“Are you the only teacher using this”?
Six minutes into my ten minute roller-coaster presentation of the AP European curriculum, class expectations, Moodle, forums, wiki-glossaries, flickr lessons and blogs a parent blind-sides me with this short question.
I could not immediately answer, did he mean
“This is great, why aren’t all the teachers doing it?”
or rather
“Why the heck are you wasting your time with this stuff?”
After a couple of seconds to get my composure, I talked about the way in which we piloted FirstClass three years ago and how it grew to wider use as a means to distribute class materials like homework and power points, etc. Moodle is new to us and I am one of the first group of teachers to pilot it. I spoke of its use around the world and adoption by several universitities.
I figure that was the safe approach, and nodding heads in rest of the room told me it was the best path to take.
Upon further reflection though, both of the subliminal questions are valid and need to be addressed. If this parent is floored by slick tools, like geomapping Renaissance paintings to determine if there really was a northern Renaissance, than anything may impress them. If parents do not encounter these things in the course of their work, than they are easily impressed because the technology looks great and sounds cool. There could be absolutely no pedagogy behind them, the bells and whistles work like a charm.
All of the school districts that want to appear cutting edge, all the school administrators who want to make a splash in their first year at a school, and all the teachers who want a slam-dunk observation can also impress many with these bells and whistles.
Instead of gushing over all of the slick coolness of technology, school districts, administers and teachers should instead focus on the parent who asks “Why the heck are you wasting your time with this stuff”? That question certainly gives me a focus for the next year.
So thanks to the parent who played the little kid watching the parade of the emperor’s new clothes. For once BTSN lived up to its name, only it was me who was taken back to school.