This post was originally rough notes live blogged during the first session of the edubloggercon. There are many unattributed comments, so if you made them or know who made them, feel free to chime in with a comment. Rather than make this a more formal and reflective post I’ve only made minor changes as I cleaned this up… but I’ve included a picture. :)
Will: What’s our elevator pitch?
Chris: How can we make this a political movement?
?: Who has made that pitch (to politicians)?
?: We all make it to teachers all the time.
Vicky: When you approach a politician you have to have one thing. Give them two or three and they’ll shut off… we wouldn’t let kids drive without educating them… we need a national internet safety program (social networking)
Jakes: Watching politicians embrace web 2.0 – they are seeing the power of the connections you can make. We can take advantage of that.
?: When you talk about technology you scare off half the room… literacy is something politicians understand. It’s a literacy issue (can we say digital literacy or not)
I missed some discussion here because I needed to think and participate. Eventually I cut in with what seemed like an interesting new thought to me (though I was led right to it by other’s thinking). We are trying to argue that these new literacies are important to incorporate into school (whether its for the future workforce or for fulling participating as citizens of our culture) aren’t we more or less making the same argument that must’ve been made for schools of reading, writing, and math to being with?
Me: How did people argue for schools to begin with?
Chris: we need to teach students wisdom – to make sense of information
Sheryl: we need to talk to politicians about teacher competencies…
Jakes: our energies are spent fighting right now – we have to get over the fear factor
?: Politicians see these tools as a way to get a message out – not in.
Warlick also focused on the fear of our students being unprepared for the future. Sheryl talked about a sense of urgency rather than fear.
?: Parents in social networks start to “get it”… this is the constituency to go after.
?: most presentations are fear based.
Vicky: something will happen with internet safety soon… we need to pick our poison before someone else does.
Me: We must know the other side of the argument to best provide a solution that works for both sides.
Chris: We still need the urgency.
1. We’ve got to teach them how to use these tools or we’re doing them a disservice.
2. We’ve got to teach them to be safe
Doug: We need to give them intellectual freedom… technologists can take this up… children have rights to free opinions… but technologists are into censoring and blocking.
Will: Who changes district policy?
Answer: The parents.
Chris: the fear factor around the internet is endemic of a larger fear factor surrounding accountability… “If you’re not ready to lose your job, you’re not ready to do your job.” (If you’re not willing top get fired for doing what you do.)
Warlick: The kids are “there” – how do we turn them into advocates?
Jakes: They’re not really there.
?: But to answer David’s question, put kids on tech committees and policy committees.
?: Fear sells… but the time might be right for “telling a new story”
Chris: Both things are right… can we use the urgency and fear to get their attention and then tell the new story.
Will: Very few people “get” the transformation that blogging can provide…
?: This conversation has to happen on every level – political, parental, students…
?:What if we look to other heroes using these tools – not just educators – to get the dialog going.
?: It needs to go to colleges of education.
?: TED for Ed? Let’s bring the best minds of a generation together to talk about the future of education.
?:Who do we need to engage next? Invite them.
?:We need a marketing kit.
Vicky talked about the tools spreading through her school… to the parents… and the administrators. She mentioned Dr. Shephard! “We got rid of exams and our test scores went up.”
?: Don’t forget old communication technologies first… school newsletters etc.
Steve Dembo: We’re trying to start a movement here. It’s not going to happen informally. “Professionalism, says the guy in shorts.”
We preach to the choir. When do we write for other magazines etc…
Me: NECC 2009, invite the candidates
?: NECC 2010 is in DC!
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