The Academia Gap and the New Philosophers
When I started grad school, my colleagues and professors discussed the separation between Academia (University-level teachers) and Classroom (K-12 teachers). The gap between research and application of the research to the classroom. To the teachers in our group it felt as if the professors or “Academia” we discussed just weren’t grounded in the real-world. We could read research paper and journals but it just seemed as if they were observing and not participating.
There was a gap and this gap made them separate from us - on the battle lines.
I am starting to see this gap develop between our classroom teachers and our new upper echelon of education technologists and bloggers out there. I think this was most noticed by the idea of “famous bloggers” from Scott McLeod’s post as well. It is also seen in the conversation taking place on Twitter and in the blogs of the new philosophers of the Web 2.0.
The group is adapting the new technologies so quickly for themselves and for the development of new communication for the edublogosphere. But, is it reflecting in our classrooms? Is it being shared by our teachers? Or are we getting so far ahead of ourselves that we are creating our own gap between research and reality?
I see communication on Twitter from the new philosophers (I like this title better than Famous Bloggers) asking us to provide them with teachers for conversations they want to have using the new technologies. I can see why it would be hard to find core teachers using Web 2.0 strategies like we use daily to communicate with one another! I don’t know of any teachers using Plurk or Twitter for that matter during the school year or even summer.
The blog conversations are so full of ideas and the push to “get our teachers onboard” and “motivate student learning” with these tools. Inspire them with collaboration and creativity! Really??!? That’s what our teachers need right now?
I am in the field. I know the push. I do. But frankly, it is getting embarrassing. I have tried most of the tools and even found a few I like personally. However, I don’t think most of my teachers would really give a flying flip about most of them or the conversations we are having. I think they see the great divide much more than we do. And that divide REALLY separates us from them.
For the past few months, I have played around the edge of the new philosophers. I have been reading their blogs, listening to the podcasts, reading the books they recommend, joining their Ustreams, and even observing the Twitter conversations about everything from baseball to new uses of technology. I have been an observer and an active participant.
But the gap is great and expanding. And I don’t want to go to their side and lose connectivity with the teachers I work with.
I wish I could Twitter and Plurk all day too.
I wish I could research blogs and contribute to the online conversation like they do.
I wish I could Ustream and connect with this global philosophy shift in live streaming.
I wish I could participate in their witty and fun conversations and travel tips they share all day and night.
I wish I could get online and ask for participants from your district because mine…well..they gave up on listening to me months ago because I am “too far out there”.
I wish I could read all those books you all talk about and listen to those podcasts while I get ready to take on a new day.
But I can’t. I have to work. I guess we can play together at NECC or TCEA someday.