You want to teach Design & Technology in your schools, but you don’t want your students to use these:
Do you have any idea what these things can DO?
This is not an advert for mobile phone companies – it is a call to arms against the anti-tech tyranny!
Do you, school leader or administrator, have any idea of the capability of these devices? Can you not see that all students, from all backgrounds, already have and regularly use one of these devices? Most of them have better ones than i do!! They can do more things, faster and easier, than most of the programmes supplied with my free teacher laptop! And the students ALREADY OWN THEM!!
Yet you want me to teach Design & Technology like it mattered, whilst pretending that nobody has one of these, that we’re all in some era where D&T is softwood mortice & tenon joints and ‘chalk and talk’ lessons. Ridiculous.
Rise up, D&T teachers of the world, (well, the UK then), and unite against evil tyranny of technology oppression!
Petition your headteacher and Local Authority to allow the use of mobile phones, in order to raise student engagement and cut unnecessary spending on duplicate resources. Throw off the yoke of alleged cyber-bullying and educate your students on the use of digital technology – send them the message (via text? <ouch>) that their culture is not subversive, but that it is the future!
You can do it if we all do it.
Cheers,
Philip
Hi Phil,
Wow, strong words and yes I agree! but how to do this when there is such a fear factor going on with the older generation. Change is always netoriously difficult to do for many over the years but Change is inevitable and necessary if we are all to keep up with technology especially.
I recently applied for a HOD department job – for which I am in all honesty very well qualified for – I have been out of teaching for about 9 years but in those 9 years I have established myself as an artist, ran property business, marketing business, written and published books. In my letter of application I spoke of social networking and technology etc as well as my experience and qualifications as a teacher including the high results I would achieve. I did not even get short listed! so no interview and no explanation. I am only 44 so surely I am not too old? it is my belief that the mistake I made was to talk about social networking – a no go in schools that are so fearful of such.
Lets stop the fear from taking over NOW – move on – and learn and embrace – its not going to go away and by pretending the iphone, social marketing – face book, twitter do not exist – is surely putting nails in coffins and making a problem that needs to be over turned.