New school concept: Use technology to teach
Old school concept: Reading, writing, arithmetic
The perfect blend: Using technology to track data and show evidence of student learning
In my ED 529 technology class, we have been reading about how Web 2.0 has the power to change schools. Chapter 9 was dedicated to sharing ideas for new schools. I was engaged by two ideas for new schools that Solomon and
Schrum (the textbook's authors) mentioned. One was based on the
article by David Warlick—where teachers blog and use class wikis, media
specialists use shared spreadsheets to map curriculum, administrators keep
online calendars and weekly blog entries, and the superintendent uses a wiki
site for the district’s improvement plan.
I think we’re seeing pockets of this in education now, but when it’s all
put together it sounds very powerful to me. It is my hope that I can become effective in helping teachers use data. I think new technology has made using data to guide instruction even easier. What I had originally intended was to use common benchmark assessment data (which can easily be obtained from Prosper software) to help teachers write SMART goals for their students. They would then share information about their progress toward their SMART goals via a wiki. Participation in the wiki would mean that there were no restrictions to sharing information--no concerns over lack of common planning times, no concerns over not being able to stay late for meetings or come early to meetings. Nay, nay. Our teachers are much like our students. They conspired together to put one person in charge of the wiki, thereby eliminating any chance that they would read about each other and be inspired. Another administrator foiled!
But I'm not done! They may have won the battle, but the war is far from over! I may have to go back to move forward, but here's an article that can help me on my journey:
From Educational Leadership--"Why Teachers Must Be Data Experts"
