Session+8

__8.2 Teacher Conversations__

 * How does your school/district currently support and or encourage collaboration between teachers?

At the middle school level, our district ensures daily team meetings that are supposed to be used for collaboration about the current student body. Unfortunately, many of these meetings turn into sessions about student behavior rather than collaboration of ideas. At times, we are successful at collaboration to solve a problem, but some teachers are resistant to change or to anything that they may percieve as an attempt of the district to give them more and more work to do. Additionally, we have monthly and periodic Professional Development meetings at the school and district level where teachers meet to discuss curricula, district goals and mandates and often, classroom lessons.
 * How much do you seek to collaborate with teachers and how do you accomplish this?

I believe collaboration with teachers is a cornerstone to good teaching. Many, many times I have gotten superior ideas from my colleagues and I would hope they have gotten good ideas from me. The collaboration is accomplished by the methods discussed above and, of course, at informal meetings dailly. I do not have the authority to create more formal methods of collaboration, although I think that teachers would greatly benefit from be able to visit other similar content teachers' classrooms during the school day.


 * To what extent do you think collaboration is of growing importance for teachers seeking to implement a 21st century classroom?

I, personally, think that it would be impossible to implement a 21st century classroom without collaboration. Many teachers do not have the necessary skills to move forward and they would need to be taught how to use the technology. There would need to be collaboration within the school __and__ within the district. Money, resistance to change and logistics would all be impediments to implementing a 21st century classroom, in additional to any collaboration issues.

This particular course has proven the importance of collaboration in implementing a 21st century classroom. We have met several times to showcase different ideas, to learn new technology and to discuss potential problems and challenges.


 * In what ways, if any, do you see the thoughts in this article applying to student conversation?

Since teachers are priveleged to be on "both" sides of the desk, they get to apply the information they've learned to a first hand situation. What I mean is that any and all successes, challenges and difficulties experienced by teachers learning new technology will also be replicated in the classroom. Thus, allowing teachers to prepare for those events and have readily available solutions. Students will also get frustrated by technology that won't work, peers who are resistant to new ideas and people who are not ready to move forward. Students will also gravitate toward their peers that are willing, able and ready to embrace new ideas. These willing students will also be surprised by how well they learn, how interesting new ideas are and will be able to pioneer the next generation.

__8.3 Ted Talks__
media type="custom" key="10227195"

//"The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew//." **Abraham Lincoln**

Reflections on both the Abraham Lincoln quote and Sir Ken Robinson's TED Talk can be found in the Discussion tab of this page.

__8.4 GoogleDocs__
GoogleDocs 1. Create new document/presentation 2. Name the document 3. Click where it says "private to me" 4. This will bring up a sharing settings window - where it states "add people" you may add the email addresses of anyone you'd like to share the document with - only those with google accounts will be able to edit, assuming you also give them permission to edit... 5. Make sure it says "can edit" then hit share 6. All editors may start working together - all can edit the document and changes occur in real time
 * //For Reference only// - to create your own google doc to share, follow these steps:**