I just read a very insightful blog post by George Couros (@gcouros) on the power that school systems have to kill innovation...and how that might have devastating long-term consequences for our students. I have to share it and add that, if teachers aren't allowed to lead the way in the edtech revolution, then who will? While some systems are blessed with administrators who are open to technology integration, not all are--and teachers heavily outweigh administrators. Aren't grassroots movements sometimes the most successful?
The shutdown mentioned in the article sounds quite frustrating and counter-productive, but teachers need to keep our heads up and continue to find innovative ways to reach our students and parents with tools they use and social media sites they frequent--in order to teach them how to use these tools and sites responsibly.
This is the reality of life. George says it well. Kills me, too. We're finally getting through this at my school, dealing with policy, changing mindsets, getting buy-in. I, like Matt, went and did my own thing--Learnist, a class blog, and twitter. So far, so good. I got the school on Twitter, and FB--hopefully soon. It's a slow process, but hopefully we come out on top!
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