iTeacher

I just read an article in Education Week that is sure to stir up controversy amongst educators. The article, entitled Proposal Would Replace Classroom Textbooks with Computers, discusses a bill in the Arizona legislature that would allow school districts to seek issue bonds from their community to purchase computers rather than textbooks.

Are the days of the textbook numbered? Digital and online educational resources surely have a lot of advantages over traditional textbooks. They are limitless in number. They can be instantly updated. They can allow for interactivity and collaboration. They don’t deteriorate or get lost. They provide numerous viewpoints on topics. Textbooks seem pretty archaic when compared to digital resources.

The only real problem I see in eliminating textbooks is that of equity. When course material is provided digitally, all students require a computer and internet access. Arizona is making efforts to overcome this financial burden. I wonder if more states are doing so.

Assuming we can provide access for our students (no small feat, I know), are there any other significant arguments against the proposal of migrating from printed course materials to online resources?

I am happy to announce that I have accepted a teaching position this fall at Jackson Memorial Middle School in Stark County, Ohio. I will be the 7th grade instructional technology teacher at this large school.

I will be visiting the school this week to familiarize myself with their edtech program, as well as the hardware and software I will be using. It is my hope to collaborate with other teachers around the world so I can foster a global view with my students. I certainly welcome any proposals from you. I’m sure as my brain starts spinning this summer, I will seek advice on lesson ideas and creative teaching strategies. I look forward to working with you.

I just discovered the exciting news that ePals is now completely free!!!  I have been using this education global collaboration site for many years and have been limited to I believe 30 free student accounts.  If I have received my information correctly, teachers can now created an unlimited amount of free student ePals accounts.

ePals offers free student email addresses with built-in safety features that allow teachers to monitor outgoing and incoming email messages for spam, viruses, profanities, etc.  SchoolMail can also translate messages into different languages.  The teacher has complete administrative control over the emails.  You can have heavy or light administrative control - your choice.  You can set it up so that you have to individually approve every email message.  Or you can set it up to screen messages for profanities.  Or you can lift all of these restrictions if you wish.  The the interface is completely web-based, making it easy to use at school and home.

ePals also offers free SchoolBlog.  Teachers can host their own classroom blog and reach out to students from all over the world with their collaborative messages and projects.

ePals has come a long way since I started using it five years ago.  I have used ePals to connect with teachers and students from all over the world.  We’ve ended up establishing email pen pals and collaborative projects.  We’ve sent greeting cards and care packages to each other.  It is truly an excellent resource for global collaborations and partnerships.

http://www.epals.com 

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills recently released a nationwide poll that indicates that Americans want their schools to better train students to meet the demands of the 21st century workplace.  Eighty-eight percent of voters say they believe that schools can and should incorporate 21st century skills such as critical thinking and problem-solving skills, computer and technology skills, and communication and self-direction skills into their curriculum.  If our educational system does not re-evaluate its priorities, American school children will lose their competitive edge within the global community.

Although this poll is based on the opinions of the American public, I believe the results and reflections can easily be applied to other countries.  This is a wake-up call for educational systems and curriculum designers.  It’s time to engage in self reflection and ensure that our classrooms are creating a generation of citizens ready to meet the demands of the 21st century.

Follow this link for a complete report on the findings of this poll.

I’ve been reading blogs and subscribing to blogs for some time now. I find blogs to be an indispensable resource to teachers wanting to stay on the cusp of the latest trends and innovations in education.

Information and Communication Technologies have the potential to transform the educational experience for students and teachers. We now have instant access to all of the world’s information. Should this impact education? Of course it should. It should make us think about the very purpose of educating tomorrow’s leaders. When people have instant access to any kind of information, should we continue to focus on training our students to memorize facts? Or should we show our students how to use this information to create new learning experiences, to solve problems and to become contributors to a world-wide community of learners?

iTeacher aims to to just that. It will challenge you to think about the very purpose of education. It will empower you to use ICTs to transform your classroom into a 21st century learning environment where the student discovers, creates, publishes and actively participates in the acquisition of new knowledge. These are exciting times in education, and I want iTeacher to become a place to share our discoveries and improve our teaching. Welcome aboard!