New Times Demand New Ways of Learning

I was teaching a high school English class when a student quoted her mom, "You learn way more than we had to and so much earlier." Coming from her mother's mind, this was a derogatory statement; my inner response was that this is a positive thing. My mind filled with all the positive changes in education that have changed since I was in high school ( and her mom, I'm sure has lived through even more changes) and how much the world has changed. I didn't answer the student, because of the immense number(s) of items/images/research/etc. that pooled in my head all at once.

The article http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/edtalk/newtimes.htm, organizes some of these ideas that had pooled in my head.

Some added thoughts/questions that occurred to me as I read the article:
-blogging fits the description of engaged effective learning (operability, organization, engagability, ease of use, functionality) but may not be ubiquitous or equitable (computers only available in a lab, only some students know how to use the process or have access to a computer at home/school, teacher does not know how to use process...)
-Table 1: Indicators of Engaged Learning (pp.3)- I thought it would be useful to read this chart before, during and after developing a new unit in order to become a more postmodern teacher. As I read the chart, the overused word "empowered" came to me. I pictured different scenerios in which I could increase my use of these ideas in my own classroom. I was excited by the potential both for myself and my students.
-"truly collaborative classrooms encourage all students to ask hard questions..." But what if students have already lost the desire to ask questions???!!
-I would like more information on "Socratic dialogue".
-When I form groups it would be helpful to me to explain the purposes of groups differently ie"Groups that include males and females and a mix of cultures, learning styles, abilities, socioeconomic status, and age bring a wealth of knowledge and perspectives to authentis, challenging tasks." (p.6) I find students look at the members of the group and see who has high grades and who has low grades and this affects their interaction, division of labor, expectations, enjoyment....
-Brainstorming not only gets ideas flowing, but also makes learning conditions more equitable - everyone has the same access to information. This is a slight, but important, slant that I hadn't considered.
-Check out this site: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/pathways.htm

Beginning my blog

So, I'm taking and EC&I class from U of R called "Instruction: Theory and Practice". I've never blogged before or even heard of blogs. Here I am trying something new and even though I read information about this, I still don't have a complete picture of what this is about. I'm typing and wondering if I'll ever even see this again. If I was really honest, which I am often and wish I wasn't, I would admit that I don't even know what location to type my blog address in order to get here, or if I'll even remember my user name (do I need it?!!) I know someone else can communicate with me somehow and in some manner on this, but what will that look like and where will they put my blog address if I give it to them (do I give it to them?). Anyway, I'm up for an adventure and I think I will get out of here and try get back before I type too much more.

Voices Inside Schools
"...to be a teacher is to find a way to live within an environment filled with dilemmas. These dilemmas create an inner tension that is compounded by our expectation that we should be able to 'get the steps right' every time." (p. 419) Although Simon Hole focussed on one dilemma: having to choose between the group needs and an individual's needs (and maybe the teacher's needs versus the students' needs), there are many more examples of how teaching is like performing a rain dance....spending a whole month making a Hamlet unit interesting to postmodern learners and enjoying teaching it immensely only to realize the next year that it is already behind the times, teaching your favorite novel that always works and these students think it's boring so you quickly have to decide if you are going to force everyone to stick it out or put in the work to find a completely new unit, allowing students to pursue a controversial issue that they raised and thinking you've hit a teachable moment only to discover a crying student who was personally affected by the topic...If I think hard about it, there are many unexpected victorious moments and many positive surprises, but also moments I wish I could undo. But...I've learned from them all and although I wish I could take back the negative effects of some regrets, I don't wish to take back what I learned from them.