(Image credit: www.clickz.com)
The above image pretty much explains how I feel after this week's explorations. There is an awful lot of information out there, and there are an awful lot of ways to keep track of that information. I've always known that there was a lot of information out there, but I've never bothered to spend large quantities of time perusing it, unless I had a specific need. The nature of my life dictates that I do what I need to do when I need to do it, but I don't have much time for exploring just for the sake of exploring. The thought of using a source to compile resources I might be interested in reading never occurred to me, since I don't really have much time to stop and read. Now that I've been introduced to some of these tools, I'm feeling a tad overwhelmed.
It's not as though I'm living in a world cut off from information; quite the contrary. I've just developed habits and routines that worked quite well for me and some of the tools I've been introduced to this week are a bit more than I'm accustomed to. I've been using Diigo for the past year to bookmark and annotate articles that I find that interest me. I've even introduced it to my students as a tool to use when they're working on research projects, since they have a tendency to forget where they found information, and this gives them a tool for documenting and annotating in one place, plus the ability to form groups and share their research with classmates who may be working on similar assignments.
In addition to Diigo, I've discovered that I quite like Feedly, as it presents information in a list-style format that appeals to my sensibilities. Perhaps I should be embarrassed to admit this next part, but I also use Facebook as a source of information. Through Facebook, I follow a number of education-oriented blogs and websites, such as Mindshift, ASCD, and Edutopia. In general, I find the work they publish thought-provoking and insightful. Although I don't always agree with the work they publish, I find that it allows me to get a more fully-rounded picture of issues in education. I think finding the points I disagree with is sometimes better at helping me develop my own philosophies and ideas than reading articles where I agree with the author. Outside of the pages I follow on Facebook, a great number of my friends on Facebook are in education. They often share links to articles they have found thought-provoking, and I find that reading those articles also helps round out my views on the world of education. I have quite a long list of articles I've bookmarked in Facebook, either because I read them and found them worthwhile, or because they were on a topic that I am interested in, but I didn't have time to read the article at that moment.
I've now decided to try moving a little out of my comfort zone of list-style feeds and give Flipboard a try. I need more time to work with it to decide how much I like it, but I do like the idea of a more visual approach to curating sources. Since I do tend to prefer lists such as those I can compile in Diigo or Facebook, or even Feedly, I definitely feel out of sorts as I am starting to work with Flipboard. I want to give it a try because I think it will be a useful tool for compiling sources that I may want to share with a variety of audiences, and I know that most of my audiences (students and fellow teachers) prefer more visuals and less immediate text when looking at a list of articles. If I can manage to come to terms with the format, I think it will be quite effective at helping me reach my audiences.
As I consider the types of sources I seek, I realize that favor the thoughts of educators over the work of academics who are not practicing educators. I tend to prefer sources that are produced by practitioners, but informed by research. If I find a piece that references research and puts it into context within an educator's own experience, I tend to think of the discussion as relevant, whether or not I end up agreeing with the writer's take on it. I also tend to look to some of the Big Names, such as Alan November, and Sir Ken Robinson, as well as some people whose names may be less-known, but who have contributed significantly to the practice of using technology to better education, such as Jonathan Bergmann. I do admit that I have a bias against anything I read that sounds as though it was written exclusively by academics, rather than practitioners. I tend to feel that those who write about education, but do not actually teach, do not have much to offer me. This is, perhaps, a shortcoming that I will need to consider as I conduct research on topics I find important. Although I value information that has been vetted by the people "in the trenches" in education, I also realize that the material that will win support at the highest levels seems to need to come primarily from academia.
As I progress with research, I will make sure that I read materials from a variety of sources, including my usual go-tos, but I'll also make sure I seek out sources that are more academic in nature, and I may even look for articles about education that are written by people outside of education entirely, such as something one would find in Time Magazine or other similar sources. Perhaps the widening field of view will allow me to look at issues through a multitude of lenses and produce work that thoughtfully addresses a variety of issues surrounding a topic, rather than considering an issue primarily through the lens of the educator in the trenches.
Here's a look at some of the articles I've put together so far in Flipboard.
As I consider the types of sources I seek, I realize that favor the thoughts of educators over the work of academics who are not practicing educators. I tend to prefer sources that are produced by practitioners, but informed by research. If I find a piece that references research and puts it into context within an educator's own experience, I tend to think of the discussion as relevant, whether or not I end up agreeing with the writer's take on it. I also tend to look to some of the Big Names, such as Alan November, and Sir Ken Robinson, as well as some people whose names may be less-known, but who have contributed significantly to the practice of using technology to better education, such as Jonathan Bergmann. I do admit that I have a bias against anything I read that sounds as though it was written exclusively by academics, rather than practitioners. I tend to feel that those who write about education, but do not actually teach, do not have much to offer me. This is, perhaps, a shortcoming that I will need to consider as I conduct research on topics I find important. Although I value information that has been vetted by the people "in the trenches" in education, I also realize that the material that will win support at the highest levels seems to need to come primarily from academia.
As I progress with research, I will make sure that I read materials from a variety of sources, including my usual go-tos, but I'll also make sure I seek out sources that are more academic in nature, and I may even look for articles about education that are written by people outside of education entirely, such as something one would find in Time Magazine or other similar sources. Perhaps the widening field of view will allow me to look at issues through a multitude of lenses and produce work that thoughtfully addresses a variety of issues surrounding a topic, rather than considering an issue primarily through the lens of the educator in the trenches.
Here's a look at some of the articles I've put together so far in Flipboard.
Hi Megan,
ReplyDeleteI was overwhelmed this week, too. I seem to follow the same line of thought as you- much of my news/articles/information comes from facebook! I do try, however, to bookmark or save the important stuff in a meaningful way. I am just super attached to pinterest. Anyway, if I had to choose a second tool, it would be flipboard. You inspired me to create my own account. I might even just go ahead and use it for my final project. Do you blog out in the tech world? I think you got it spot on when you said you are more likely to trust someone who is actually practicing the art of teaching! I have seen some of the big names present and they excite me, but it doesn't always work out quite the same way in the classroom. I am thinking of choosing the topic 1:1 since we are starting to transition so I am going to look for some real experiences to draw information from.
Sarah
Hi Sarah. I, too, am thinking of covering 1:1 as my topic. Although my school isn't 1:1 and I don't see it happening any time soon, by district does have a BYOD policy. I want to persuade my admin team to consider a supplemental program where we provide devices to students who don't have them, to hopefully achieve the same effect as 1:1, but at a much lower cost. I'm hoping that the research I do will help me make my argument- or show me the error of my ways in my thinking.
DeleteNo, I don't blog, but I've considered it. I've been told on more than one occasion by colleagues and friends that they'd be interested in reading what I have to say. Perhaps once I'm done with this program I'll find time to pursue it- or maybe I'll just keep going once this class is done.
Hi Megan
ReplyDelete"As I consider the types of sources I seek, I realize that favor the thoughts of educators over the work of academics who are not practicing educators. I tend to prefer sources that are produced by practitioners, but informed by research"
This statement really stood out to me. I find it very difficult to give my attention to presenters that have not been in the classroom with in the last couple years during professional development or trainings. I value the information given by someone currently in the trenches that can share open and honestly their success and failures. I know that is not always fair of me.
Thank you for your post
I, too, struggle with presenters who aren't current (or at least recent) practitioners. I'm always arguing with myself that there's a reason they're presenting, and I need to listen for it, even as I find myself closing my mind to them. I'm actually a bit worried about that very thing, because I'm considering heading into administration. Ultimately, I want to be an ed tech person at the district level, and this will be a necessary step along the way. Unfortunately, though, I will end up losing contact with the classroom in the process, which is exactly what I want to avoid.
Delete