Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Are we there yet?

On many long road trips, my kids are always asking me, "Are we there yet?" And so it seems fitting that this is something our kids are asking us as educators, "Are we there yet?" There are so many tools and resources available for students, teachers, parents and communities to connect far beyond their classroom walls, yet I wonder, when will we get there. As I read all the blog posts through my Google Reader or find great videos like the one below, I wonder, how many teachers are doing this. Is it truly the small 2% that represented the blogosphere group this past June or are there many more out there. I read a post from David Warlick titled Being Measured — The State of the Blogosphere where he writes:
44% of bloggers are parents. Perhaps you might ask, during you next PTA meeting, how many in the audience have a blog. The answer might be important…
So if this is the case, my guess is that these parents have children and that they engage with technologies that teachers and students can benefit from. As I watched this video, I realized (having created an account on Facebook, Flickr, and so on and so on and I teaching my children at home about these great technology tools) that not everyone does this or has the time. I do this because even though I work for a social community, WeAreTeachers, I am still an educator and the primary teacher for my children. I realized that my son's school does not embrace all of these new technologies whether it's because of security reasons or professional development. However, not to belabor the topic, I know this is something that seems to be the topic of many ed tech conversations... "What is it going to take to get districts to embrace Web2.0 tools (all the usual suspects) and how will we move teachers to embrace and integrate into their curriculum and still teach the standards...
I believe "we are there" and the students are ready and willing.

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