Computer Teacher, Teach Thy Self!

I have been reading many posts lately that express frustration about getting admin and teachers alike involved in utilizing Web 2.0 tools in the classroom. I have to admit that I go in and out of these phases of frustration but I don’t think that the battle is all up hill.

In one of his posts Will Richardson writes about the frustration he is experincing as a parent and an educator when he fails to see new pedagogies developed to aid our students in creating new learning networks.  One quote that I found poignant :

I know in many ways it stinks to have to be an educator at a moment in history when things are changing on a glacial scale. But what you signed up for is preparing kids for their futures. You have little choice but to deal.

Another Blogger I read quite a bit is Kim Confino, she is another realtively new blogger whose Web 2.0 curriculum is far more developed than mine. I like that while she expresses frustration she also keeps in mind that she is also learning and that teachers are just intimidated like all of us.  A line that stood out was that we are all learning, at break neck speed (as my old Prof would say)..

It’s a mind-set more than a skill-set. We just have to want to try and learn, to be open to new challenges, and open to the possibilities of both success and failure.

Blogging, RSS, Web 2.0 is all very daunting to learn, forget about employing in the class. I firmly believe though that it begins with us. It is because of people like Will, then David Warlick and now Jeff Utecht that I got started. It is other young bloggers like Kim Cofino that keep me going. I don’t post often and I hope to get better, I don’t really like the layout of my blog, I will change it. I am learning, and I do firmly believe that at some point we as educators will have no choice but to utilize Web 2.0 tools and have fully developed pedagogies. 

One way I am doing this is by offering web 2.0 inservice courses to my teachers. This is also forcing me to keep current and to take the risk of making mistakes. My next mistake may be that : I really have no concept of “trackbacks” and I am going to send a few out and hope for the best.