From 1989-1992 I was in
love with a television series called “The Young Riders” featuring
a young Josh Brolin and Stephen Baldwin, as well as seasoned actors like
Melissa Leo and Anthony Zerbe. I loved it so much that I recorded the
episodes on VHS tapes. I probably had
3-5 full tapes of episodes. A quick
synopsis -- these very attractive young men (thus, why I watched!) were riders
for the Pony Express, risking their lives delivering the mail and fighting the
bad guys that rode into Sweetwater. The story of these orphans fascinated
me, as did the setting of the ole west.
It featured a part Native American rider, a mute rider (victim of
Scarlet Fever) who used sign language to communicate, and a female rider
breaking the rules alongside the bad boys who were fast with their guns. The show lasted 4 seasons, compared to the 19
months of the ACTUAL pony express. So like everything, it too ran its
course.
The Pony Express’s
affordances ran out. It was no longer the right tool for the job.
It eventually had no use to its users as faster, more reliable tools were
developed. Reminds me of my battle with an overhead projector. I quite possibly was the last person on staff
to let go of my fond friend. Something else had to come a long that was
too good to be true...the Elmo. It was
not a farewell I was happy to make.
After all, whatever would I do with all of those transparencies I had
made and saved for use every year? But the Elmo was a winner to me once I
started to use it. It sure did make it
easy to highlight passages in the textbook or share student work or images from
my phone on a spur of the moment. The
Elmo had more affordances than the overhead projector for sure! As Dawn’s
reminder in the assignments said “...the more you use a tool, the better you
understand the tool.” I was on my way to
happily using the Elmo.
However, that tool she’s
talking about is not necessarily a technological one. In this case I
think she means the design document as the tool. As I filled out a table for the ABC’S in the
design document the ideas did start to come. The resistance to the
document I had, and still have, is slowly fading. I can see the affordance of the document
itself. It is forcing me to think
differently and to interact with the curriculum and the desired results in a
boarder, more global way. I don’t enjoy the process, but I can see the
benefits.
I also want to say that
I appreciate a section of the Bower article that admitted that the process of
matching tools with learning tasks as outlined in the article does not take
into account “student ability, group allocation, motivation, and assessment”
(Bower, 9). Teachers can’t ignore these factors, ever. These are always at the forefront of our
thinking/designing/planning.
Finally, I feel like to
truly understand the affordances of tools, and make wise tool usage choices,
teachers have to be immersed in the using of those same tools, which I find
hard to do. There needs to be more tool share fairs happening at the
local and county levels. I know teachers CAN be motivated enough to do their own research and investigations, but some/many aren’t...or lack the time to do so. This is a problem (lack of time) for which there is
no tool.
Hi Brandi!
ReplyDeleteOh the tools! How I love to explore new technologies, figure out how to make them tick, using them with the children....and then, there are some of my colleagues who have no desire, time or intention to use them. Sometimes they throw very loud fits about how technology at APS is too much!! And if you look at our app catalog, we do have a ton of apps and tools to use. I love my Smart Board, but unfortunately, my ITC is facing it out and all that work is going to be archived in favor of...power points!
Your projector story reminds me of my art teacher. She has an old projector and the bulb has died yet again. I was called but there is some short in it and it will not come back to life. As we messed around with it my wonderful assistant said "wouldn't a doc camera do the SAME thing"? YES!!! not sure how she is adapting but the art teacher does NOT want to let go of that projector and still thinks I can fix it. (sadly I cannot but she should move on to this new device).
ReplyDeleteI, like Brandi, love to play around with the new technologies but I completely understand if teachers can't or won't find the time. As the librarian I have the opportunity to collaborate and make suggestions of using technology. I just met with 2nd grade who did a great living history museum last year but the presentation was a bit (who am I kidding) chaotic mess! So this year we will use flip grip due to many of its affordances to be able to hear each student, make it very accessible to the school and parent community.
Hi Brandi,
ReplyDeleteLast year I had a very challenging class and I pulled out the old overhead projector for math centers. They students thought it was really cool to use for math problems. We also used it in fourth grade to make the silhouettes for Colonial Day.
I try to keep up with all the new technolgoy but I am a little slower sometimes at comprehending it. I am new to second grade and have brought some new technology to the grade level team. Google Classroom is very user friendly for students and has some new perks this year.
Hi Brandi!
ReplyDeleteI too used to tape shows, and was oh-so-happy when the DVR came along, in the form of a Tivo! I do have to say that the Pony Express and other forms of Circuit Riders, were the beginning of a communication timeline that has brought us to the present day. The concept is the same: how to get information from point A to point B in the fastest amount of time? And, more recently, and as Johnson reminds us in the Information Diet, how to select information to have a balanced view of what is out there? I wonder, what lies ahead for teachers who choose not to innovate or participate in technologies. Already, there are the "old timers" that refuse to work on Canvas, or to even let the entire grade students take their 1:1 device home, for fear of mischief and mismanagement. On the other hand, could I be the kind of technology educator that can help bridge those gaps? It takes a lot to make sure that both ends are running soothly.