Sharing Online Resources
Sometimes I tell my students, and even my grandsons, that
I’m an education geek. Yes, they do roll their eyes. After all, they are
adolescents, and I am talking about school in the middle of summer
vacation in Maine! Regardless of their reactions, I really love to stay connected with other educators. I get excited
about new ideas, research, and practices and am eager to share them.
When I think about what to post on this blog, I often have to stop
and check myself. Too often, I mistakenly think I should be sharing something
totally new, creative, and innovative. Then I am reminded of Picasso’s quote: “Good artists, copy. Great
artists, steal.” Even Picasso recognized, as do all good teachers, that we
all “steal” ideas from each other. "Steal" may be a harsh word to use...perhaps "share" would be more accurate.
After I watched Dean Shareski’s “Moral Imperative” YouTube video about sharing resources online, my thoughts were validated. I felt redeemed. He states that, in today’s technological world, sharing online
is no longer an option…it is an “ethical responsibility.” Shareski explains why this statement from Ewan Mcintosh resonates with him: “Sharing, and sharing online specifically, is not in
addition to the work of an educator. It is the work.”
Do you agree with Shareski and Mcintosh? How do you share
online resources with others? How does your school? Your district?
Michael Lamoureux, the technology integrator in MSAD #15
where I work, sent me the article, “Distracted by Tech? Address the Problem, Not the Symptom”. Written by Lydia Leimbach, the tech integrator at Hall Dale High
School in RSU #2, it was included in the June 2014 edition of
Electronic Educator. She asserts that when students
install proxies, hide websites, or download non-educational apps, it is another manifestation of the age-old problem of students being distracted and
disengaged from learning. She writes: “Distraction, procrastination,
defiance—they are all symptoms of the same problem. Disengagement. It’s our job
as teachers to figure out WHY. It’s not about ‘who’s fault’ it is. It’s about
finding solutions. Forward motion in the goal.”
Leimbach lists a variety of suggestions about how to limit
distractions and hold students accountable. Check them here. Do they make sense to you? What works for you
in your classroom?
Here’s to sharing!
