When Jax* told me her students didn't have her email address, I think my mouth dropped open a little. I might have spluttered something about maintaining boundaries and then went back to my marking. In the back of my mind, though, I was musing about dinosaurs and rotary phones.
Jax is an engaged, smart, witty, and hard working teacher. She's well-read, well-travelled, well-spoken and totally dedicated to her students. So why isn't she in email contact with them?
I have to confess I only started communicating with my students electronically about 2 and half years ago but I could never go back to the way it was before. For one, my students find it helpful - they can ask a quick question, send in their homework, or share something personal that they might not be able to say in class. For another, I find it helpful - it helps me stay organized, is easier for marking written assignments, and most of all, helps me get and keep my finger on the pulse of my class.
In an adult multicultural ESL classroom, one of the most difficult challenges is team-building, getting the students to work together in a way that benefits them all. By starting a term off with a collective, connective email, you set the stage for communication and collaboration. Mid-term? Laser tag. Trust me. You'll never use a rotary phone again.
No excuses - debunking email/DM myths:
I'm worried about protecting my privacy and my students' privacy!
There are many platforms and programs that conceal email addresses and other sensitive information. You never have to use your personal email and your students sure won't use theirs.
It's not very professional to send emails to my students.
Almost every single communication is now acceptable via email. If you conduct yourself in writing as you would in the classroom, then it's up to you how professional you are.
It's so time-consuming.
Limit the tasks and correspondence to what you can handle. Alert: students have lives too and don't spend every waking moment wanting to email or DM their teacher.
If email is your edtech-baby step, then it's time to take it.
*might be her real name, might not
Showing posts with label edtech. Show all posts
Showing posts with label edtech. Show all posts
7 Nov 2011
Is the textbook dead?
We all know the book is dead. Thank you iPad, Kindle et al...Well, the book appears to be dead except for all those stats that say it isn't. The ebook it seems has, ahem, re-kindled a passion for reading, so guess what: people are buying ebooks AND good old-fashioned "print" books. Video has not killed the radio star. Yet.
But what about textbooks? Our feelings about these mass-produced and mostly dull tomes are decidedly much less sentimental and affectionate. In fact, rather than defend the back-breaking beasts, most of us would be happy to slay them ourselves, and quickly. Most textbooks are out-dated, generic, barely relevant, and expensive.
It came as no surprise then to read online that a "group of three Minnesota math teachers got together over the summer to write their own textbooks", textbooks that hopefully reflect the school's curriculum more accurately and that supposedly saved the school district pots of money. The materials also conveniently now reside "on the web in the form of an easily updatable online textbook." Could this be the beginning of the end for the traditional textbook? Probably. Am I overjoyed? Well, yes, and no.
Having spent the last six years creating current and relevant materials for students and teachers, I think it is obvious that I was disillusioned with the traditional textbook and its limitations. In my view, engaging learners is first and foremost and third and fourth editions of a 70's era textbook are not the stuff of inspiration or motivation. So I spiced things up a little, with real life and real time content, online and in print. Just like the Minnesota crew. So what keeps nagging at me?
You see, the Minnesota project is, in essence, self-publishing, and this fast-growing industry is fraught with its own problems and limitations. The 3 R's are not in the same category as a zombie novel, the latter of which you could write and self-publish to your heart's content, with or without an editor, or a peer review, or even spell check for that matter. Your readership, if disgruntled, although out a few dollars, would not otherwise be adversely affected. The same cannot be said for an eighth grader whose school-published math book contains errors. Traditional textbooks are out-of-date partly because it takes time to thoroughly edit, fact-check, and cross-reference what has been written.
The other issue with self-published textbooks is that there is often no set standard, be it a linguistic register or a consistent template. Should materials be added or updated at later stages by someone else, the approach or language used could vary significantly. How to handle this across disciplines? On one hand, this could add diversity of perspective (the absence of which is another danger of single-authored/self-published texts). On the other, it could cause confusion.
The final little niggle for me is, oddly, the online component. Odd because I adore #edtech-everything. I tweet, implement, and research #edtech. I heart #edtech. That said, I sometimes feel that in our rush to embrace all things tech in education, we neglect to see that some of that old-fashioned stuff not only works just fine thank you but is still essential in our learners' learning experiences. There is a reason why print books are still selling, just as there is a reason we still have televisions. Different formats appeal to different people at different times. No matter how much tech I incorporate in my classroom, my students still want to write something down with an ol' ball point pen or circle something in their textbook or add notes in the margins. Perhaps one day, everything will indeed be done digitally and perhaps one day, the textbook will evolve itself out of existence. By all means, include a digital copy, but I'm fairly certain learners are not quite ready to say goodbye to hard copies all together.
None of these concerns take away from what is a brave new step in an innovative direction - current, specialized, specific, and relevant materials are the stuff of teachers' and learners' dreams and more reasonably priced textbooks the stuff of adminstrators' dreams. Let's just dream with both eyes open.
Oh, and just for old time's sake, here's "Video Killed the Radio Star":
But what about textbooks? Our feelings about these mass-produced and mostly dull tomes are decidedly much less sentimental and affectionate. In fact, rather than defend the back-breaking beasts, most of us would be happy to slay them ourselves, and quickly. Most textbooks are out-dated, generic, barely relevant, and expensive.
It came as no surprise then to read online that a "group of three Minnesota math teachers got together over the summer to write their own textbooks", textbooks that hopefully reflect the school's curriculum more accurately and that supposedly saved the school district pots of money. The materials also conveniently now reside "on the web in the form of an easily updatable online textbook." Could this be the beginning of the end for the traditional textbook? Probably. Am I overjoyed? Well, yes, and no.
Having spent the last six years creating current and relevant materials for students and teachers, I think it is obvious that I was disillusioned with the traditional textbook and its limitations. In my view, engaging learners is first and foremost and third and fourth editions of a 70's era textbook are not the stuff of inspiration or motivation. So I spiced things up a little, with real life and real time content, online and in print. Just like the Minnesota crew. So what keeps nagging at me?
You see, the Minnesota project is, in essence, self-publishing, and this fast-growing industry is fraught with its own problems and limitations. The 3 R's are not in the same category as a zombie novel, the latter of which you could write and self-publish to your heart's content, with or without an editor, or a peer review, or even spell check for that matter. Your readership, if disgruntled, although out a few dollars, would not otherwise be adversely affected. The same cannot be said for an eighth grader whose school-published math book contains errors. Traditional textbooks are out-of-date partly because it takes time to thoroughly edit, fact-check, and cross-reference what has been written.
The other issue with self-published textbooks is that there is often no set standard, be it a linguistic register or a consistent template. Should materials be added or updated at later stages by someone else, the approach or language used could vary significantly. How to handle this across disciplines? On one hand, this could add diversity of perspective (the absence of which is another danger of single-authored/self-published texts). On the other, it could cause confusion.
The final little niggle for me is, oddly, the online component. Odd because I adore #edtech-everything. I tweet, implement, and research #edtech. I heart #edtech. That said, I sometimes feel that in our rush to embrace all things tech in education, we neglect to see that some of that old-fashioned stuff not only works just fine thank you but is still essential in our learners' learning experiences. There is a reason why print books are still selling, just as there is a reason we still have televisions. Different formats appeal to different people at different times. No matter how much tech I incorporate in my classroom, my students still want to write something down with an ol' ball point pen or circle something in their textbook or add notes in the margins. Perhaps one day, everything will indeed be done digitally and perhaps one day, the textbook will evolve itself out of existence. By all means, include a digital copy, but I'm fairly certain learners are not quite ready to say goodbye to hard copies all together.
None of these concerns take away from what is a brave new step in an innovative direction - current, specialized, specific, and relevant materials are the stuff of teachers' and learners' dreams and more reasonably priced textbooks the stuff of adminstrators' dreams. Let's just dream with both eyes open.
Oh, and just for old time's sake, here's "Video Killed the Radio Star":
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