even necessarily a means to an end; you all make it sound as though it is.

Your dreams will come true as soon as the old teaching guard die off, and the new, young, tech-savvy take the old positions. You can't force the technology--too many old teachers who can't even email. It will take time, osmosis, and, frankly, better and more ubiquitous technology.

Where do you folks teach? All over the world? Is it ELL-status that causes your English grammar problems and your dreaminess, or, what?!

[Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach]

Dear TfT,

We are in agreement on two things: 1. Technology is not an end unto itself. (If you read my work or attend my workshops you would know how strongly I feel about that very idea.)

2. I should spend more time reading and rereading my blog for sentence structure and spelling errors. Often I find that I write posts as a draft to my thinking; a way to enter into a conversation about ideas with my personal learning network of readers. I find the conversation sharpens my thinking. I do agree that it takes a very casual tone, as I often feel I am writing for an audience of friends rather than colleagues. I never considered that I still had second grade teachers out there reading with a red pen. That sort of attitude robbed the joy from my being inspired to write much in school.

Thanks for your comment though. I will spend some time over on your blog and see if I can get a sense of your thoughts and ideas. I promise not to grade you though.

[Nicole]

As I plan to integrate new technologies into my curriculum this year, I do wonder what parent reaction will be. Last year I was asked to demonstrate a very simple piece of technology at my Open House. For the most part, parents thought it was great, but I did have one challenge me on it. I think I responded well, but it made me realize, "There will always be at least one..." I am fortunate to have great support from the administration in my district. They seem to love it when we take chances and try new things.

[kathy]

Dear Sheryl,
Reading your chart on the "Stages of Change" was really reassuring. Sometimes I feel so far behind, but the chart gave me a new lens to use in reflecting on my journey with technology as an educator. I've passed the acceptance stage and am in the experimentation stage right now. When I think about it this way, I realize that it's an exciting stage to be in and one that is open to so many possibilities for learning, both from colleagues and students.

[CR]

This article is very thought provoking. The idea of bringing technology into the classroom more is so exciting but scary at the same time. I look forward to bringing technology into my classroom of special education students. They know so much more than me so we will be learning together and the kids will enjoy showing me tricks as well.

[Jane]

I really found this article to be enlightening. I feel like the school that I teach it is far behind in technology. We are really afraid to embrace new things. I really liked the idea of letting the style of learning change from a "top down" instruction to one that is more of a round table discussion. I know that my high schoolers will LOVE to be able to engage technology more...

[Jane]

I found this article to be really enlightening. I know that my district has been slow to embrace technology. I like the notion of learning changing from a "top down" lerning experience...to more of a group learning process.