So far I still feel a little intimidated in writing on a Blog such as this, but I'm trying to force myself to be more reflective in my practices. The question I posted when I created this Blog was a funny one which I hadn't given much thought to as I punched it in. Nevertheless, Educational Technology was just something I fell into, as Quebec is in the midst of and educational overhaul.
To make a long story short, as a new teacher faced with minimal contracts, you take what you can get! And so that's a social science and language arts major ends up teaching a career development course based on internet research. In the end it was a good match, as the new Personal Orientation Project (or POP class - as the students call it) reflects the Ministry's ideals of "student centered exploratory learning." I could drone for hours considering the amount of educational jargon I've taken in over the last 3 years of professional days.
Yet, I had never really looked at my Outdoor Ed background as something useful for a "regular" classroom - but to my surprise, and especially in teaching POP, it helped quite a bit. Moreover, my less-than-stellar academic background led me into having some interesting employment while I was trying to find my way back into school. As a result, my experiences in the backcountry, be it BC, the Adirondacks or Europe, have given me a particular perspective on the world of work and it's relation to education. Hopefully, my students will absorb some of this wisdom.
So where do Outdoor Ed and Ed Tech really meet? It's not much of a jump at all really...Outdoor Ed is a largely relfective practice, where exploring, sharing, listening and discussing form the center of such interests. I am reminded stongly of my friend Anthony Berkers, who used to host "Pot Luck slide-shows" after one of his crazy climbing trips. And we would all gather in his basement Oooh-ing and Ahhh-ing as beautiful photos would ignite our imaginations. Simply put, most of the technology being developped under the umbrella of the Web 2.0 is based on this basic need: Share and discuss!
After a random phone call for some advice from a friend, I was asked to apply to my old CEGEP for a position in the Outdoor Education department. The only problem, is "Outdoor Ed" as a field does not exist in Quebec - Instead it is a sub-division of physical education. Unfortunately, none of my degrees are even close to Phys Ed, so I spent most of my afternoon Sunday fretting over my CV and anxiously e-mailing it to those concerned. Now I' into the Big Wait, where you nervously check your inbox for some kind of reply, with the uncertainty of rejection looming in the back of your mind.
Talk more soon,
TW
PS: This week's picture reminds me of this December 21st - After two days of -20 degree temperatures, we got a nice dump from Toronto - Which led to a very unproductive afternoon of skiing steep slopes right down to the highway.
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I came into teaching through Outdoor Education as well. I found my OE experiences have created much of the teacher I am. As an OE person we know what it means to let "the mountains speak for themselves", when to use it and when to process. We know what it means to process with kids. We spend time thinking reflecting- the metacognitive of OE may involve "why did I fall there", "why did the slope let go", "why did I make that decision" - this is just part of our nature. In OE there simply have never been clear, factual answers so we are comfortable with the open road of inquiry. And OE folks are risk takers, willing to try new things for the gain they may provide.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great question:
ReplyDelete"So where do Outdoor Ed and Ed Tech really meet?"
For me they are almost one and the same in that they both offer the opportunity for students to be the leaders and the co-creators in the learning... if we provide the right scaffolding and we allow them to do so.