How do we bring administrators on board with 21st century possibilities for teaching and learning?
This question has been on my mind since Wednesday, when a colleague shared with me that her principal came to her classroom while she was embarking on a movie making project with her class. In front of the students, he asked her to explain what standards she was addressing and to justify how filmmaking fit into the 4th grade curriculum.
She called me to ask what resources she might share to help him understand the rationale for filmmaking and other forms of digital composing as part of the core curriculum.
Here are my recommendations:
Technology integration in general:
- Begin with NCTE’s working definition of 21st century literacies, which clarifies that we can no longer distinguish between literacy in general and technology literacy in particular.
- Move on to the ISTE NETS, which many states and districts have already adopted (my district is in the process of adoption).
- Provide a window into the ISTE NETS via the classroom scenarios on Vermont’s Transformation Technology wiki.
Movie making in particular:
- Direct him to Mathew Needleman’s site for a view into filmmaking within the Open Court reading curriculum.
- Give him a tour of a student film festival, such as our regional SEVAs competition.
- Invite him to join a conversation I started following last year’s SEVA Awards Night: A Case for Filmmaking in the Classroom.
How are you helping administrators bypass all those 20th century bus stops and keep moving forward? I invite you share any resources you think might help this wonderful, wonderful teacher help her principal!
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