I am leading a session on use of specific apps on the iPad for teachers in my building tomorrow and I am NOT an expert on any of the apps I'm sharing. That's right. I'm showing how to use them, giving ideas of how they can be used and I don't know everything about each of them and I probably can't answer all the questions that may be asked of me.
But, I do know that if there are any questions I can't answer I can tweet them out and am 99.9% sure that someone in my Twitter PLN will have the answer for us. I have used Educreations in 4 classrooms, showing the teacher and the students all at once how to use it. Each time, a student (or the teacher) discovered something new or came up with a tip to help everyone. Every time I use it, I learn something new. Even if I did become an expert on any one of these apps, the developers are constantly listening to feedback from the users and updating the features, so I would have new features to learn about each time they are updated. I also know that as teachers begin using the apps in their classrooms they will come up with great new ways of using them for student learning and share them with others.
We do not have to be experts at the tools...we have to be experts at learning and show students what it is like in real life to not know the answer or not know how to do something. To be successful in life you need to know how to find it out. Or as Will Richardson says we have to be able to "learn, unlearn and relearn."
I love this. I had students use a variety of online tools to create presentations on an element they researched. It wasn't long before I had students becoming the "tech support" for others. I love this type of learning.
ReplyDeleteJessica, you are an awesome leader!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Jessica! I'm sharing this with staff this week. Looking to ease fears of not being experts and making it okay to "learn, unlearn, and relearn!"
ReplyDeleteGreat words to live by as a teacher leader. We must not be afraid to model how to learn. This is true in front of students or fellow teachers. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI'm getting ready to do the same thing this weekend. I'm sharing presentation apps/sites for teachers and students to use. I know how to use a few, but I'm definitely not an expert either. I love working with teachers and learning together. I learn just as much from them as they do from me.
ReplyDeleteYou're right...We don't need to know all the answers. It really helps develop a positive learning environment when we lead by example, explaining that we do not have all the answers!
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