One of the conundrums within the field of education is the schizophrenic understanding of best practices. All you need to do to get a taste of this is create a Twitter account, follow a whole bunch of teachers, and read their tweets. Better yet, follow along during a Twitter chat. Edtech platitudes are plentiful.
There's nothing wrong with teachers tweeting at each other in 140 characters or less to share ideas, but it sure is confusing when you sit back and try to decipher what our best practices should be as educators.
F. Scott Fitzgerald said, "The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function." I think there's a lot of truth to this sentiment, and maybe that goes for education as well, but it sure is hard as a teacher to always feel like you should be doing something other than what you've planned to do. This is why the advice of edtech gurus is so attractive right now.
I'm weary of the edtech experts out there who claim to have the solution for student learning. I'm reminded of Siddhartha, who came to the realization that truth isn't going to arrive from any one enlightened person. Teachers must view the plethora of edtech opinions through this same lens, even if it's uncomfortable. In this way, the Twitter cacophony can be harnessed effectively.
Yes, we have a lot to figure out in the field of education, mostly because every student is his and her own universe. My only suggestion is to avoid making gurus out of people who have Twitter accounts.
Thank you Steve. You are so right. Twitter makes me feel like I'm in a tornado of bumper stickers or that every tweet should really be stitched on a pillow. I'm learning how to use it as more of a launchpad to new people to listen to about educational trends. Again, great insight.