The 2007 - 2008 school year is about to start for many teachers and students around the US. I know here in the state of Georgia most of the teachers have been extremely busy getting their classrooms prepared to welcome a new group of students to learning. This is the time of year filled with the excitement of hope, opportunity, anticipation, combined with just a tinge of uneasiness–wondering about the unknown.
Who exactly will be walking in the room on the first day of school?
Teachers almost always do two things during the first few days of school: lay down the law for their students, and, in an effort to begin getting to know them, find out what they did during the summer. This year, consider asking some questions you probably normally don't ask. In fact, I would like to ask you the very same questions and compare the two sets of answers.
I am very curious about how digitally involved our teachers and students are. All of the educators frequenting the technology conferences often talk about how digitally savvy our students are. They speak of how far behind our teachers are. But I'm just not so sure.
So I want to encourage you to take this survey. You should be done in less than 5 minutes. Then, I would love for you to have your students take the survey as well. The survey asks some very easy questions about what technology you did or didn't use this past summer.
If you're a teacher who would like to print the survey, pass it out to your students, and then input the results yourself (or have a reliable student do that for you), you can do that as well.
If you want to do the printed version: Below is the survey labeled for the boys: 2 pages, 35 easy questions. Click to download and print.
Below is the identical survey labeled for the girls: 2 pages, 35 easy questions. Click to download and print. (I will be comparing differences in the boys/girls answers.)
Below is the EZ Data Worksheet to make tallying the data as easy as possible for you. The worksheet helps you organize the survey results so inputing it into the online class survey is a snap. This worksheet also gives you some suggestions on ways to make giving the survey as quick and easy for you as possible. Click to download and print.
If you want to do the online version: This is the direct link to the individual survey for both teachers and students who can sit down to a computer and input their own individual answers.
To input the results from the printed version of the survey: This is the link to the class survey where one person puts in the results for an entire class or large group.
Over the next few weeks, I'll post the answers to the questions, updating them as needed. Hopefully the survey will be a door to more meaningful conversations with your students about technology use, ethical use, internet safety, etc.!
So go ahead... enjoy taking the survey!
Comments (5)
- As usual, your work connects the e-dots for educators, Tim. I like the look and ease of your website, but mainly I like the immediate tools you provide teachers to shake up the classroom. Your phrase- "Making Learning Irresistible" permeates your thinking and was certainly in evidence in practice at Mabry. Best of luck in your future work.
- A query: How do we deal with the resistance to learner-created text materials for use by others? It is beyond the "wiki" question. If a classroom teacher subscribes to the notion that engaging learners is critical and effectively employs e-tools,reviews student developed texts...how can these be withdrawn from review or use by other students? I ask because this is happening on even the state education department level with regulations restricting the posting of student created products that purport to be 'text'. ..(odd, because, student writing samples are often shared).
Posted by Heidi Hayes Jacobs | August 14, 2007 7:46 AM
Thanks for your comment Heidi, and your thought-provoking question!
Don't we often see that adults easily fail to understand children's need to make a valued and significant contribution. If we don't value and respect that contribution, realizing the realities of its strengths and weaknesses, its opportunities for deeper learning and relevance, I think we marginalize our children.
I certainly understand educators need to ensure that student text material is authoritative. We need the best information provided for the educational experiences of children. With these new tools (and with educators who understand how to leverage their use with students) are we in fact empowering the creation of a new genre? --student authored texts and media-based teaching materials? Perhaps we all need to learn what that new genre is--what it affords us and what it does not?
These are exciting times filled with precious opportunities. It would be a shame to waste one, wouldn't it?!
Tim Tyson
Posted by Tim Tyson | August 14, 2007 1:48 PM
Tim,
Your technology survey looks very interesting. FYI, I think you may have a typo on the first page for data input...girls with a computer x2 (was it supposed to be internet?)
We may offer the survey up to our students.
Thank you for sharing.
David
Posted by David Stone | August 18, 2007 3:01 PM
Thanks, David,
You were exactly right. I've corrected the survey!
Tim
Posted by Tim Tyson | August 19, 2007 3:23 PM
Hi Dr. Tyson - I am an Apple Account Executive in Memphis, TN. We met awhile back when you presented to a large group of our principals here. Adair Caperton told me about your new venture and website. I am very impressed and love it. I plan to show it off to some of my schools if you don't mind?
I have shown your Podcast Central series to many, many schools and it has inspired quite a few of them to follow your lead. One of my schools just started a large 1-to-1 program in their district this year for their 6th - 8th graders. I played your "The Best School in the World" podcast to the entire district on their first in-service day back to school this year. It was a major hit!
Anyway, thanks for all you do and I look forward to seeing you again at our TETC conference in Nashville later in the year!
Posted by Shannon George | August 31, 2007 12:00 PM