I was at first struck by the actual "look" of the model of tomorrow's school. It is set up like a city, which I assume was the organizational plan to facilitate the whole system. This "city" depicts the whole community and the way they could interact to accomplish educational, business and social goals. It would take a tremendous amount of discussion and orchestration to make this operational, but on paper it sure makes a strong case for 2.0.
I love how everyone is working together, using their specific skills and technology to make it run as if it were a machine producing a product. I guess the 2.0 system could be a metaphor for a machine if it was working properly, efficiently and diligently. This would require a lot of maturity, passion and accountability on the parts of all of the group including students, parents, policy makers, teachers, administrators, community, and tech personnel. I really liked that it included mentors and co-op type settings, as I don't believe we are doing very well in that area right now and the kids (at least the ones I work with) don't seem to understand the expectations of the actual work-world that they will be entering. Most don't understand the amount of competition they will encounter for jobs. Many don't seem to know about meeting deadlines or the level of personal morality and responsibility necessary to be a good citizen and employee.
I wasn't thrilled with the idea of less money for books and more for technology because I am a book lover, and often books are the quickest way to get information for students who have a hard time ciphoring through a bunch of information on websites.
6 comments:
I am a book lover too, Kathy! I have tried to read a book on my Palm Pilot but haven't been successful yet. Hopefully there will still be a place for students to pick up an actual book in the future- I will surely need to if I am going to be able to read anything lenghty. I too thought the city idea of how School 2.0 would be organized. I actually ordered a School 2.0 poster to put in my classroom because I think it looks cool and will eventually be the future educational setting (but in what timeframe?). Also, I agree with you that many kids have no clue about what will/is expected of them in the workforce. Any ideas on how to fix this?
I think School 2.0 is a great jumping off place for the leaders of our community and school. We have to get going, or it is like burying our heads in the sand, while the global economy passes us by.
Time frame to get up to speed, I am thinking about 100 yrs. The basic structure of teacher/student/relationship hasn't changed in at least that long. How are we ever going to light a fire under the community leaders, parents, school leaders (money constraints)
I think we have to use what we have to build on gradually. Compromise the old with the new. Of course, books are still wonderful to hold and read, but research is much more wide open online. It is also up to date. I think researching online teaches students how to sift through information and pick out what is important- a skill they will need as workers in the workforce. Just think of all the new classes/skills they will have to tackle. Prepare them how to be learners.
Somtimes, the educational system places too much emphasis on "book learning" and not enough on the every day needs for just surviving. It is wonderful that there are so many advanced programs for the students such as IB and AP but as you stated, do they know about meeting deadlines? Have we taught them responsibility or has that area just been brushed over? One can only hope that these students will become productive citizens.
I just loved the concept. I see so many possibilites. To be able to integrate the entire community into the educational process is what is needed if we are to be a competitive nation. I don't think that the love for the printed word will ever be lost, at least I hope not. I love the quite solitude of a good read!!
You have another book lover here as well. I like the idea of ebooks and things like that for some students. I feel we need a mixture of traditional books and ebooks in order to make things work. I love that kids can download books onto their ipods and listen while reading. This is great for struggling readers. They can see the text and be able to hear the words. For some kids this doesn't work though. I actually hate listening to books on cd or ipod. I like to use my own imagination to get the feel of the book. I don't like someone else telling me what voices the characters will have!! I know that this is true for some of my students too.
There is a tangible reality to books and face to face relationships that maybe someday technology will be able to create in order to maintain the feeling of reading a good book on a summer night and the look of "get to work" from a teacher and I hope our students can teach us how to make technology do that in the future. Until then, School 2.0 an the map of it seems to be a great jumping off point for brainstorming and creating new ideas.
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