Re: [seul-edu] Discuss: How software educates.

[Lucy Stephens <lstephens@openexpress.com>]

> As someone (Adam?)
> said about home-schoolers, they have a way of working right now that
> they're comfortable with; learning to use new tools and methods takes
> some effort, and puts them at least initially back in the position of
> unknowing student.  They may not enjoy being in that position again.
> This isn't really a technical problem, but a social one.  If we develop
> these wonderful tools, how do we get the educational community to
> consider using them?

Having worked as a teacher within the K-12  public system (mostly at the
Elementary level) here in BC, I am going to throw in my two cents
worth....
Some teachers are timid to adopt new and innovative ways with technology
in their teaching purely out of the fear of the unknown.  
But, the majority are SO busy and with the high level of stress involved
in teaching, they just simply do not have the time to sit down to learn
and apply these tools.  When I had my choice of professional day
workshops to attend, there were actually very few sessions that allowed
me to learn more about the ways to apply technology in the classroom. 
This is usually the way teachers pick up new ideas.  I have had to learn
by myself merely by surfing around for ideas.  

Generally, in most schools (that I have worked in) there are one or two
"technologically savvy teachers" that the rest of the staff come to rely
on for help and then work from there. For example, some Primary teachers
just use the computer for simple keyboarding skill development and the
Paint program because they don't really know what else to do.  

Please keep in mind that my comments are not a general statement about
the profession - merely my experiences.

Perhaps a solution would be to approach the community on a level higher
than the schools.  I would think that going to the various organizations
that host professional day workshops (Teacher's Associations) might be a
way to market these tools.

Lucy Stephens
Editor
openexpress.com