I finally got around to checking out your video.

After your tweets following the presentation, I was expecting to see a train wreck here. That’s not what I saw though. What I saw was someone who has some big ideas, clever thinking and a passion trying to express himself. I often feel like this with many ideas around education and instead of being the risk-taker and putting my ideas out their in a professional context, I just shut-up or tell people on an individual, casual basis. So well done on taking the risk.

In terms of the content of the presentation… when discussing edtech, I always like to bring the concept of the topic being discussed back 50 years to think about how this concept may apply. Is it a new concept or can it apply to pre-tech contexts? In this case, I think that your point about being more open, real and more than just a teacher to become more meaningful in student’s lives is a point that carries through the ages of education.

One of my favourite teachers from primary school was, in the nicest sense of the word, a hippie. But this is what made her memorable – she used to have days where she’d bring her passions into the class. We got to make candles, friendship bracelets, etc. Certainly not in the ’syllabus’, but definitely meaningful and memorable because she made herself real, open and more than a teacher.

You mentioned at one point in your reflection that technology is merely a tool to allow you to write and express yourself. I think this extends to the entire point of becoming a more ‘real’ teacher. The ultimate point to take from it all is to be more that just another teacher to your students. If technology helps you do that, then use it. If it doesn’t, then find the medium that does.

Now, to completely contradict myself here, I feel that teachers have a responsibility to be demonstrating, teaching and exposing various tech skills to their students to give them the best opportunities for their future.

Well done on the presentation and the open, honest reflection given in this video. You have certainly demonstrated the point of your presentation in this video.

Cheers, Ben.

1) Your re-editing shows something that we teachers highlight far too seldom, in my opinion: the *process* of learning, educating. Drafting and revision and over again. These things aren’t strictly linear, and too often my students believe that it is. Showing your own process, including reflection and reworking, is invaluable, and I salute you. We all need to “show our work” more often.

2) Being honest online…one I struggle with a lot. For various reasons–not just being afraid of inet or overwhelmed by learning the tools (not I on the former and partially me on the latter), but by the whole *persona* that teachers keep, often through necessity.

Being a teacher is often like performing a role onstage (so much so that I read of one teacher who applied her daily makeup *at* school, to ready herself for the role) and none of us can deny that a lot of theatre is involved in teaching. However, that makes us lose the authentic.

Example: I’m quite political, and I’m also, well, very, uh, straightforward in my online speech in debate (depending on the forum). That would not fly in my district, so I don’t use it when I’m trying to ignite my upper students to get involved in online discussions, debate, rhetoric (I teach AP Lang, afterall). I do tell them *about* it, however, which is something I’m learning I can do.

The line between “me” and “Ms O” must remain heavily Sharpied in places, but I’m learning that sometimes I can just be a fellow learner, too.

“I believe everybody is artistic (just to varying degrees of commitment).”

I am simply trying to raise the bar of commitment with every person I encounter, on or off line.

I don’t have a lot of time available right now but I wanted to clarify a couple of things:

1) my comment about being comfortable in our own skin was a speculative one, not specifically about you (as i think you are more than comfortable in your skin!

2) everyone is not an artist — let’s get the record really straight and concrete on this one …

My only comments about artists relate to the privilege of being allowed to share their inner lives (we have a weird double standard in our society where we assume artists are more emotional and expressive than other people – a myth! – so we permit them more space for self expression.

But yet we don’t grant this social permission to people in other professions – why? If anything, I challenge the notion – like you do – that not everyone is an artist because I believe everybody is artistic (just to varying degrees of commitment).

If theres any revolutionary challenge I’d like to put out there it’s to debunk the myth that some people are more entitled to being emotional, expressive or unusual because they do “artistic work” (i.e., performers, visual artists, musicians, etc). But I think we’re moving in that direction. Social media – blogs, sharing our expression helps.

Let’s keep this big conversation going!

I strongly endorse the idea that in modeling learning for students, we have to dispel the myth of the finished person. My favorite term for this is ‘permanent beta’ – but that’s perhaps too geeky to be well understood by all, even if the idea is sound. The metaphor of life as permanent beta works not only in that we are always in need of learning new things, always able to grow, but also in that the way we learn and grow most efficiently is through the input of our communities.

Well done for walking the walk.

Ed

The irony is that in making your mistakes in your presentation then blogging and reflecting upon it, you have in fact not only demonstrated your own point but made your presentation that much more effective!

Makes me feel better about the whole thing.

Love of students,
Love of material
Love of learning
….you get the point. Thanks for your comments.

I also loved this line, “If a teacher is motivated enough to really let go of all his inhibitions and show his ‘real’ self to his students, a certain kind of energy establishes itself.”

See the students get it, why do teachers take so long to learn?

I am so glad that you have grown in the ways you have described. I am very proud of you.