Five Insteads: #edtechresolve 2012, part 2
TeAching is tech that has earned an “A.” I hope to improve my peer teaching performance to earn that “A.” Last week I wrote of my resolve to improve the way I share edtech expertise with tech-challenged teaching peers in 2012, to help the tech-challenged in a way that enables and respects their ability to help themselves. So I may actually stick to this resolution, I propose five simple “insteads” of respect:
Five Insteads to earn an A:
1. Instead of, “It’s easy, let me show you,” I will try, “You have the skills to do that. I remember you showed me … (fill in something my new techie did the last time we met).”
2. Instead of, “You haven’t tried X?” I will try, “I just heard about X, but I haven’t had time to even look at it. Can we figure it out together”
3. Instead of touching the mouse, I will keep my hands in my pockets and try to contain my twitching. When I am about to blurt something out, I will offer to fetch us each a cup of coffee so my new techie can play on his/her own. No coffee? I’ll go to the rest room! I will leave for a few minutes so the new techie can explore without a witness. But I’ll be sure to return soon enough to prevent meltdown.
4. Instead of, “Yeah, I’ve done that,” I’ll confide the list of tech tasks I haven’t learned yet or can’t figure out. This will also apply when a fellow edtech guru boasts about a new tool. I will admit what I do not know.
5. Instead of, “Just let your students show you,” I’ll ask, “Which of your students needs the boost of knowing something the rest of the class does not? Maybe the three of us can do it together first.”
I hope that these “insteads” will encourage a new wave of teAcher techies who have earned the golden A as tech evangelists who support, encourage, and empower. We owe it that respect to our hardworking teaching peers as we pay our expertise forward.
Good Goals for 2012- Some of them are easier said than done….. I may try one or two. I like the mouse idea.
Comment by Melissa Seideman — December 29, 2011 @ 2:38 pm