Is your computer being used to teach, to distract, or to promote learning?
If you are reading this while you have a class in session, get off your buttocks.
If you are e-mailing while you have a class in session, move your rump.
If you are planning your next lesson and you have a class in session, take a load off your tush.
If you are searching the web and you have a class in session, separate the chair from your rear end.
If you aren’t conferencing with a student or group of students at your computer then why are you looking at your computer at all?
I’m not preaching, I’m sharing a lesson learned.
At the end of my semester teaching Planning 10, where I used a Ning Network in the class, I surveyed the students for both their reflections and their feedback. A lot of the feedback was really positive! That said, it didn’t teach me as much as the constructive (some would say negative) feedback. Two critical points really struck a chord with me.
Something Mr. Truss can do to make the class or his performance in the class better:
I spent a lot of time in class reading things students had done in class and calling them up to discuss their contributions. I gave feedback, suggested ways to improve what they’d done, and I asked a lot of questions about where they planned to go next… but that’s not all I did. I did get distracted too. And why didn’t I spend that feedback time at my students computers rather than mine?
If one student was brave enough to admit that my circulating around the room was not meaningful, how many more thought it? Did I spend more time ‘policing’ or monitoring than interacting, engaging and helping? Why? How can I best use that time? What should I have been doing to help students learn?
The fact is that the computer is a tool that only holds the value you place on it: It can be a fantastic tool to help you teach; It can be a diversion or a major distraction; It can be a collaboration tool that engages learners in ways that you simply couldn’t do without it.
It’s great having a computer on your desk! But if it isn’t being used meaningfully while your class is in session, then get off your butt.
Thanks for this post. I wish I had the nerve to laminate it and tape it to every computer in our school, including the wireless carts. In addition, I’d like to email it to the principals who bombard their teachers with emails every time they have a passing thought and expect immediate response.
Dave, you were very brave to post this, reflect on this and speak out loud about this! Sometimes I wonder if teachers really haven’t thought about the implications of having the technology in their classrooms. Then I think again, and say to myself, of course some have not, they are so consumed coming up with the ways to have students make meaning with these new tools, that they haven’t thought of all the ways it can backfire. I am hopeful that students will be so engaged with new tools and new ways of learning that they will lead the way and affirm that their teachers are going in the right direction.
Dave, this is a very interesting post. It is not easy hearing cool feedback from our students, yet we expect them to hear ours. Improving our practice should be a part of the everyday classroom routine. I appreciate that you shared what your students said and that you have thought about how it will improve your teaching. Your students must be very proud!
Dave,
Great message – not just for teachers but, in a slightly different way, for parents as well!
In this connected world, it’s so easy to get caught up in thinking that the email just can’t wait – so we obsessively check our Blackberry or iPhone every time it buzzes.
I know I’ve had to get very conscious about my Blackberry – after I found myself staring at the tiny screen and responding to email instead of engaging with my kids at the playground or in the park.
So the message is a good one for parents to remember too – get off your butt and engage with your kids, whether that’s just talking or playing Polly Pocket or climbing a tree or discussing what they’re doing on line…
They need our attention, not just our presence!
Thanks!
Heidi
Thanks for your comments.
Nadine,
You bring a really good point forward about expectations for responses on e-mails and how that has changed our jobs. Also, I recognize that now that I’m in the office, I will often immediately respond to teacher’s e-mails when they are sending these during class time… hmmmm.
Cheryl,
I’ve been very open about my practice on this blog… such as here:
http://pairadimes.davidtruss.com/reflection-on-wikis/
Also, your idea about backfiring seems to be more about ‘getting stuck’ doing ineffective things. We fall into patterns of doing things without really thinking about their implications. It really isn’t about the tools, it is about learning!
Alice,
Your point about student vs teacher expectations around feedback is insightful and worth reflecting on more.
Heidi,
I really like how you took this beyond a teacher issue to a ‘digital screen’ issue! We worried years ago about how much tv screen time people were getting and now we’ve made similar screens portable, interactive and ubiquitous. Time for some personal and cultural reflections around this issue!
I loved this post,
I smiled gleefully all the way through it, not because you got sidetracked…..but because isnt this what we are all striving for in our teaching and learning. Your kids took ownership of their learning and said ….hey Mr Truss arent you supposed to be facilitating and not transmitting the learning….kudos to your kids….and if kids feel secure enough in their environment to give you real feedback you must be pretty ok!
Silvana