If technology is a tool…and we all agree it’s a tool right? Then why the heck do we need standards for it?
What are we trying to prove?
If you have a technology class..then yes there should be skills (a.k.a. standards) you are trying to teach students.
But…if it’s just a tool in the classroom that we’re using to produce and create information do we need to assess the tool, or the content we’re creating?
I spent one hour with these four girls showing them how a wiki works. That’s it, it was a tool…it could have been a hammer, a pencil, or any tool…but it just so happened that this tool is called a wiki and it takes a computer to access it.
http://ibhumanbiochem.wikispaces.com/
What is it about this site that is exciting? Is it the technology or the content they produced?
I’m struggling here. If it’s embedded into the classroom…like it is in this classroom. We should not need to assess it. We should get excited over the content, grade the content based on content standards and appreciate that we have tools today that allow us to express our learning, and allow students to share their content with a global audience.
[tags]standards[/tags]
Technorati Tags: standards, wikispaces, project, IB
Jeff Utecht is an international educator, educational technology consultant and author. He has worked internationally since 2005, prior to that he worked in Washington State. Currently Jeff is working as the High School Technology and Learning Coordinator for the International School Bangkok. Additionally, Jeff is the technology consultant with EARCOS (East Asia Regional Council of Overseas Schools) and has consulted for Web 2.0 companies on educational issues. Jeff is a main coordinator for the Learning 2.0 Educational Technology Conference in Asia. He has consulted with international schools and conferences globally. Jeff regularly shares his thoughts on education and technology on his blog, thethinkingstick.com. Jeff have been mentioned in several books including Reinventing Project-Based Learning as an avenue for “free online professional development” and Web 2.0, New Tools, New Schools. He has also written a chapter on 21st Centrurey Technology Planning for the book Wired for Learning. To learn more about Jeff, visit www.jeffutecht.com.
Thank you. I have a feeling I’ll be sharing this analogy in the near future. Sometimes teachers assess too little; sometimes teachers assess too much; and rarely do teachers assess the essential. Many answers lie within assessment if we can ask the right questions. You’ve hit the nail on the head by stressing technology as a tool whose use would be belabored by over-assessing.
Then again, there is a correct way to get the most out of your hammer and pencil so I reckon there is a stage where students would benefit from guidance on effectively using the tool. Once beyond this skill building stage – absolutely look at the quality of the house that Jack built!
[...] See his 3 posts on having standards for technology: 1 2 3 Chris: Bionic Teaching David: Practical [...]
[...] See his 3 posts on having standards for technology: 1 2 3 Chris: Bionic Teaching David: Practical [...]