ICT is a vibrant focus at many schools. It is the only area which has seen unprecedented growth during the last decade especially in countries where economies are emerging. It seems that there is a rush to turn schools into digital centres. It also seems that it could be, more so, a rush to keep up with the interests of the students. At many schools there are learners who are miles ahead from teachers who are struggling with coming to terms with their digital divide.
Teachers are trained in a variety of professional development courses which now also includes more ICT. Many teachers are still at odds with the paradigm shift between whether a computer is an educational tool or the essential part of a learner’s education. As a tea bag is the essential part of a cup of tea so is an online computer to ICT.
As computers have become cheaper over the years so has the focus of teachers’ professional development toward making sense of their digital futures. Many households now own one computer or more and the growth of online access has surpassed all expectations.
Some teachers have embraced ICT fully and the only obstacle to them using it all the time seems to be access to enough online computers.
Most concerning is that many teachers, though, are becoming experts at compiling online resources rather than designing and producing them themselves. The compilation of resources is an absolute necessity for teaching and cannot be ignored, but without actively contributing to online communities could be viewed as somewhat of digital plagiarism.
The taking for granted of online designs and the sometimes critical whispers of things are not working as they would want them to work are but a few concerns of the new entrant into the digital world.
What then should the teacher do who want to navigate successfully through the overwhelming online digital world? I have a humble answer: The teachers who want to move from being an online reader, emailer and compiler to a contributor should be willing to share themselves digitally. That is, participating in designing websites, using online photo communities, joining online social networks, pod casting their thoughts and delving into wikis to mention but a few. Being part of the online digital world also means having fun in it i.e. also playing online games, as these are the cornerstones of the learning paths young learners take and will take regardless whether you approve or not.
Teachers should bear in mind that their paths to digital enrichment is controlled by an inter related backbone of expertise and its ever changing challenges. Therefore, supporting the building blocks is as important as living happily in the house.
No comments:
Post a Comment