Reply to Miguel Guhlin

THINKING OUT LOUD
Episode 006

Yesterday’s blog post by Miguel Guhlin (@mguhlin) caused me to think…and that caused me to want to share and think out loud…and now I’d really like to know how others respond…so…please read Miguel’s brief post about the Google Teacher Academy application process, then view my reply below and share your response.

I’d definitely appreciate it. 🙂

Please share your text/audio/video reply in the Comments section of this post or respond to the corresponding Seesmic conversation (Think video-based Twitter).

Published by

Clif

Clif Mims is a Christian, husband, father, teacher, cancer warrior, and fan of the Mississippi State Bulldogs and Memphis Grizzlies.

6 thoughts on “Reply to Miguel Guhlin”

  1. Ah, a fellow vlogger!
    I’ve been vloggin’ for three years now, but I’m finding it lacking in- what…? I don’t know. I can’t seem to put my finger on it.

    I’m craving a form of expression that allows my mind to hover a bit over a topic so I can absorb it in 3-D. Vlogging’s great on so many levels but the conversation among vloggers has never taken me as deep as that of writers.

    I’ll never stop vlogging, though.

    And what is this “Rifly” you speak of..?
    *shoots off to Google it* Oh, wait…I see the icons here…must explore….
    .-= Syd (EduNut)´s last blog ..EduNutty =-.

  2. Clif,

    Well done my friend. I too am more a vocal/visual person. When it comes to writing I tend to drag on or need to have people read my material before publishing because I am not a great writer.
    As for Miguel’s closing comment, via his feedback, I would not him to step down from his current position. He is to valuable for education. After all not everyone learns the same way. Thus, we educators do not teach and express ourselves the exact same way. I just wish that Google would provide alternative options to apply for their academies since not all of their products are visual either!

  3. I think Miguel raises another great question in his response here. Does this disqualify him from leading in a media rich environment. I would like to extend that to teachers as well. If a teacher cannot overcome the obstacles to these forms of media, should they be excused from the classroom?
    I think I could write for a very long time about this and still not bring my own mind to consensus. So here are some random thoughts about it. I think everyone can operate in modern media, but for some it is more difficult. I think even if you cannot do something great with it, the effort means a lot to the students. I think a person can lead in this scenario if they are very brave, and are willing to try (and probably fail a lot)for the sake of their teachers or students. I am not sure a person can lead in this situation if they simply refuse to take the risk. We ask our students to take risks every day, it has immeasurable benefits if they see us taking risks as well.
    For the record, we had a few teachers at our school that swore they could not opperate effectivly using modern media tools. They were told it was not an option, then they were given lots of support. They overcame, excelled, and engaged kids like they never could have otherwise.

  4. Teachers have to be able to reach their students in many different ways. As the technology becomes more friendly, I believe that teachers will be required to create videos to instruct students and to record interactions. Since all teachers are college graduates, it can be assumed that they can read and write. Google Teacher Academy requires something more from their applicants, though. GTA requires teachers to go above and beyond, which at bare minimum seems to include creating videos. How many of the presentations at the Tech Conference were related to videos?

  5. I really enjoyed both of the posts. Reading good writing is always a pleasure for me, and Miguel’s was a joy. I think both of you are right on,and it reminds me of the importance of giving students a lot of ownership on the products they create for me. I know I find writing intimidating, because there are alays better writers, or grammarians out there that will quickly judge you and tear you down for writing they feel is not up to par. however, the multimedia culture that is emerging does not seem to be a judgemental, and so i find that a safer crowd. I wonder what our students think of that?

  6. Clif, thank you for expressing so well the challenge each of us faces in overcoming our particular obstacles with ways of expression. There’s almost no way I could have shared the sentiments you have done in video myself, but in writing, such sharing is easy for me. So, you are right, we face the same challenges from opposite sides (gee, we could do one of those charts with 4 quadrants to show media rich, media poor, sharing style, etc. Your expression of the obstacles you face when writing are exactly what I face when pondering a video.

    Thank you for your empathy. Now, is a person who fails at this task not qualified to lead in a multimedia rich century as the one we’re now headed for? Should I step aside because video/audio are not…modalities…I’m able to do?

    This really does remind me of a shy teenager’s reluctance to dance…mortified really to dance. I’m reminded of Sir Ken Robinson and his story about the girl who had to dance to learn. What if that child could not dance but was forced to?

    Thanks so much,

    Miguel Guhlin
    .-= Miguel Guhlin´s last blog ..GTA for Admin – Ineffable =-.

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