I recently had the opportunity to conduct an email interview
with one of the computer consultants for our school board. Personally, I find
that our school board is a bit behind as far as our stance on 21st Century
Tools in the classroom, however there are many progressive teachers,
administrators, and consultants who are picking up the slack.
Below are excerpts from my interview.
Q: What are our current policies surrounding
technology?
A: Our Board has undertaken the revision
of policy documents. They have posted
many that were revised as of March 2014, but the ones related to technology
have not yet been done/posted. Here are
links to the older Policy documents:
I had read our policies prior to conducting this email
interview, so I knew they had not been updated, and are in fact extremely
brief. I find it a bit concerning that we are pushing towards using 21st
century tools more in the classroom, but do not really have a clear policy
currently. On the other hand, my school is a tech-savvy/tech-heavy school, so
it is important that our policies are a bit more fleshed out.
Q: How are our policies created and changed in the
Rainbow District School Board?
A: Various committees
are established comprised of stakeholders that review policy documents. Recommendations are made to Administrative
Council and/or any Policy committees.
Final approval is done by the Administrative Council.
Q: How are teachers supported regarding safe and
appropriate use of online tools?
A: Online access
to various sites/tools is filtered by our Board filtering utility. Use is guided by committee recommendations
and/or policy documents. School
administrators should be aware of online
tools being used in teaching environments.
Q: What are the barriers surround technology/our
policies?
A: A typical
barrier is equity of access to information/communication technology (hardware
and/or high speed access in rural areas).
Q: How do you see these policies changing in the
future?
A: There is
currently a 21st Century Teaching
and Learning Committee that meets monthly, looking at how RDSB will
move forward with regard to Information Technology and how it impacts student
learning.
For my board, it looks like change is on the horizon regarding 21st Century Teaching and Learning, but at this point, it is mostly a 'dipping our toes in the water' kind of scenario. As mentioned earlier, there are some keen teachers out there who are taking further steps, but there are also many who are technological immigrants, so the idea of 21st century learning may take some time!
While it might seem like your board is "behind", I would argue that most districts are at a similar place as it relates to 21st Century Pedagogies. There are pockets of innovation, but the majority is holding on for dear life. In fact, what you have done in this series of courses, is far far above what the majority of educators and leaders are engaging in on a regular basis. I would argue that this isn't because teachers and leader do not want to change or move forward, but because they live the dichotomy of meeting specific criteria, expectations and standardization while also trying to be progressive in their methods. This balance is tough. Districts will need leaders like yourself, to model and share (as you have been doing) good practice, and to support and guide as people find their way through the dichotomies. Much of what takes RISK.
ReplyDeleteI agree that 'dipping toes' is a necessary and positive step in the right direction, it's great that you are exploring (and in doing so equipping yourself to improve) your boards adoption of C-21st learning/tools. It's too bad that we have the dichotomies that you mention Zoe. The Ministry continuously mentions equipping our students 'for the future,' and 'to be productive citizens,' 'finding the jobs they want,' etc. (paraphrased from http://goo.gl/qYx93y ) but there are no mandated goals/expectations about learning tech skills? As a new teacher I am encouraged to see good modelling of 'massaging' these skills into the existing expectations! But will some students be receiving an inequitable education if they are 'unlucky' to get a not-quite-there-yet learning environment?
ReplyDeleteYour last sentence put a chill down my spine. Some students will be in that predicament. Some teachers will face that same issues with a Leader that is still "living" 20th century pedagogies. I suppose that is why I do support the fact that we have "pockets" of innovation and that those can build capacity.
ReplyDelete