Why are people afraid of blogging?
This morning I got up early quite unhappy because my partners in a Socrates educational project refused to introduce the proposal of creating a blog within the partnership.
Why are so many teachers afraid of new things?
Sad and unhappy, I went to my personal blog.
Surprise!
Aaron had put a comment on it last night.
Suddenly the good feelings came back to me.
We, the people on this Planet have to learn how to be nice one to another.
Life is so difficult!
Blogging can make it nicer.
Thank you Aaron.
Thank you all for having created such a wonderful group!
Why are so many teachers afraid of new things?
Sad and unhappy, I went to my personal blog.
Surprise!
Aaron had put a comment on it last night.
Suddenly the good feelings came back to me.
We, the people on this Planet have to learn how to be nice one to another.
Life is so difficult!
Blogging can make it nicer.
Thank you Aaron.
Thank you all for having created such a wonderful group!
posted by Mariana Hudrea at 6:28 AM
4 Comments:
Hi Mariana, I know exactly what you mean. I have the same feeling myself constantly. The only conclusion I can come to is that we forget that there are only a minority of us who belong to such inspiring networks as this and that it takes time for the benefits to make themselves obvious.
To be honest I think that people initially get angry that they have to learn a new interface. It takes time which many people do not have much of and it also puts them in an apprentice situation where they are ignorant and have to start from the beginning. I think there are many people whose professional pride is hurt by that feeling.
You have to be patient! By continually demonstrating the benefits through your own efforts, you get converts. A European project I belong to tried out the Bloki collaborative software (which includes a blog) at my suggestion. We later rejected it for our purposes. But the project group has based its distance learning course on a Moodle interface at my suggestion and Moodle has also been adopted by my institution for the adminsitration of several projects and courses. We are also working a lot with WIMBA products for audio exercises, again at my suggeston and I have just persuaded another funding body that it would be a good idea to hold a virtual conference.
I'm afraid that it is drip, drip, drip rather than the blinding light of realisation.
Dear Anne,
Two years ago I attended a EUN conference in Brussels, organized by the European Schoolnet (www.eun.org).
Many people mentioned there that a new world elite is being born: that of people speaking foreign languages, traveling and using the Internet.
Those who are able to understand easier what is going on all over the world will make it.
Our new wonderful Webblogging community is a good example in this respect.
What do you think?
Hi Mariana & Anne
Whether we're part of a world elite or just moving around with pople who wish to get to know cutting edge communication - well, at least in this workshop, we're practising just this! I'm so fond of getting to know so many experimental and brave teachers from all around the world, in this workshop and elsewhere online. And, very often in other contexts, I have that same feeling of being a little outside, always having to defend the reason for working with these innovative tools and developing methods to communicate and just write for the pleasure of expressing ourselves. This is, to me the most authentic way of learning new things that I've ever experienced in my life!
Sus in Denmark
"Why are so many teachers afraid of new things?"
I have asked (and still ask) this question on several occasions to myself and to many teachers in my organisation - which is a network of independent language schools world wide, almost entirely free of limitations imposed on us by the powers above, but I can't even get people to use an email forum - and I think it is a good question, but I wonder if it is always the 'right' question...
Maybe some teachers aren't really afraid of technology, in some quality schools/situations teachers with already good results may not feel the need for new technology - unless it really advances learning, it may be used a gimick, as well as taking precious time to learn to use. Last night, Bee posed a new version of an old question, which may help us and others to adjust our thinking and give stronger reasons for our use of technology. Bee was talking on BaW 2005 session about blogs and asked, "WHY should we use blogs?" - I'll add, "...or any technoogy?" Some of us just love to jump in and get our feet wet in the midst of exciting experiments, others like the certainty of something that works. They need the 'why' question answered in advance. (And we should keep it at the forefont of our teaching too to keep relevant.) When we can answer the 'why' question clearly, backed up with positive learning experiences, people will start using the technology - but maybe it won't be such new technology by then... and you and I or everyone else on this session will be playing/experimenting with other newer things.
Once upon a time the eletric light was very new technology. Today, you don't hear much debate about whether we should use the light bulb in our lessons, do we?
The really good ideas will filter down, get used and stick.
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