As I begin to contemplate 2012 I have come to the realisation that it is time to throw in my Cowboy E-Learning Hat. Don't get me wrong, I am still very much passionate and enthused by the potential collaboration, motivation, inspiration and the authentic audience that e-learning offers the children I work with and MYSELF.
The reality is though that it is time to share that magic with the staff that I work with. Reluctantly, I have to admit to leading the youngest of teachers in the school but all of them are mostly teaching the way they were taught. The way I taught twenty years ago. Over the course of 2011, I have quietly tried to tap into the interests of the team.
One teacher has been conscientiously developing his teaching of mathematics. I shared the potential of apps on the I-Pads such as Evernote and Show Me. This excited him no end and he is now using these tools for student reflection and assessment. They even provided discussion and moderation as we developed our OTJ for National Standards. Another team member was quick to be fueled by the authentic audience and valuable feedback to her children. (My Twitter PLN has never let me down in the odd request to leave her a comment).
Watching the way these two teachers snapped up ideas, I realised the NEED for teachers to understand the purpose for using the vast array of tools that are available to us. They need to see them as part of what they do instead of another "extra" thing to fit in.
So, I am tossing my cowboy hat away and joining the posse. I will lead them for a little while but I am guessing if I can give each team member a taste of the magic, they will begin to ride ahead and hopefully lead me on a whole new journey!
I think its great to have these ambitions and really important for you personally, but at the end of the day you can only do so much. I get so enthused about online work but seldom do other teachers that I work with or know get involved as much as I do... I guess its all relative but the success rate... I suppose if your in a room with ten people and one went online significantly then that would be a pretty important milestone... so the victory with the Maths Apps is a great one and the sort of thing that you need to look for this year...
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