Aligning what we do, and what really matters.
Posted by shanetechteach on January 29, 2009
I’ve referred to my employing organisations framework and infrastructure in this blog before. As I prepare for a meeting tomorrow to review this framework I am reminded of the even bigger picture.
There are a lot of groups and organisations who research and prepare standards and guidelines for pedagogy and ICTs. In an age where performance based pay for teachers is often discussed, standards seem to become ever so important. Indeed, certifications and qualifications are base on standards. As my journey with digital pedagogy continues I have become increasingly aware of the standards present and relevant to my work within my organisation.
The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NETS•T) and Performance Indicators for Teachers, and the UNESCO ICT competency standards for teachers are two of the global sets of standards that are relevant, particularly in an era where “common curriculum” seems to be the desire of those wanting national curriculum standards. I particularly like the reading of the ISTE standards.
The first standard is simply “Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity.” I like how this is stated before any use or exploration of digital tools and methods. After all, isn’t this our core business, student learning? Whether we do this with digital pedagogy or not is irrelevant in the long run. All that really matters is have we inspired learning.
If during this inspiration we provide opportunity for learners to develop skills and competencies with digital tools, then that is a bonus. I often query teachers who believe it is the digital tools that inspire, by asking them to determine if the learners are inspired or entertained. It is the person who inspires, which for me is fundamentally why human contact is the most important ingredient in any learning environment. The human contact does not need to be face to face, as demonstrated by the vast number of teachers who consider Twitter a significant component of their learning environment. There is certainly human contact there.
We are a lucky group of people that have significant impact on the lives, development and emotions of numerous people every year. Why would you do any other job?
January 29th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
Professional Learning does require better alignment in regard to technology and pedagogy, and as such does require some accredited course to say ‘Im doing it’. But realistically, there are too many political stakeholders to link digital pedagogy to pay as there are too many variables. I question where learning will be in 5 years, given the massive rise in Open University Courses and online school/unis – all of whom are keen to have conveners who are digitally literate. Given the time-zones, I think it is entirely possible that teachers who ‘get it’ will be online teaching new teachers well before we see it face to face. They are doing it now. In the mean time – a blog is an essential tool to ’show’ future employers. It might not be on the criteria list – but it sure as hell influences. Nice post.
January 30th, 2009 at 7:04 am
Thanks Dean,
I agree that alignment, and therefore accreditted course / learning is important. Interesting that the blog can be see informally as an application for employment tool. One should be careful of their published opinion then!
February 8th, 2009 at 5:48 am
**A comment from a reader emailed to me. I’ve copied it here**
So which comes first, standards to framework digital pedagogy so it can get underway, or digital pedagogy and learning that creates the need for a framework?
As long as the framework doesn’t become the thing itself and crowd out the fact that its all about rich learning experiences, as is the job of all teaching. (I feel that at least in my corner of the EQverse, the ICT Lic framework did end up meaning that proving tools and tasks took inadvertant priority over fostering rich learning experiences… – oops an opinion – hope I still get the job!).