On the Right Path…

Yesterday our entire school went to a wonderful inservice that spoke words of validation to ideas I am just about to put in place. Our school district sponsored a great presentation on past, present and future technologies, of course highlighting work by Thomas Friedman and David Warrlick and others. It was just last spring that I approached my principal about changing how we teach our Computer Applications Class, knowing that the “times are a changin’”. After having my own ‘awakening’ regarding where technology, and especially where the web, is going, I really felt I needed to focus more in the direction of Web 2.0 technologies in this particular computer class — RSS, online collaboration tools, blogging, podcasting, and digital storytelling, for example. With my principal’s blessing I have revamped my class and its curriculum to promote the following goal - to get students to be contributors to the Web, not just merely consumers. I am so jazzed professionally, but, I have to tell you, I’m scared, too. Getting students to become a part of the Web 2.0 is exciting; contributing and having a voice on the Web is exhilarating and empowering, but knowing that our district’s clogged bandwidth is a real problem, scares me half silly. Add on top of this, a new Internet filter and a new district cache server that keeps blogs and websites from immediately updating, the problem is compounded even more. So much of leading students into this new era involves the Internet and having adequate bandwidth. It was only last year that I realized how much my classes and curriculum are at the mercy of the district’s bandwidth. Our school piloted an important online assessment tool last year (Acutity testing); it quickly brought what I was doing to a screeching halt in my classroom, all because of bandwidth issues. So, I remain wary about my new adventure, knowing that we all have needs and that bandwidth’s a shared commodity. Time shall tell. Over this next semester I hope to encounter enough successes to keep the momentum forward moving. :)