What should teachers do?

I am motivated to write this time by a great post I read this morning on Lee Kolbert's blog I'm Not Who You Think I Am

"[I] Read Will's post AND the comments because reading it all made me realize this about myself: I suck! I must be a fraud. I'm not who you think I am!"
She has rules in her classroom and schedules, etc...
 
This led me to Will Richardson's blog Parents 2.0 a Back to School Dilemma and I am sure I will be reading more.

This touches on one of the main reasons that I wanted to be back working in a school setting. Sometimes there seemed to be a huge gap between what I read and heard and even said in conferences and what is really happening in schools. I felt hypocritical telling teachers what to do when I wasn't clear on HOW it can be done. This is something I have written about in the past. Observations of Computers in Classrooms is one post I could find from 2005, but I know I have been thinking it for a long time.


Now I have been working in an elementary school for three years (going on four). In the school we have SO much technology available that there is no reason to avoid its use. Teachers must use it for attendance, emailing parents and even grading. There have been a few fantastic projects. Some teachers have Skyped, a few did podcasts or radio programs, Google Earth was used for learning about biomes, all teachers have web pages and are learning to communicate with them. But I still feel unsatisfied. Why?


Thanks Lee, for your response. I work in an Elementary school with excellent teachers who struggle to find time to learn and use technology. Most of them are not resistant, just overwhelmed with new programs for reading and math, new standards for science, new forms to fill out for RTI. Some of them do some terrific technology projects during the school year, but it is possible that a Web 2.0 parent might be horrified with what they hear at Back to School. Hopefully not....