Teacher 2.0

Jeff Utecht posts a number of questions to ask potential teachers with regards to technology. I like the fact that his questions really focus on the teacher and their capacity and willingness to use the technology for their own personal learning.

You will notice that my list says absolutely nothing about integrating technology or how the teacher uses technology in his/her classroom. No, this list focuses directly on the skill set and the tools these teachers use for their own learning. I want to know what personal technology skills these teachers bring to my school. I want to know how much PD time it is going to take to get them from where they are, to where I believe they need to be in order for the learning environment to change.

In his post Jeff describes the answers he would expect from prospective teachers on each of the following questions:

1. 1. Being able to look up information and resources on the web is an important skill. Explain how you go about looking up information on the web.
   2. How do you verify that the information you found is trustworthy and of use to you?
   3. What is your philosophy regarding the filtering of internet sites?
   4. Do you read any blogs? If so, which ones?
   5. Do you have an RSS reader? If so, what do you subscribe to?
   6. Do you belong to any online communities?
   7. Tell me a story of something you learned from your network?
   8. Tell me how you think the future you are preparing children for will be different?
   9. What is your favorite gadget and why?
   10. How often do others come to you for guidance in using technology?
   11. Describe the last new technology that you used and how you used it — and how you learned it?
   12. Describe the last thing you learned related to your work, that you didn’t learn in a classroom or from a book, and describe how you learned it.

Jeff bases his questions on posts from Doug Johnson and from David Warlick who says,

If a prospective teacher can demonstrate to me that he or she is a continual learner, and that he is using technology to learn, then I’m interested. Otherwise, I see a relic of times that are long past and a danger to the students in my school.

Priscilla, a new blogger, echoes his thoughts in her post when she asks, Are we holding ourselves back from inevitable change?

How will we know if we are giving our students our best, and allowing them to experience the best opportunities possible if we are holding ourselves back from the change around us?

Are you a teacher 2.0? How would you respond to the questions Jeff poses?