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MARSHA
RATZEL
Diary #10
A
Lesson in the Leaves:
It's the Content, Not the Technology
It's such a
lovely fall afternoon. Observing the different colors of leaves made me
realize that I am like those leaves in many ways. I am changing my color
as I settle into this new role. And that realization gave way to me thinking
about what I "look" like today in my job versus a year ago.
It used to be
that I was concerned about getting students to conquer instructional objectives.
I needed to have the content firmly in my grasp so that I could convey the
secrets of that discipline to a 13-year-old. Mostly I needed to make them
believe in their inherent need to be learners and build their curiosity.
Now I am concerned
about getting 1,400 teachers in my district to integrate technology in a
meaningfully appropriate and frequently recurring way. And what I must also
do is make the technology piece "disappear" when teachers are using it so
the focus is on the content, not the use of technology itself.
That's a big
paradigm shift. Maybe that's what the message of the leaves holds for me
this year.
This week I
felt like I was beginning to find a niche for my talents. I don't feel that
way much because I'm too outspoken to fit into the district office mentality
and I feel more attached to classroom teachers. But this week I was able
to transform into a district office person when I was asked to help parents
understand why using the Internet is appropriate and motivating to middle
school students. And I helped 7th and 8th grade teachers feel empowered
to integrate technology into their curriculums.
Talking to
parents about technology
One of our middle
school's PTOs wanted to understand why using the Internet was desirable.
Because of my unique vantage point, I have watched hundreds of students
in multiple buildings use the Internet just this fall. I married that vantage
point with my ability to tell a story --- reminiscence of how I used to
tell the stories of math and science to my students.
By painting
vivid word pictures, I was able to help parents feel a little bit of what
their students felt during Web-based lessons. I know they came to the same
"ah ha!!!" moment as their students when I told the story of the children
we have met during the virtual trip to the Amazon.
Parents felt the moment when learning transcended facts. They came to understand
why the web was a valuable teaching tool and more than a gimmick. So many
teachers perceive that parents ask questions to challenge their professional
judgment. That is not what I experienced, and I admired the parents' willingness
to learn something that felt so foreign to them.
Helping teachers
figure it out
On Friday we
had one of those staff development days that I always dreaded when I was
a classroom teacher. Which is why I worked so hard to design learning experiences
to fix those flaws. I focused the training on using technology tools teachers
never have time to figure out. But would really like to if they could. I
chunked the tools and had small groups of teachers spend all 3 hours focused
on thoroughly learning one thing.
For example,
in 8th grade science, we divided into three groups; one group mapped out
Windows on Science, a
laser disk resource that supplements the text; one group tied virtual
experiments from the "Electricity" and "Light" simulation
software to curriculum objectives; and the third group to use the KanCrn
website to build assessment checklists . All of these are resources
that we always had, but have only had sporadic use because no one has provided
the time or training for teachers to figure out how best to integrate them.
Since I knew
the 7th grade social studies teachers are struggling to learn how to teach
their new curriculum, I created a matrix of objectives that matched up to
the support materials. I tried to place myself in the role of a curriculum
scout and thinking that most everyone is focused on the Middle East and
Afghanistan, I wrote out an entire unit lesson plan that used the book,
History Alive, the textbook's companion
CD-ROM, CNNfyi,
Cable in the Classroom, and the New
York Times Learning Network. Since teachers already know how to use
the book and History Alive, I concentrated on layering in the video and
current events aspects that plays to the strength of the Internet. I previewed
and made selections that worked with our curriculum.
We practiced
the nitty-gritty things no one ever lets you work on. Things like how to
search, fill out paperwork and brainstorm ways to best weave all this together.
Things I believe that will make the technology become transparent while
enhancing student learning. Ultimately I believe teachers will feel more
empowered to do their job without feeling overwhelmed.
So I thought
I did OK this week. I think I made a difference for people --- colleagues
who are willing to incorporated new technologies because I could show them
how. Parents who want to know what's going on with their children and I
could show them how. A new role for me. One that I could be proud of doing.
I think I might grow into feeling like this is a pretty good job.
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