The 9th grade English teacher in Montclair High School that I interviewed is familiar with the NETS-T in the world of education. She mentioned how they are present in her school district, but the school that she works is assimilating to the ideas in a gradual manner. The reason being that the kids in her class are being born with technological privileges, it is better to have those old world roots grounding them to reality. This surprised me because the teacher had said how many of the schools in the surrounding area were adapting into the NETS-T, but she herself advocated in small doses. In a personal statement, she said that she still wants her students to read from the pages of real life books rather than a Nook or an online source. She does not want the education of her students to be dependent on technologies that always require a power source when the power source should be in the mind.
My interviewee mentioned how she adheres to the NETS-T when assigning long term projects for her students that require research and a depth of understanding. Being able to use digital tools and resources are what she places firm emphasis on, as well as being able to play on the creative strengths of her students. She mentioned that she divided her class up into groups and had each group work on a website for their midterms. The website would be dedicated to a man thematic element within the text they read for class, they needed visual and audio examples of the theme both in and out of the text. It was a tricky risk; she said that she had to time to activity with their Computers elective because their teacher already cemented the basics of website creating. The activity had to be green-lit with the other educator of course, but it was a cooperative success when they did.
Another statement that my interviewee said that surprised me was how she tries her best incorporating real world issues into her English lectures about conflicts within texts. She said that TED talks and documentaries online about racism and sexual violence and war atrocities correlated to novels such as Night and Invisible Man. This surprised me because it was the exact type of thing my old English teacher back in high school used to do. He made us watch a historical about Prohibition while we were reading The Great Gatsby. Needless to say, her statement brought back a hint of nostalgia.
Talking with this teacher during the interview was a real eye-opener. Her responses were very honest and passionate. She looked reasonably aged, so she has experience under her belt. I was delighted at the way she talked about the subject and how some parts of it could be used in cohesion with the NETS-T. My interviewee mentioned how the teacher needs to spearhead the classroom when it comes to technological resources. Powerpoints are not always dependable she said and she said that videos are her favorite thing to do for her students because so long as the content is relevant and interesting, her students will snap awake. I want to be just like her when it comes down to it. Don’t overwhelm students with too many technological standards, but don’t be too old-fashioned either. I’d tell people that NETS-T are the future of education, but there needs to be a gradual assimilation to it rather than a full out ‘spelunk’! There has to be an equal balance in between. What I’ll remember most about the interview is how I asked her if she wanted any parts of the interview kept confidential. To which she scoffed a reply: “Why would I do that? Censorship dulls the soul.” That’s my kind of woman.
Link to Google Doc Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AsF0VfDFs-btdFcwNHFROXo1ckRKcDAySFZac09HUHc&usp=sharing
It is interesting to see how where both of our teachers are in the educational spectrum. Your teacher was familiar with NETS, whereas mine was not. I wonder if location is a contributing factor to this because your teacher teaches at a suburban school district, whereas mine teaches in an urban setting. I agree with your statement: " it is better to have those old world roots grounding them to reality" and had a similar one in my blog. I feel this, and many similar statements are powerful when trying to explain why technology within a classroom in imperative. Nowadays, students are growing up with different kinds of technologies and are using them as a means of communication as well as increasing their educational intellect and experiences. I received my fieldwork placement and it is in an urban setting and am curious to see what kinds of technological advances they have in their school and whether or now they use them and if teachers are familiar with NETS. For now, I wait and see.
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