CEd0540 - Session Three

Ahhhh, the return to work after the lovely vacation. I have to tell you that I really did enjoy working on the survey. Some of my perceptions about teachers and technology were supported and I'm really considering a follow-up to delve a little deeper. Who was it that said "The answer to one question only poses more questions?" OK, that was a really bad revision, but you catch my meaning - I really am wondering how to bridge the gap between great classroom instruction (utilizing technology) and just getting by with what the school requires.
I think about our technology inservice in the fall of the year and it's more about the nuts and bolts of how to get back online if you forgot your passwords over the summer or some new feature of a tool that we've previously used. Our district does offer some great trainings coupled with the time to begin implementation but topics are limited in scope again to what the district/school determines is beneficial. We have a new host for our web site that allows individual access to editing teacher or groups pages and our district currently uses Moodle so those trainings abound.
The problem is, we lack the visionary "look to the horizon" approach to see what's coming (or just recently arrived) so we can gather the energy and excitement. I can talk all I want about Prezi or Animoto and how great they are, but until educators have the opportunity to sit down and create with plenty of time, they won't learn how cool those apps are. (BTW - I did make one teacher sit down and create an Animoto to play behind her as she talked to the high school students about scheduling classes for next year...her first attempt at Animoto!)
But until we can get broad trainings and support for all teachers, then we're limited to an educational field with pockets and islands were great things happen in the realm of technology rather than an ocean of success.