Teacher as student, again
February 15, 2008
OpenPD is in its second offering, the course has been going very well, wonderful participation, all those attending engaged, tools working extremely well. We had an activity planned for this week as a review of what we had covered last week. The assignment was to create a Google presentation in groups; members of the groups would be mixed, face to face and virtual. All sounds good, right? Well it did turn out great; all groups were successful in creating their presentations and sharing them, working through editing. The downfall was the communication during the creation of the presentation. We decided to use Skype chat, all had Skype accounts, but not all were as familiar with group chats in Skype, myself included and I screwed up. I had difficulty adding people to the group chat, I didn’t have everyone’s contact information, and not all were logged on to Skype so when I tried adding them to the chat it didn’t work. I felt as I did the first night of class in the fall, clumsy with the tools, and rather than assist those in the class with what the assignment was I felt I had the reverse effect and proved to be a hindrance instead. I should have been better prepared, and I apologize for that, at the same time it was a true picture of what it is like for a teacher to be a student in their own class.
It has been suggested it may be in the best interest of my co teachers for me to step aside and let someone else take my place, someone savvier, and someone more literate with the tools. I know I don’t have a string of accomplishments associated with my name, not a blogger that is read or subscribed to, and not someone who falls into the category of any kind of name recognition in the world of education. I do believe strongly not all of us are made of that mold, but we all do contribute in our own way to challenge those we come in contact with to open their eyes to the possibilities we believe are relevant in the shifting landscape of education. I have felt being part of OpenPD has been a contribution I have been able to make, a time of collaborative learning for anyone interested. I have a lot to think about.
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February 15th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
[...] Global Voices Online wrote an interesting post today on Teacher as student, againHere’s a quick excerpt…a blogger that is read or subscribed to, and not someone who falls into the category of any kind of name recognition in the world of education. [...]
February 15th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
“It has been suggested it may be in the best interest of my co teachers for me to step aside and let someone else take my place, someone savvier, and someone more literate with the tools” Mmmmm I think you are doing a really fantastic job Robin. Anyone, when put under pressure, can struggle with even the simplest task. When Darren asked me to set up the presentation for my group – I totally froze – even though I knew how to use Presentation just the simple thing like naming it got me stumped. Just because a person doesn’t have a whole string after their name doesn’t make their contribution less. I remember once a person refused to interact with me because he felt I have no web presence (that is what happens when you google the wrong name ROFL) — a year down the track, after friends introduced us, he gets me to interact with his online students. Very bad mistake for anyone to confuse web presence with actual ability. Keep up the good work – I’ve gained so much from your Open PD sessions and look forward to them each week. We are still all learning – when I use these tools with students in classes I actually say – this is why I want to use them, it may not always work and we will learn together as we go along — and we give ourselves permission not to be perfect and things may not always work the way we plan and thats okay.
February 15th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Robin,
The few times I’ve dropped in you’ve been very inviting and gracious. The time slot for OPEN PD is not convenient for me but when I do manage to get online, I feel very welcome by you and Darren.
To think you would take a back seat is preposterous! How do YOU learn better than by doing it? You, like everyone else, should have the opportunity to practice what you’re preaching and who cares if there are some slip ups? We’re risk takers and we sometimes throw caution to the wind. Who knows what will happen?
Keep up the good work. I’ll try to come by when my schedule permits and I sincerely hope you are steering the ship like you always do!
John
February 16th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
To suggest that you should “step aside” is both an insult to your abilities and to my judgment.
May the offenders be plagued with a continual onslaught of spam three-thousand fold throughout seven generations of time. May their children’s children feel the brunt of my indignation through a never-ending blue screen of death.
Robin, I’ve told you once and I’ll say it again: I honestly couldn’t ask for a better co-instructor!
What people sometimes forget is how difficult an operation like OpenPD can be. An undertaking like this has never. been. done. before. Ever. I mean really: A professional development class, offered to ANY interested person in the world, for free, no questions asked? Absolutely amazing and this is just the beginning.
Don’t sell yourself short, Robin, because you’re a fantastic, integral part of OpenPD. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Your ability to teach the tools is adequately thorough in its own right and your capacity for understanding the needs of others is far greater than I’ll ever possess.
Keep your chin up and we’ll keep moving forward.
Onward and upward and thank YOU for your continual support and effort,
DD
February 17th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
Thanks Sue and John,
I agree we are all still learning, I am, that’s a fact. I do truly believe it is a great experience for all who attend. Maybe some are not as comfortable reversing roles in a class situation, as happened to me last week when again I was student more than teacher. We are risk takers John, and in this class, as any other, there are bound to be some slip ups or things that just don’t go as you envisioned, but you learn from that and move on.
Darren,
You, as always, are gracious and kind with your words. You had no idea who I was or what my background when I said I would like to be your co-instructor, you took a chance. I agree with you, I don’t think people realize what has gone into developing the class or everything that goes on while we are teaching it either.
At times I believe the anonymity of being online makes things said less personal to some, or maybe some are less thoughtful with words written, out of sight, than they would be face to face.
I have been thinking about this a great deal for the past several weeks and I do want to continue with OpenPD, it is a great experience, something I truly enjoy. I am not the tech savviest person out there, that’s for sure, and I am not hesitant to admit I am learning right along with everyone else. I do believe as you Darren, OpenPD has a great deal of potential and we have just begun.
Thanks for the tweet from Gabriela, I had forgotten about that.
Robin
February 19th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
I’m happy to see from your last comment that you’ve decided not to step aside.
During the OpenPD sessions I always picture you in movement. I know you must be sitting in front of the computer, but my idea of you is that of a teacher moving around the classroom, paying attention to everybody.
I was in and out last Wednesday. Cooking and reading other things. The group work was quite a challenge for you three who had to organize and for us. In spite of the technological limitations (the ones we all have, and the factual ones) the activity could be done, and with dignity. Believe me, it was one of the strangest things I’ve ever done, working with people I didn’t know, I couldn’t see or talk to. That was breaking a limit.
You do more than assist, you encourage; and you’ve never been a hindrance.
You can see from my tweet that I’m not saying all this just to cheer you up on this particular situation.
I subscribe to Darren’s spell on the offenders.
February 20th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
Robin, everyone at Open PD does a great job. I have enjoyed the sessions and learned from all of you. I am looking forward to continuing. Your willingness to help with my Google Earth question was very much appreciated. The other night when I searched for the answer nothing made any sense. Tonight I decided to try and figure it out on my own one more time and this time I figured it out! I will be reflecting on the Open PD class on my blog later this week. Keep up the great work.
February 23rd, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Gabriela,
Thank you for being part of the class, the analogy of movement is true. Even though I am not in the room with Darren, I am moving things along with the chat or the Skype call, as they move along in the room. I believe Darren and I have reached a level of fluidity in the class and it is comfortable.
Nedra, thanks for the encouragement. We have a great time teaching the class and I learn something each week too. Thank you for your participation and we look forward to seeing you again.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Hey Robin–please participate.
Here are the rules:
1. Think about what you are passionate about teaching your students.
2. Post a picture from a source like FlickrCC or Flickr Creative Commons or make/take your own that captures what YOU are most passionate about for kids to learn about…and give your picture a short title.
3. Title your blog post “Meme: Passion Quilt” and link back to this blog entry.
4. Include links to 5 folks in your professional learning network or whom you follow on Twitter/Pownce.
February 26th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Robin-
I have to say, as well that, you do a great job. The kind of PD that you and Darren organize requires so many things. I know that I appreciate your caring responses in the chat room as well as the knowledge that you share.
I also think you have to keep in mind how often plans have to be changed even during face to face workshops. We just can’t always anticipate what will occur when a group of people comes together. We all have different amounts of knowledge and needs and good teachers try to meet eveyone’s needs. As you stated yourself, the activity turned out great:-) I think that’s the most important thing.
Sarah
February 26th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Thanks Sarah, you are right plans do change in workshops all of the time and we can’t anticipate what will happen sometimes. Everyone has differing levels of knowledge in all situations and that has worked to our benefit in OpenPD I believe. We are all learning, I know I am every week, one of the beauties of having online PD for anyone interested.
March 5th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Robin,
It was nice to meet you in person at Bucks IU last week. I admit I have been lurking in the OpenPD on and off. It is quite a thing to produce a program online with all kinds of crazy things going on. Stay with it, at least you had the guts to step forward to be the moderator. We are all learning from you. I will be bringing my grad class from Wilkes to OpenPD when it begins later in the month.
I really hope no one truly told you to step aside directly. That is how we all learn this new wave. Hop on and go….
March 5th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
It was very nice to meet you as well last week Robin. We would be happy to meet your grad class. I have learned a great deal through our OpenPD sessions and do feel it has been a valuable experience for many. I believe we offer a space for people to come together and try things they may have heard of but never had the opportunity to try. Thanks for the encouragement, and I hope to see you again soon.