Proudly admitting....I'm an Edupunk
Edupunk? That what I thought when I first heard the term this week. The fifteen year old girl that dyed her hair purple that still resides somewhere inside me was immediately interested in finding out what it meant.Apparently it is the brainchild of fellow blogger, Jim Groom. The term embraces the Do-It-Yourself style of inventive teaching and learning. In other words, directly opposing pre-packaged learning curriculum and software marketed by companies and embracing the mash-up of curriculum learning tools and web 2.0 applications available to create something much more personalized to the teacher and learner. Thereby creating the limitless extent to where that learning can go!
Watch this for a quick overview on Edupunk:
Despite brief acting out phases with my hair, I never really set out to be a non-conformist...but as a teacher...you do whatever it takes to reach and teach a child. For years, I supplemented or changed the curriculum where I needed to in order to suit my student. Now, as a teacher who has embraced web 2.0 in the past year, I find myself fully thrust into the role of Edupunk.
I am in awe of the amazing possibilities available with tools my students can use online voicethread, google docs, youtube, blogger, etc. AND...the limitless possibilites or what they can create using these tools together. I don't know why people are so afraid to try some of these new things and I get frustrated that with every new discovery it has been a fight to get security to unblock applications even just for teacher use!
Where do you stand on non-conformity? Are you an Edupunk?
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2 comments:
It is more akin to survival than non-conformity. With the other systems we risk losing any relevance when it comes to technology and learning. I almost think of it as a professional imperative. And I love the way you frame the whole experience as more of a logical extension of what teachers do to adapt to a group of students and their needs.
You know how I HATE that music and I can't image my conservative self ever linked to the word "punk" but, oh my gosh, I think I'm an edupunk! While I have always believed you need to work within the sytem, someimes the system is simply out of touch or broken, and if you want to do what's best for your students, you just have to give that goal "whatever it takes" status. I'm also someone who tends to ask for fogiveness instead of permission, so maybe I have always been an edupunk at heart!
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