Wikid+Opportunities

=Wikid Opportunities= No doubt about it our traditional role as the sage-on-the-stage in nicely structured, passive, professor-dominated classrooms is changing (sigh). And it’s scary out there. Although there’s plenty of pressure behind us it’s not so easy to slide forward into a predominantly [|guide on the side] role”, especially when all the traditional pressures of an assessment driven and jam-packed curriculum still sit weightily on our shoulders. How can we help our students achieve digital [|information literacy] when many of us have barely glanced through our ‘Windows’ into the web ?

With an average age for NZ teachers at approximately 46 years (?) our learning curves are steep and for some of us making the necessary changes will be about as easy as posting a marshmellow into a moneybox. It’s going to take determination and perseverance to get there but we can and we need to. We can’t continue to teach “the way we’ve always done it” and expect our students to be well fitted with the skills they will likely need to cope in the digital world they’ll be living in. They’re living in it now. We have to adjust and become creative with the tools we have available. The issues we’ve had with over-loaded assessment and curriculum requirements are gradually being [|lifted] with the release of the new curriculum and we need to look around at the possibilities.

Home internet access is increasing dramatically and Wikis and Blogs etc offer us a wealth of possibilities as tools to support engaged learning. They are simple communication scaffolds that //we// build activities and opportunities around. It’s up to us to examine the possibilities and see how we can use such tools to help our students develop the key competencies they will need. Who knows what we’ll come up with. Committed teachers are the most creative people I know. And see what life can make for our children Sitting Bull ||
 * Lets put our minds together

The comments above resonated strongly with me. I'm a teacher of Yr 6 students at St Patricks School in Te Awamutu, NZ. I've been thinking about our committment as teachers to the current ICT drive and took a few moment to write down my thoughts. I'd be interested in what other Kiwis teachers think. Ruary
 * 21st Century Teaching - Is the future really going to be ICT smart ?**