Before Nov 16, Please read the article "Parents: Focus more on 21st-century skills Schools must do more to prepare students for information-age careers, say respondents to a national ed-tech survey" at http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=61504
In your blog comment address the following questions.
Were you surprised with the survey and article?
What is one way you can learn what your students' parents are expecting?
Of course you can add anything else you wish and you are encouraged to read and comment on your colleagues' comments.
I honestly was not surprised by the amount of parents that are not happy with the level of technology use in the schools. There are so many issues that prevent us from using the many tools out there for us to use.
ReplyDeleteMany applications, web tools and websites that could be useful are blocked or not allowed by school districts. Though I understand that districts have policies about these items for a reason, most often in an effort to protect our students, those policies and the reasons behind them are not always communicated with the teaching staff, let alone the parents and students.
Also, the topic of equal access to technology within a school district is a huge concern. How technology is funded varies so much within schools. There are schools that are allowed to have every new tool and/or toy out there, while there are others that are still using ancient machines with no access to updated teaching tools such as projectors, SmartBoards, Elmos and the like.
I think the best way to find out about parental expectations is through open communication. Parents should have access to the curricular expectations from the school district. Surveys and discussions should be held to determine their opinions and to solicit support for the school. Ultimately, I believe that communication is the key to helping parents understand what kind of technology instruction schools are capable of providing.
I do have to say that I was a little surprise by the fact that the majority of parents are dissatisfied with the technology skills their children are learning in school. I myself know and believe that for the most part school aren’t doing enough to teach students the technology skills they need but I did not realize that the majority of parents were in agreement with this belief. I think my age place a part in why I was a little surprised. My parents are not technologically inclined enough to be dissatisfied with the technology skills being taught in school and in my mind I was thinking that parents now are the same way. After reading the article I realized that parents are becoming more tech savvy and because of this they understand how important it is for their child to learn the right technology skills. I think it is a wonderful thing that parents want their students to learn the technology skills and I think it is important that we are learning how they feel about the situation.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand I was not surprised to find that more than half of the principals believe they are doing a good job teaching students technology skills. I feel that school administrators and board members do feel we are doing enough. I believe generational differences are the cause of why they believe they are doing a good job. I believe because the older generation is not as technologically inclined they don’t see a need to teach extensive technology skills. Also people get settled in their way of doing something and believe that change is not necessary and because of this schools aren’t providing the kind of technology education they should be. I do believe that progress has been made and technology in schools has gotten better but not enough is being done.
One way to learn about your students’ parent’s expectations is to send home your own survey. Surveys are a great way to find out what the parents of your students are thinking and what they expect from you as a teacher. Simply create a survey to see what technology skills the parents would like their children to learn. If you aren’t getting parents to return surveys you can also ask them through email, make phone calls, ask them at conferences, etc. Communicating directly with parents is key to finding out what they are thinking. Communication is important and will help you better serve your students.
I was surprised by the discrepancy between parent opinions and administrator/principal opinions. I assumed that for both groups more than half would be saying that enough was being done to integrate technology into schools. I predict, however, that if you polled teachers less than half would say that technology is being appropriately integrated into the curriculum, but I also think the teachers would comment on the resources and time available.
ReplyDeleteA possible way to get feedback from parents is to create an online survey. Because some parents might be hesitant to share their opinion or are not familiar with such technology, you would also have to send home a hard-copy or email-copy of the letter explaining the procedures. For those few families (I assume few, although I am not aware of the statistics) that do not have internet access at home, the parents could fill out a hard-copy of the survey.
I was not very surprised at the discrepancy between parent opinions and administrator opinions. Technology, at least in my district, has been integrated in ways that are great for the classroom, but not really outside the classroom. And at the end of the day, I really don't think parents are informed in general as to what their students are doing in school.
ReplyDeleteParent expectations can be communicated at the beginning of the year during a "Back-to-school" night, or conferences. Parents can be surveyed, or simply fill out open forum detailing their expectations.
Although I agree that students should be given the chance to develop 21st century literacies, I do not necessarily feel that failing to do so will put students at a disadvantage in the work place. I have recently been reading research and information from the Department of Labor Statistics which indicates that the demand for technology skills in future careers is not as vital as one might think. In reality,the majority of jobs created in the next ten years will be in service-related fields which do not require such skills.
ReplyDeleteI feel, however,that technology should be infused in schools, regardless of its usefulness in the job market. These competencies can help students relate to the world around them and connect with people, which is arguably just as important as preparing them for the work force.
I was not surprised by the amount of parents who are unhappy with the amount of technology their children are being taught in school. Although at my school, I think that parents are relatively content with their child's education. I teach in a title I school, where most of the students are from lower income families. Parents at my school are worried more about how they are going to pay the bills than about the amount of technology their child is learning. At my school, where test scores have been low, teachers and administration are more focussed on getting the students up to the level they need to be, in any way possible. Technology is used, but also traditional methods are employed as well. Whatever it takes to get the students learning and retaining the information.
ReplyDeleteparents could be asked to participate in a survey about their goals and expectations for their child at the beginning of the school year, as well as a follow-up survey mid-year and at the end of the year.
I am not surprised that the parents think their child's technology skills are not growing at school. Many schools and teachers don't have the resources to give the students some opportunities. I think also that if the school has the technology for the students the teachers are not trained or feel very uneasy about using it. Even if the laptops were given to student, so that each student has the access, the teachers need to be trained on what types of lessons they can do.
ReplyDeleteWe can have parents fill out surveys to what they think needs to be taught. They can talk about how technology is used in their job. Having the parents take time out of their day to try and teach their student how to use different technologies appropriately would help them get involved.
I was not suprised by the amount of parents that are dissatisfied with the technology taught in the schools. As public schools we are limited on the use of the types of technology and access to information available due to so many sites being blocked by district policy. I was however suprised that the administration feels that the schools are doing a satifactory job with teaching technology, afterall I think that we as teachers know that we barely can touch on technology due to security and district policy. I understand the logic behind the blocked sites but at the same time this is holding the districts back if we compare how much technology and access or students have to global technology information outside of school. The students are often just using technology in the schools to play games and word process, but yet they use it so much more in their everyday lives that they too do not feel like school is up to date in regards to technology. Until policy changes our hands are tied and we do the best with what we have. I feel that money and time also hinder our use of technology in education. The entire scope of what education looks like and how the process works changes more rapidly than what districts are able to keep up with. With all of this said, to be progressive technologically, policies would have to change with the times. It appears as though there are many roadblocks for this to happen in a way for students and parents to be satisfied and still provide security to our students.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the best way to find out what students and parents expect from their technology education, the best way to find this out would be to survey them at the beginning of the year and continue to have open communication with them throughout the year. Communication is the key. This can be achieved through email, calls home, updates on school webpages and even during conferences. To say the least it is very crucial to keep the lines of communication open, as many of the collegues in this blog have already stated.
1. I was not surprised by the comments from parents that their children are not being prepared to use technology. However, I do not believe that this is due to the fact that schools are sub-par in prepping students. I think the majority of this can come from the communication, or lack thereof, between schools and parents. I do not think that the vast majority of parents have a clear understanding of what their children are learning in classes. On one hand, I think that there are parents that see their children are in a computer class and assume that they are working on state of the art programs. On the other, I think parents think that their children may not be getting technology skills due to a lack of funding in building. Both or neither of these scenarios may be true in any building. I think that communication is key to making sure that parents understand the strengths and weaknesses in technologies that their schools have.
ReplyDelete2. I prefer direct communication face to face, through email or by phone. I think it is important that we ask parents their expectations very directly. This can assist in setting expectations for both teachers and students.
I guess I get a little frustrated when I read articles about how dissatisfied that people are with aspects of public education. It is easy to sit back and say that we need to do more, but I feel that we already do so much. We do our jobs every day for less money than is deserved, and teach things like social skills that they should be learning at home. The teaching profession isn't an easy one, and those of us called to do it are responsible for so much. Sure, I would love to have a ton of technology at my disposal and be able to use it to teach more effectively. In order for that to happen, the entire system needs to be revamped. More money needs to be directed toward all aspects of education. For now, we will continue to do the best with what we have. When we have access to more technology, we will use that as well.
ReplyDeleteWere you surprised with the survey and article?
ReplyDeleteI was not surprised with the survey and the article. I believe that parents and guardians entrust their student’s education to the schools, and they expect the schools to provide the best education for their child. I think that parents feel that using the latest technology is a part of that expectation. I agree with the parent that was quoted as saying teachers need training on the technologies, and then the newest technologies can be incorporated.
I was also not surprised that 40% of the families surveyed thought the schools were doing a good job preparing their students while over half the administrators thought the school was succeeding. I believe that the administrators might be more of the glass half-full. What I mean is that administration knows and sees the costs of the technologies available at the school, they know what is available. I don’t always think that they know if the technologies are being used or sitting in a classroom because the staff of teachers do not know how to use the technology.
What is one way you can learn what your students' parents are expecting?
I find that asking the parents directly what they expect is the best way to communicate. This can be through emails, telephone calls, and any of the school events that families are invited to. I have found that if I speak about technology applications that we use in my classroom it opens the discussion of what the families expect from the school.
I wouldn’t say I was surprised by the results of the survey…in my mind I see the survey as probably being asked of parents who may be tech savvy themselves or at least affluent enough to know the difference. One thing that kept creeping into my head as I read, and especially of the comment by the mother in California who said “she would like her son’s school to give its students a “world-class” education,” was whether she and the other parents would be willing to pay the taxes or whatever other means necessary to get her son that education? Technology isn’t cheap and the time and resources needed to use it isn’t either. There are things I am struggling to integrate into my classroom, but the time it takes to get started is so demanding. Probably after the first time using or setting up the resource it will be easier later, but the initial start-up is time consuming. Teachers are expected to always be evaluating their own teaching and improving it as much as possible all the time. So if it takes me so much extra time to set up a new unit or lesson so I can use technology with it, only to turn around and do it all over again the next year, doesn’t sound too enticing. I know technology can make our lives easier, but finding out how is the hard part.
ReplyDeleteI guess I am a good example of another point made by the article…teachers need to be trained in how to use the technology. OPS does offer classes on some resources (i.e. iMovie, Excel, Word, iPhoto and others I can’t remember) and they even pay us to attend them. Even the classes they offer don’t cover as much as what is available. I believe I have learned more about different kinds of resources just by taking this class and can now take more of the OPS offered ones to become more efficient in them.
Another thing that discourages me from using too much technology (or more accurately, having the students use technology) is that they need to learn so much and have little time to do it that when we do something with technology it seems to slow us down. Aside from using language software or a program that is geared towards literacy, as well as listening stations with radios / CD’s, I have steered clear of much else. I would like to integrate more and am trying to but I go back to the comment of ‘teachers need the training’ to use it more in the classroom.
I don’t know how I would find out what my students’ parents are expecting when it comes to technology other than at conferences or through phone calls with bilingual liaisons since most of them are illiterate as well and don’t speak English. If there were a way to see how tech savvy they were I could probably use that somehow.
Certainly, I am not surprised by the desire of parents to see their children become more technologically savvy. There is no surprise, either, at the recognition of the gap between casual and academic use of technology. Parents are rarely satisfied with the output of their students’ schools. Nor should they be. To put it in perspective, compare this dissatisfaction with the feeling of parents following Sputnik. Compare the dissatisfaction of Midwest schools when children on the west coast (especially) were reaping the benefits of the Silicon Valley grants boom in the ‘80s and ‘90s. If parents were always satisfied, there would be little improvement made in our public schools. (Squeaky wheel and all that.)
ReplyDeleteParent input, outrage, whatever you want to call it, is not to be feared nor is it to be brushed away as mere hysteria. However, getting people to give up programs already in progress, provide the money for the new programs, “put their money where their mouths are” – take us back to the norm – time in the day and money to provide new equipment and teacher education.
Teachers who talk with their parents regularly in e-form, in person, newsletters, etc. create a climate where staff and parents feel free to exchange ideas that can be done in the classroom now. It is never appropriate for a teacher to believe that all is well as long as new inventions are being made and children are being born wanting more than the status quo. Don’t let the surveys and articles spook you. Educators can do so much with what they have. Just be sure you are doing all you can with what you have.
I wasn't surprised by this article because I have already heard some statistics close to this and I too, feel that schools are not doing enough to prepare students for the future.
ReplyDeleteOne way you can learn what your students' parents are expecting is to give a survey at the beginning of the year. You can send out a generic message with other information going home. I would put out broad information that we would cover and allow for some comments or feedback. This would allow the parents to have some say, me to get in touch with them and to still keep control of the classroom topics.
It is nice to know that parents are seeing that 21st century skills are an important part of the future and that the schools should be teaching their students these skills. I do wish that this article would have focused a little on what to do about this problem or show examples of schools who are teaching 21st century skills well.
I wasn't really surprised by the results of this study as many parents working environments that require the high tech skills they feel their students are lacking. Many of the parents of my students work in high tech fields, including on the air force base in Bellevue. I believe that parents see what is needed to be successful in today's world and only assume that it is going to get more high tech.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that we could expose our students to more technological skills, but it is unrealistic to assume that we could fully prepare students for the 21st century work environment. Technology is changing at such a rapid rate that schools and even colleges are having a difficult time keeping up with the advancing technology. Instead of placing the emphasis on schools getting the latest technology and extensive training for teachers, perhaps schools should begin to investigate the value of internship. At the secondary level, schools could place students in career related internship to build relevance in what they're learning as well as to provide them with exposure to the latest technology in the private sector.
I was not very surprised that parents have higher expectations regarding technology and 21st century skills in the classroom. Many families are now more tech savvy, and parents are increasingly working in a variety of fields that require a greater technology knowledge base.
ReplyDeleteI visit with my students' parents regularly regarding technology and the expectations, as my school has a 1 to 1 laptop program. Due to the cost of the laptops, parents are expecting tangible results for the investment they are making.
My students are often the driving force in the new areas where I look to implement technology. I will often give them many opportunities to integrate technology themselves into the class, and we will collaborate on projects. This cooperative learning has proved to be very useful in meeting student and parent expectations regarding more technology usage.
It doesn't really surprise me that parents are disappointed at the level of technology that is being used and learned in the classroom. I think part of the issue is that many parents are not fully aware of what their children are learning. I know in my district the big issue is money. Many times classrooms need to wait until there is enough money in the budget before things like smart boards and sound systems can be purchased. Another problem is training the teaching staff with each new piece of technology. It's not that training itself is an issue, but scheduling training times and money is. The next biggest issue is availability in the classroom. Many times internet sites are blocked and can't be accessed in school.
ReplyDeleteI think the best way to learn what parents are expecting from teachers is to simply inform them of the curriculum at the beginning of the school year. This can be accomplished by having a curriculum night or some tyope of open house where parents can come the school and speak with the teachers face to face.
I am not surprised by the number of students who believe the use of technology in classrooms is not preparing them for the 21st century. Digital natives are “hungry” for technology integration. We as teachers must do a better job with technology. I think that as new technologies emerge and new teachers entering the field incorporate new technologies in their classrooms, these numbers will improve. I also believe this is important to address the “achievement gap.”
ReplyDeletePart of the challenge facing teachers is that we are preparing our students for jobs in the 21st century that may not exist today. (Cyber-security, nano-technologies, new medical procedures etc) Keeping-up with new technologies requires a commitment by schools administrators and educators to be life-long learners themselves.
One way I think I could learn about parent’s expectations is to conduct a “Poll everywhere” survey using cell-phones at the beginning of the school year “technology night.” Not only will this provide”real-time data” but will also open a discussion on the use of cell-phone technology in schools. Most schools limit cell-phone use, but this may change opinions and lead to an openness to policy change.