Education Week - May 22, 2013 - Special Report - (Page S7)

es EDUCATION WEEK:DIGITAL CURRICULA > www.edweek.org/go/digital-report teachers as one spoke on a personalized learning network, with the role of the teacher shifting from what she describes as an explainerin-chief to more of an orchestrator of learning. “The future of teaching is going to be about creating a more complex learning environment, because students can do much of their own work,” said Ms. Cator, who previously was the U.S. Department of Education’s top educational technology official. “In the past, teachers had to find the resources, find the experts, get the kids sitting down and listening,” she said. “Now, it’s become so multilayered, with every student having their own device and getting individual feedback.” Josh Stumpenhorst, a 6th grade teacher at Lincoln Junior High School in Naperville, Ill., sees the shift as having less to do with technology and more to do with teaching. “You can digitize a worksheet and put it on an iPad and not change anything at all,” said Mr. Stumpenhorst, 32, who is in his 10th year of teaching language arts and social studies. In the 201112 school year, he was named Illinois’ teacher of the year. “The shift to student-centered classrooms would have happened anyway,” he said, “but the technology has definitely made it easier.” Targeted Mini-Lessons Since his classroom became one of seven in his 20,000-student district to pilot a byod initiative, Mr. Stumpenhorst rarely stands before his class for more than five or so minutes at a time, he says. Instead, as students work in in the U.S. aren’t pressured to update what they’re teaching, not just in terms of technology, but in general,” he said, noting that many instructors preparing teachers were out of touch with the trend to teach education students how to customize learning to fit the needs of individual students. Of approximately 650 Master of Education students at Harvard, he estimated that around 8 percent had selected its “technology, innovation, and education” program, one of 13 available degree programs. But in 2013-14, the program will enroll the largest cohort in its history. Mr. Dede, who has taught at Harvard for more than a decade, considers the lack of change to be part of the reason for so many aspiring educators’ decisions to take alternative routes to teacher certification—pathways that are often less time-consuming and less expensive. “Eventually, a lot of teacher preparation programs are going to go away,” he predicted. “It’s at their peril that they’re reluctant to use modern methods for educational innovation—not only in technology—but across the board.” n small, self-directed groups, he moves around the room delivering targeted mini-lessons based on the individual needs of his students. “If I stand in front of the class and talk for 40 minutes about a theme, the kid in the front row who already knows it is bored out of his mind and has completely tuned me out,” Mr. Stumpenhorst said. Increasingly, he sees his job as one of helping his students evaluate information. “Kids have more access to content than I have,” he said. “They find all this garbage on the Internet, and it’s my job to help them figure out what’s true, what’s rel- evant, what’s accurate.” For advancing his own craft and coming up with new ideas, Mr. Stumpenhorst—like several other teachers interviewed—has grown increasingly reliant on Twitter. Rather than ask a colleague down the hall, he often solicits feedback from educators across the country by using certain hashtags or posing a question to his more than 12,000 Twitter followers, most of whom are fellow educators. Tom Whitby, a retired teacher who taught high school English for more than 30 years, now conducts workshops on digital teaching and contributes to the SmartBlog on Education.He sees the transition among educators still occurring in pockets—with a huge gulf now developing between what he describes as connected and unconnected educators. He defines connected educators as teachers who are comfortable with collaborative learning, social media, and sharing their ideas online. It’s a changing role that takes some adjustment. “We have to get away from the mindset of teachers as content experts,” said Mr. Whitby. “It’s how most teachers were brought up, that you don’t make a mis- | MAY 22, 2013 | S7 take in front of your class, that only one person can have control, and it’s the teacher who must have control.” He underscored the importance of a school culture that supports risk-taking and fosters creativity for those looking to make the digital leap. “If I limited my students to the content in my own head, I would be doing them a huge disservice,” he said. “Students are no longer empty vessels, where it’s our job to fill them with the knowledge that we have. We don’t have all the facts. Our role is changing every day.” n http://www.edweek.org/go/digital-report http://WWW.MOODLEROOMS.COM/XPLOR

Education Week - May 22, 2013 - Special Report

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Education Week - May 22, 2013 - Special Report