Our district, like most, has an Internet filter and guidelines for what gets filtered. And, like most educators that work in districts with filters, I hit that filter a minimum of once a day, most days it much more than that if I'm reading and researching. There are a number of sites that I use as an educator and technology specialist professionally that are blocked within our district, Twitter being the most frustrating block for me (although I do find access to it through a couple of widgets). I use Twitter as a professional in a number of ways, from learning from others, to share my learning, as well as the occasional "Help, I'm looking for _____ resources." And my Twitter network never fails to deliver when I need it. The latest frustration is with image sharing sites. We've got a large number of teachers starting to implement blogging into their classrooms and are wanting to use a template from the Internet. The problem is that the images for those templates are hosted on image sharing sites that are blocked in the district, which means the templates can't be properly viewed within the district. The worst part is that teachers and students have the same filtering levels, so teachers don't even have the ability to evaluate a website for classroom appropriateness if it does happen to be blocked for the students.
I understand the concept for blocking, that we're keeping students from viewing inappropriate content and materials. But I am often left wondering what we're really teaching students (and teachers) when we block so much of the Internet. How can we fully teach Internet safety if we block so much of its content? How can we convince teachers that we trust their judgement to select appropriate resources and content for their classrooms if they have to rely on someone else to evaluate whether or not a site should be blocked? How can we teach our students to collaborate in our global society if we block so many of the social networking and media sites that exist today? These are questions that are often spinning around in my head.
I read about others using social networking, media, and bookmarking sites all the time in their classrooms and district, but as we not only filter but do not supply our students with email addresses OR allow them to use their personal emails, we are not able to use a large number of these tools as they are intended. As I'm not in a position to actually make the decisions as to what types of access students have, I often find myself spinning my wheels when I hit that filter searching for a tool to use in the classroom. Some day surely we will be able to give our students safe access to all of the tools that are available out there, and surely if we all keep trying and promoting the incredible advantages to the massive number of tools that are available to us on the Internet. Considering our students (and teachers) are using a large number of social networking and media sites at while they are at home, we won't have to spend much time teaching the tools. We'll actually be able to teach our students (and teachers) how to use these tools appropriately and how to harness their power in the classroom in order to become responsible citizens in today's global society.
Image thanks to Flickr and epmd.
I am an Instructional Technology Specialist (ITS). It is my job to help teachers to integrate technology into their instruction in order to improve the learning experience for students. When I grappled with the decision of whether or not to leave the classroom I finally decided that I can impact the learning of far more students in this role and took the leap, and I truly love my job. I get the opportunity to lead PD sessions, co-teach lessons with other teachers, and offer one-on-one sessions all in the hopes that more students will be impacted by an improved and more appropriate learning environment.
All that being said, the line between "ITS" and "Help Desk" are often blurred. During my training sessions I hand out my card to anyone who wants it and offer my continued support for helping participants integrate technology into their instruction. But because I hand out my card so readily, I also get a number of calls from people wanting me to fix their computer or hardware. This is where the lines start to blur. Because I am fluent a number of software and internet applications, I have by default learned to trouble-shoot computers and a number of different types of hardware. So the teacher in me want to teach others how to trouble-shoot themselves so they don't have to make more pleas for help, but the ITS in me wants to tell people that it isn't my job to fix their computer and that they need to call their building's tech or the Help Desk. Of course I usually end up teaching them to fix it and then I end up getting more calls and emails for hardware issues.
Another reason the lines are blurred is because I manage the accounts, usernames, and a variety of other "technical support" types of functions for a variety of applications in the district. For example, because I am the website administrator/trainer for our district, I also inherited the job of managing the web server. This further leads people to call me to help them when they need both instructional and technical help with technology. And again, the teacher in me usually wins out and I end up teaching more people how to trouble-shoot and fix their hardware issues.
The reason I let my inner teacher come out in these instances is that I want the issues to be taken care of quickly so that the teachers can get back to teaching and the students can be more positively impacted.The fact is if they have to wait until their building tech can come check on their problem, the learning utilizing that tool will be put on hold and students will be negatively impacted. I also feel that the more teachers know how to do on their own for technical support, the more I will get to do on the instructional side of technology integration. I feel that if I just teach this teacher to be a little more confident in his/her abilities his/her comfort level with technology will increase and the integration will happen more readily. The problem is that there are just so many teachers out there and I get stuck in this vicious cycle that just seems to keep going around and around. The solution for now seems to be keep plowing forward and try to help as many people as possible.
Image courtesy of Flickr and Philou.cn.
In my job I run into a large number 
of nay-sayers, negative Nancys (or Neds), glass-half-empties, or whatever it is you call a person that always sees the flaws and defects in something first. You know them. When you show them how to use a blog as an online journal for their classroom, the first thing they say is "my kids can't use the internet at home" or "no way I can get into the lab enough to make it worth the work." As soon as you show them an internet-based alternative to the "Inspiration" software they don't have in their new school, they're pointing out how this tool only saves as an image so you can't edit it later. When you show them how to create student usernames and passwords for their wiki or content management system, they're upset because they already know their students won't be able to remember the password. You know them.
And as much as I try, this can at times be a drain on me, both emotionally and physically. Just this week I was at a school helping teachers learn to use their new SMART boards and the complaints came in mountains. The vast number of pre-made lessons available on our website weren't exactly how they wanted and they don't have the time to learn a new tool. "Does the board really have to be re-oriented every time I move the projector?" "I've had that table there for three years and now I have to move it because someone put this board in my room. That table won't work anywhere else in my room." And this is only about a SMART board. I don't even want to get into the conversations that happened when teachers found out that our contract with Blackboard isn't going to be extended and that they'd have to learn a new tool if they wanted to keep their content online.
I have come to realize that it is part of my job to keep smiling and holding hands so that teachers don't lose faith, so that teachers will keep trying new ideas, and so that classrooms can take yet another step to being student-centered learning environments. This is the most difficult and important part of my job and it wasn't even in the job description when I applied. So after a couple of years, I've stumbled across some concepts that seem to help me do this, the most important part of my job.
To begin, I always try to let "Nancy" know that her opinion is valid. Even if I think it is an imagined hurdle or fear, in that person's mind it is real and therefore I need to listen and validate it. I also need to make sure I stay positive while I'm listening and responding so that "Nancy" will see that there really is a light at the end of that tunnel. It also helps to be a quick thinker and problem solver so that when a teacher comes across a hurdle, I/we can quickly come up with a solution for getting over that hurdle. The next part is something that I personally have to work really hard at doing, and that is checking back frequently to make sure the solution is still working. I have found this one to be important because so many times if there is one bump in the new road for that teacher, that bump will keep him/her from traveling that road at all. But I have found that if I check back with individuals, it seems to keep the motivation up and that they will eventually feel comfortable enough that they can contact me without waiting for my emails. Finally, I have to be continually looking for new ideas and ways for teaching "old" concepts. This is because technology is changing so rapidly and new hurdles and bumps show up in the road every day. This one is probably one of the best parts of my job, as it means I get to spend time surfing the net and learning from my PLN which always leaves me inspired to do more.
And just in case you're wondering, here's a few suggestions for the problems presented above. For blogging nay-sayers: suggest that maybe at first try using the blog as an extra-credit opportunity for journals to see how many students truly don't have access to internet at home. For those upset that free mind-mapping tools don't often allow for changes and updates, point out some of the great online image editing tools that will allow for later "additions" so that teachers can demonstrate to students how the learning process is continually changing and growing. And for the teacher that's worried her students won't remember passwords, well this is one I still don't have a fantastic response for so if you have one - help me out and leave it in the comments section.
Image courtesy of Flickr and livcheng.
Our district, like most, has an Internet filter and guidelines for what gets filtered. And, like most educators that work in districts with filters, I hit that filter a minimum of once a day, most days it much more than that if I'm reading and researching. There are a number of sites that I use as an educator and technology specialist professionally that are blocked within our district, Twitter being the most frustrating block for me (although I do find access to it through a couple of widgets). I use Twitter as a professional in a number of ways, from learning from others, to share my learning, as well as the occasional "Help, I'm looking for _____ resources." And my Twitter network never fails to deliver when I need it. The latest frustration is with image sharing sites. We've got a large number of teachers starting to implement blogging into their classrooms and are wanting to use a template from the Internet. The problem is that the images for those templates are hosted on image sharing sites that are blocked in the district, which means the templates can't be properly viewed within the district. The worst part is that teachers and students have the same filtering levels, so teachers don't even have the ability to evaluate a website for classroom appropriateness if it does happen to be blocked for the students.
