Thing #6

I really haven't fallen off the face of the earth..just been busy. I really have enjoyed reading the different feeds. I subscribed to a few but the one I have really paid attention to (and read carefully) was Leader Talk. One post that particularly caught my eye was Some Thoughts: Conditions of Community for Educators. The thoughts have been ones I have been wrestling with since we started this class. I seem to be generating more questions than answers or rather ways to implement technology. I agree with the author when he/she says, "The conversation on this topic can begin with some basic questions but at some point I hope it will move to examining practices, and ultimately grappling with reflections on the implications for our work with students." I worry that in our rush to prove we are keeping up with technology, we are implementing technology without much thought as to purpose or impact of implementation. I do agree that just having the capability to discuss different viewpoints with educators across the country and world is incredible.

I also read Teacher Evaluations. I have to admit I laughed out loud. I have been wondering myself, why, if teacher evaluations are so high, student success is low. There should be a correlation (or at least I think there should be). This post was in response to Secretary Duncan commenting on teacher evaluations. It reminds me of the teacher who states "I taught it, it's not my fault they didn't get it." Duncan seemed to believe we need to focus on teachers and those who are low performing. The question is, what tool do we use to determine whether or not a teacher is low performing??

The feeds can be a bit of a distraction to me. I tried, unsuccessfully to find feeds from specific people; however to no avail. I may try again. The other things is that I may be too ADD
to follow some. I read a little then click to follow a thought and before I realize it I am several clicks removed from the original. It does prove to be very interesting, though.