All Aboard? |

You are standing in a room full of teachers. What can you say about PLN or Web 2.0 to make them see it’s power?

Think about it. Before you even begin, five are already lost in the latest gossip. You begin talking and three more are lost asking, “hey do we have to do this stuff?” You start talking about a “tweet” and the nature club sponsor begins to be lost in a fog of bird calls.

I value my PLN’s opinion. I would like to have your feedback on ways to open other’s eyes to the world of web 2.0. Please complete the below survey. I will post on the results next week.

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View Survey

Thank you so much for your help! If you would like to share even more, we would love to hear your comments below.

It's always nice to share:)

14 Comments

I can't wait to see the results. This was a great survey.
Ana =)

Why does this sound so familiar?
About 10 years ago I was a curriculum project officer in mathematics. I would frequently be invited to schools to speak about current methodology in teaching maths. In the first few minutes, things would happen just as you described, just a different focus.
There were though, always a small group who were tuned in and keen to participate. Why do we force dis-interested teachers to attend? As teachers, how do we deal with dis-interested students?

Thanks Ana! I'm looking forward to going through all the results:)

Our school has been working on high school reform for the past few years and are really getting somewhere. I just can't help but think, if we got more on board with PLN/web 2.0 how far could we go!

We are having a national speaker come in this summer and she will tailor her web 2.0 program to our specific school, so Im actually going to have some of these results put into motion with the workshop:)

How do we deal with dis-interested ? Here is what I have so far…
1) Highly motivated speaker that is entertaining
2) Food
3) Money

lol

Possible addition to dealing with disinterested:

1) a prize (something worth having – but also if possible Web 2.0 useful) to be given for most right answers to ongoing quiz throughout
2) relief from some teaching to make time available for exploring and trying out Web 2.0

and don't discount the food! A very good Indigenous friend maintains that the best way to get her mob into anything is tucker & in my experience it is just as effective with everyone else

Hi Lisa,

I think the most disheartening part of getting a keen interest in web 2 tools is that you cannot translate your new point of view into something that not so much disinterested staff can follow.

If they could see a few video clips of people saying their classroom teaching and learning has changed. Also, how they have changed as a person.

The clips should be low key, not with the enthusiasm of an Amway sales person (if any of you sell Amway, then you may take offense, I don't mind).

Regards, Bill Oldham

Wow, how could I have forgotten about a prize. That use to be my all time favorite thing to shop for when presenting:)

I already know one to include – a web cam! Thanks :)

Hey Bill –

I always love your comments..you always seem to include a chuckle in there for me:)

The short clip videos or even video podcast is a great idea. That is even something some students could work on final editing!

Once I get the survey results, I'll send a tweet and also a message to 31 day challenge participants and see if we can get some volunteers.

Thanks for your ideas!!!

Lisa

I recall that when I was invited to share the web 2.0 student projects that I was doing in a faculty meeting, I spent hours preparing and was given all of the last 10 minutes of the meeting to rush through it as teachers were anxious to head off for the weekend. Frustrating! I think that is why the support of an online community is essential. There are a lot of like-minded educators spread around the world and their enthusiasm and suggestions will continue to encourage me to make small steps toward bringing these awesome tools into the schools.

The notion of 'what's in it for me' is always one I try to think about. As a new blogger and tweeter I have got the blogging thing through the 31 days challenge but twitter I am still missing the point of. However, I have heard enough peole say that it is well worth doing so I am sticking with it. Perhaps we should accept that the first time we hear about something is not necessarily the time to do anything about it.
Quite often I will build in an activity that involves web 2.0 with other cpd – so a group of schools looking at improving writing have to share ideas through a wiki. It takes the focus of the ICT.

I agree the online community is vital. Maybe there could be an online component following up the workshop and have a few of my PLN drop in:)

Hi Lisa,
Nice survey! I do a short (no more than five minutes) blurb on Web 2.0/technology at every staff meeting (with admin approbal and support). I usually show a short Youtube clip (Lee Lefever's are great) and show simple examples of how to use technology as a tool to enhance the learning in a classroom. I make sure that the presentation is quick, multimedia and relevant to minimize the eye-rolling and I also ensure that I offer further assistance to anyone interested in learning more.

It's simple, effective, and subtle. So far, it's been an effective way to slowly but persistently spread the word on my staff about new Web 2.0 tools and how they apply to one's teaching.

I think the trick to twitter is getting a good group together which is helped by having an experienced twitter tweet a message to add you. Another help is joining a few twitter groups.

Thanks for the ideas!

Lisa