Pedagogy

 At a recent presentation I used the Promethean ActivExpressions, a learner response system, to poll about two hundred teachers, administrators and technologists asking the following question among others: “Besides funding, what is the number one problem in education?” I received some very thoughtful and thought provoking responses as the participants texted in their answers, but one reoccurring theme stuck out to me. There is not enough time.

Combining the “Best Instructional Materials”¹ with the highest rated² Video-on-Demand System from SAFARI Montage is giving middle and high school math teachers an opportunity to reach their 21^st century students in a manner that speaks the students’ language.

Teaching and learning with technology has been proven to raise student achievement. We also have a recent body of evidence that points to our ability to use these powerful experiences to engage students in civic action and take on socially responsible roles in their local communities. At the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, we use SAFARI Montage to do just that.

Several years ago I watched a series on PBS called “Frontier House”. During the series, three modern families lived in Montana for five months as if it were 1880. The adults and the children lived as our pioneer forefathers did; building houses, milking cows, killing and plucking chickens, raising their own food, harvesting crops and cutting firewood. Working to support the family was the daily norm from oldest to youngest.
 

One thing that is for sure, the rapid change in technology shifts even the most subtle habits of human beings. Several weeks ago, a guest speaker using one of our school facilities expected that a videocassette player would be readily available for her presentation. A half hour later, the school principal found one locked in a closet, dusted it off, and assisted in setting up the equipment for the guest speaker. After the panic mode settled, the realities of how schools have dramatically shifted from managing video assets and clunky carts with equipment in order to make video content accessible in the classroom elicited laughter, as well as a sigh of relief. In only two years, video content distributed on videocassettes or DVDs have nearly disappeared from the radar in our school buildings here in Baltimore County Public Schools.