Still Week 4 of Capstone (LIH)

The end of the "Student Collaboration" section of this week's assignments reminded us to post our blogs. Since it really didn't give specific directions on what to blog about, I'm going to vent. I'm supposed to be "reflecting" on all the reading and research I've done about finding collaborative digital tools, blah, blah, blah. First, why are we expected to go find research about this topic? Since EVERYONE is supposed to read about it, why isn't the content provided? Why? Because it isn't out there, not in any great quantity. The truth is school systems for the most part, and definitely here in Virginia, are hesitant (understatement) to explore the digital tools for learning. We're going on and on about Project-Based Learning, when what determines curriculum is the SOL state tests. Why am I able to be creative? Two reasons--the first and foremost is I am not directly responsible for test scores; I'm peripheral personal (which is dangerous to say in this economy). And while I know the lessons I do with students do contribute to their scores, I am also able to spend time on teaching and facilitating the digital tools because the classroom teacher teaches the content. But even I have to be constrained in what I do by the SOLs.

And I am constrained in what I do by this Capstone class. This class is attempting to foist upon us everything that's out there, willy-nilly of whether it pertains to or is even age-appropriate for our students. Have you ever watched an elementary student type on a keyboard? If I were to institute blogs with them, they'd have to have at least an hour just to type out 1-2 paragraphs. Then there is the parental factor. We all know the saying "A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing." Well, by now most parents know that somewhere out in the cyberverse are very bad people, so their reaction is to protect their child at all costs--who needs the Internet? I feel this class would be much more beneficial if we were learning about advocating for change in the curriculum so that we can get parents to understand that these digital tools are the skills-set necessary for their children to get good jobs in this rapidly evolving future. But we also need this class to be aware of the grade-level and job-level stratifications in its creation of assignments. But that's a vent for another day!