Are Textbooks Important?

Jay Mathews' article, "Most Textbooks Should Stay On the Shelf," is thought-provoking. Textbooks are updated every few years requiring the teacher to revamp lessons (is that a bad thing?), teachers become dependent upon textbooks, they are often dry and boring, and, shockingly, are not always accurate or up-to-date.

Web sites, podcasts, electronic books, software, courseware, online tutoring tips, educational games, and video products are just a few alternative sources. Teachers can use primary source documents, journal articles and other original materials as they create hands-on assignments. In fact, says Mathews, why not have them write chapters to their own text books...

Seven Stupid Mistakes Teachers Make With Technology

Doug Johnson has a short article on The Blue Skunk Blog titled "Seven Stupid Mistakes Teachers Make With Technology" that I think is worth reading. My favorite mistake is #5:

5. Believing that one's teaching style need not change to take full advantage of technology. Using technology to simply add sounds and pictures to lectures is stupid. Smart technology use is about changing the roles of teacher and student. The computer-using student can now be the content expert; the teacher becomes the process expert asking questions like - where did you get that information, how do you know it's accurate; why is it important, how can you let others know what you discovered, and how can you tell if you did a good job? The world has changed and it is rank stupidity not to recognize it and change as well.

Why is it so hard to really truly embrace and believe the fact that the world has changed? What does a teacher who has accepted the change and modified/changed/recreated their teaching look like? I'd like to know if teacher education programs are turning out graduates who are process experts. Are these programs articulating the change successfully?

Webinar: Collaborations 101

I participated in a free webinar today titled Collaborations 101 and offered through CILC. This is my third webinar through them and have really enjoyed them. Besides being free, they're one hour long, very interactive, and I always come away with a couple of new resources I know I'll use.

An incredible resource I found out about today can be found at:
http://www.protopage.com/web2point0forteachers#Web_2.0_For_Teachers/Welcome. It's Web 2.0 for Teachers by Kim Peacock, University of Alberta. It's a GREAT resource and well organized.

A couple other things I came away with:

The presenters began by talking about the "Age" we are in today. Not a new topic but it was said in a clearer way (at least for me) today. We were in an "Informational Age" -- focused on facts, who, what, where, why, etc. Our students have grown up in a "Conceptual Age" -- an age focused on design, story, empathy, play, meaning. It is very different from the previous age and it demands a difference in how and what we teach.

Recommended was Daniel Punk's A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Will Rule the Future. I can't wait to read it.

Lots of things to think about!