Thursday, November 12, 2009

Survey/Technology/E. Brabec

I am not surprised by the survey and its findings. I think that most parents are unaware of what goes on at school and of the amount of technology already being used in the classroom. But some of the data presented here wasn't very compelling. The "disconnect" between parents and educators was less than 20% -33% of parents thinking we are preparing our students well,versus 51% (possibly) of principals.
I think the most telling result was that 40% of students admitted to thinking we're doing a good job. To get a teenager to admit that schools are doing a good job - that's huge! And they're the ones who should really know! I agree with the blogger who asked, "What kind of technology are the students supposed to be learning anyway?" It seems to me, too, that most kids already have technology skills.
If I wanted to find out what parents might be expecting their child to be learning in my French class, I'd send out a survey. Should they be memorizing vocabulary? Presenting power points? Making spread sheets? Checking out cool French web sites? Speaking French? Learning behaviors acceptable in French culture? The results would be interesting to analyze.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

What Do Parents Want?

Before Nov 23, Please read the article "Parents: Focus more on 21st-century skills Schools must do more to prepare students for information-age careers, say respondents to a national ed-tech survey"   at http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=61504

In your blog comment address the following questions.
Were you surprised with the survey and article?
What is one way you can learn what your students' parents are expecting?
Of course you can add anything else you wish and you are encouraged to read and comment on your colleagues' comments.