Now bringing this into my reality as an educator, I have had many interactions with fellow colleagues that do not share my love of tech. I have been in PLC's where a colleague has been using Microsoft Word and the Macbook so long that they are unwilling to learn how to use any g-suite tools or chrome for that matter. This made collaboration a challenge. This was prior to zoom, so even sharing screens was not possible. I understand the demands on teacher time. Learning new curriculums, adding new assessment tools all require teachers to dedicate learning time to utilize these resources. Adding the demands of family life often created a different work-life balance than the one I was living. At one of my PLC's, a different colleague looked at me and said "So you are an empty nester, that explains everything…" While I do not have to look after youngsters when I get home, I was also trying to manage work-life balance. As I see it, tech can allow students to be more productive and allow teachers to spend more time connecting with students, while giving more time for personal pursuits. If I can make tech give immediate feedback to students (using tools like KhanAcademy, NoRedInk, and SpellingCity), I have more time to touch base with students that have questions. Students can work at their own pace and I can be the guide on the side. Jon Corippo and Alice Keeler are promoters of making tech do some of the teacher work. Through distance learning, by the district providing chromebooks at home, I can finally implement a flipped classroom and formulate a blended learning experience. I hope that the district will allow students to use the chromebooks until they graduate or leave the district.
TRANSLITERACY works well if all parties can communicate using the different platforms. When we are teaching students, it is easier because we know where the students are at in their development. We have an understanding as to which tools the students are familiar and how proficient they are in using said tool. As their teacher I am always weaving the Sociocultural and Educational needs of my students when determining the Instructional Strategy that best addresses those needs and the Technological tool that can deliver that strategy.
Now I want to bring that same sense-making to working with my colleagues. Except that we are all in different stages of development when it comes to TRANSLITERACY. Some view it as a threat and others do not want to invest time to develop skills that, in their view, they do not need. I am challenged to develop a PLC model that will incorporate TRANSLITERACY as a component of teacher growth and allow teachers to better communicate, collaborate and share resources. I want to apply the principles of crowdsourcing to PLC's. The more educators share the load of teaching the greater the benefit to our students, to ourselves and to our families.