Kevin Murphy's Page

I don't know if you will get this in time, but I am using application sharing in elluminate showing Google Wave to those that have not yet been able to get an invite. If you are interested, we will have the presentation at 7pm Central (a bit over and hour from now on 11/17/2009)/ Let me know if you are interested by sending me an e-mail at armoorefam@centurytel.net and I will send you the Elluminate room link.

If you miss it tonight but you are still interested, let me know and I can set up another session if there is enough interest.

Tammy Moore

Hi,

yes, you are absolutely right ! as the tools gets easier, tech knowledge should become less of a concern. However, this is not how the adventure of a teacher using technology for the first time usually begins. What I find is that teachers need time and must have a vested interest in it to gradually master, normalise and then say hey, tech is actually not such a big issue!
Many institutions I've worked with do not want to lose a tech talented teacher! That would be a crazy decision! Conversely, hiring new teachers w/o tech knowledge is not economical because there needs to be an investment of time and $$$$$ (loads of it!) to organise training and professional development for these teachers to make them both tech and pedagogically savvy!
But then again, I have seen and worked with teachers who are so well-versed with the technology (they can even pull apart a PC and put it back together again, create viruses etc) but they lack sound pedagogical knowledge. They use the tech, but not integrate it purposefully in the classroom...

Hi, Thanks for the feedback. It's interesting. Do you think that teachers who strive to normalise technology in their teaching should also be well-versed with technical stuff? I find it quite a challenge to identify teachers who are both (and equally) pedagogically sound and tech-savvy. Equally, many technologists lack pedagogical background and understanding...

Hi Mr. Murphy,

I read your comment on the 'Technology Integration group'. What did you mean by
(a) 'there is a demand for more direct tech instruction'?
(b) 'I don't see a future for this kind of position because as digital natives continue to enter the education field'?
I believe that the idea of 'digital natives' is a myth. Sure, there are students who seem to very good at computers but this is largely connected to social networking, gaming etc. When it comes to purposeful pedagogical engagement with computers, most are rather 'primitive'.

Hi Mr. Murphy,

With your work in Information Technology, I recommend you take a look at Wiziq's virtual classroom and authorstream's power point presentation platform. Both are web based platforms, have a bunch of features and free basic service.

Hi Mr. Murphy! Hope you're enjoying the winter break. I was wondering if you, your educator contacts or students would be interested in participating in a Vocab Video Contest @ MIT. Please let me know. Thanks!