Sunday, May 31, 2015
Copyright and Fair Use
For an online class I recently took, we had to produce an infographic explaning copyright and fair use for teachers. I share it here in case anyone finds it useful. (Download the PDF here.)
Saturday, May 30, 2015
What is 21st-Century Instruction?
The largest tag on the right-hand sidebar of this blog is "21st-Century Learning". But what does that even mean?
This week, I spent time with department chairs and administrators from across our district in goal-planning days for next year. My part of the workshop was to discuss our district's emphasis on 21st-century instruction. That meant I had to clarify in my own mind what this nebulous term means. I thought back on articles, blog posts, discussions, conference sessions, and conversations I've had over the last three years as a ToSA for Technology and Learning, and brainstormed a list of comparisons between 20th- and 21st-century instruction.
As I presented this chart to teachers this week, I was (pleasantly) surprised at the positive reception it got, so I share it here in case others may find it valuable. I welcome your comments or additions.
A couple of points arise from this exercise. First, if I had to give an "elevator speech" on 21st-century learning, I would say that the essential component is some amount of student control over their own learning: what they learn, how they learn, when they learn, where they learn, how fast they learn, how they demonstrate that learning. That does not mean complete and total control; the degree and dimension of that control still must be judged by an experienced educator.
Second, notice that instructional technology is only one of the items on this list. Certainly 21st-century technology can help accomplish many of the other items, making them easier or more practical, but 21st-century instruction does not mean simply instructional technology. For that reason, my job title and emphasis will change next year, to ToSA for 21st-Century Instruction (ToSA 21C, for short). I hope to be working with teachers on many of the above topics, including but not limited to instructional technology.
This week, I spent time with department chairs and administrators from across our district in goal-planning days for next year. My part of the workshop was to discuss our district's emphasis on 21st-century instruction. That meant I had to clarify in my own mind what this nebulous term means. I thought back on articles, blog posts, discussions, conference sessions, and conversations I've had over the last three years as a ToSA for Technology and Learning, and brainstormed a list of comparisons between 20th- and 21st-century instruction.
 |
Download this chart as a PDF (color | B&W for printing) |
A couple of points arise from this exercise. First, if I had to give an "elevator speech" on 21st-century learning, I would say that the essential component is some amount of student control over their own learning: what they learn, how they learn, when they learn, where they learn, how fast they learn, how they demonstrate that learning. That does not mean complete and total control; the degree and dimension of that control still must be judged by an experienced educator.
Second, notice that instructional technology is only one of the items on this list. Certainly 21st-century technology can help accomplish many of the other items, making them easier or more practical, but 21st-century instruction does not mean simply instructional technology. For that reason, my job title and emphasis will change next year, to ToSA for 21st-Century Instruction (ToSA 21C, for short). I hope to be working with teachers on many of the above topics, including but not limited to instructional technology.
How Do I Get A Job Like This?
In September, I wrote a post about lazy editorial cartoonists, which included this image from Rick McKee of the Augusta Chronicle from August of 2014:
I'm going to gloss over the relative popularity of Facebook and Twitter with school-age children (spoiler alert: it's zero), although I will note that I look forward to McKee's cartoon from August of 2015 where the child shows the dowdy teacher his MySpace page.
I just want to know where I can get a job where you can do the same thing year after year, pulling out your old work, maybe changing a bit here and there, and then submit it to your audience as if it were brand-new. Does anyone know of any profession other than editorial cartoonist where that is acceptable? If I tried to do that as a teacher, I'd... wait a sec...
Oh.....
Earlier today, I saw this image reposted on a blog:
Wow, that seems familiar. I wonder who drew this one? Oh, look, it's Rick McKee of the Augusta Chronicle in August of 2013. (That teacher has gained some weight over the year. She might want to see a cartoon doctor. Probably one wearing an old-fashioned circular reflector on his head.)
I just want to know where I can get a job where you can do the same thing year after year, pulling out your old work, maybe changing a bit here and there, and then submit it to your audience as if it were brand-new. Does anyone know of any profession other than editorial cartoonist where that is acceptable? If I tried to do that as a teacher, I'd... wait a sec...
Oh.....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)