What does the way you play have to do with embracing change and how does this impact you as a professional?

The field of education and technology is ever changing and evolving.  Just in the short time frame from when I was in school and to when I began teaching, both of these have change drastically.  The current way we teach assumes that the world will stay the same and the information will always be the same.  Speaking of how the world is every changing Brown and Thomas state,  "But our contention is that the pool of unchanging resources is shrinking, and that the pond is providing us with fewer and fewer things that we can even identify as fish anymore."  This quote to me shows the importance of being open to change and knowing that some things may always hold true but many things don't as we go along. 

There has been a huge jump in the amount of technology and there has been some resistance to it.  "When change comes slowly adaptation is easy." Technology in the classroom and professionally has not come slowly and it can be "scary".  Edutopia looks at ten ways to help teachers teach technology. This to me is just as important as teaching students how to use technology.  Can't embrace change if you don't understand it.  The authors school district requires that five days of technology training over the course of three year.  A couple of the ideas stick out, one of them is show don't tell. Instead of doing a book study, each grade level focuses on learning about a different technology application.  Lastly one that seems to be quick and easy at the end of staff meetings give teachers less than a minute to tell about their favorite application they are using in the classroom.

My gamer DNA stated I was a killer and than close in second an explorer (Bartle Test of Gamer Psychology, 2006). I was 87% killer and 80% explorer, this in a way does not surprise me.  Looking back on the amount of technology and games I played growing up was very little.  Even though I grew up in a generation that had endless and ever changing gaming systems and games, I did not play them much as a child. I look at certain board games that were played growing up, and even as adults, and my killer personality defintley comes out. In terms of explorer I think this is evident is the use of technology and new things in the classroom.  I may not know what it is but I will explore it and research it until I am able to use it.

My knowledge of games and how to use them in a sense hinders the use of them in my classroom.  In my classroom it is not a matter of being resistant to the change but I don't have much experience to them. I think change is a wonderful thing and I am beyond open to it, my killer and explorer personality speak to that.  "It means viewing the future as a set of new possibilities rather than something that forces us to adjust." The world is ever changing and professionally the change is a good thing.  It means more challenging experiences for our students and a learning experience that is personalized to their needs and learning styles.  Here's to using my killer and explorer personality to incorporate more useful technology into the classroom!


A New Culture of Learning-Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change-Douglass Thomas and John Seely Brown

Bartle Test of Gamer Psychology
http://www.gamerdna.com/quizzes/

Edutopia Ten Ideas for Teaching Teachers Technology  (2012)
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/teaching-teachers-technology-monique-flickinger