by Tom Whitby
Professor of Education in Secondary English. Linkedin
group founder and owner of Technology-Using Professors, TWITTER-Using
Educators, as well as NING-Using Educators.
Reflections on Today’s Education from an Old Guy, or Experienced Educator...
Getting older has its perks, not many, but some. As a retired Public school teacher, I can look back over a 34 year career and make some observations based on my personal experience and share them with others whether or not my audience agrees. My experiences prepared me for my observations, so agreement with my opinions by others is not necessary. I taught at a time in Education when teaching was steeped in tradition. “If it worked for me when I went to school, it will work for these kids today.” That was the attitude of many of the educators that I worked with, and one that I myself subscribed to. It carried us through decades of education. Unfortunately for today’s students, some educators might share that view even today.
Information is the commodity that we as educators deal with. It comes to us in many forms. In my day it came to us by way of encyclopedias, books, journals, magazines, newspapers, radio, and television. These were the sources of information for educators back in the day. I bought a four function calculator from Sears for $99 to do my averages. This was in the 70’s. It may be ages ago for you, but it was yesterday for me. That should offer a snapshot as to where technology was then.
For whatever the reason many educators stick with the tried and true. This is not a bad thing, but it is not a great atmosphere for change. Before change occurs committees need to be formed, research must be completed and finally everyone must buy into it before it happens. Yes, I understand we need to do research, but why is it that the one guy who never wants to change anything always stands up in a meeting and calls out “Show me the research that says this will work”. This all takes time but it is a safe way to go.
Unfortunately, at the rate information is formed and communicated today, what was relevant six months ago may no longer apply by the time a decision is made about the direction a school will take, especially in the area of Technology. I could never understand why so many schools required a five year plan for technology. Six months in technology terms could wipe out an application’s use or make certain hardware obsolete. Remember eight tracks, Beta video, or Laser discs?
With all of that laying out the groundwork I can now get to the point of this Post. Why we should develop a Professional Learning Network. The analogy of the dinosaurs not being able to adapt and then being wiped from existence from Earth never worked for me. I never saw the relevance. General Motors however, means something to me. It was once believed by many if it is good for GM it is good for the country. That held true for decades. GM however did not look to the future and read or interpret the information and trends that were so obvious to others. Bigger is not always better. Remember the Private jet ride to ask the government for money?
We as educators need to learn to look to the future and read the trends as we use information to teach kids how to learn. We cannot rely on the past performers. Literacy takes on a whole new dimension in terms of technology. Encyclopedias are expensive and can only be updated after a period of years. Textbooks are being replaced by E-readers affording students with more bells and whistles than the printed page can offer. Newspapers and Magazines are disappearing on a regular basis, being replaced by digital alternatives. The Internet is the digital Library. Access to that Library is no longer the expensive PC but rather the mobile phone. We must understand and accept that these changes are real and lasting until the next technological advancement takes hold. We cannot tell our students that we are not comfortable using an E-reader rather than a book. If this is what the future holds, then our comfort is irrelevant to one who will live with that E-reader as reality.
I am not saying that to be a good teacher that one must use technology for every lesson in the classroom. Any good teacher can engage students with any number of conventional teaching methods which have worked over the years. I do believe that if we as educators want to keep up with the pace of information’s delivery, we cannot maintain business as usual. We need to communicate and share ideas, collaborate with other educators, learn about and deliver best practices of other educators. This is all possible through the use of Social Media and the Professional Learning Network.
Information did not stop developing the day we received our last degree or our teaching certificates. We need to keep up with that which we need to know, in order to be relevant to our students. Students should not need to go to the internet for what they do not learn in school. As Adults in an ever-changing world we can make choices to use technology or not. That same choice will not hold true for our students. Technology will be the delivery system of their information. We need to teach them how to learn with that system so that they may continue to learn after us.
I managed to come to these conclusions based on that which I have learned from the People of my Professional Learning Network. Not bad for an old guy trying to stay relevant.



