Yahoo is about to launch some sort of teacher tool. Here’s a piece of the promotional text from the "get ready" page: #
Get ready to create, modify, and share standards-based curriculum.Oh, rapture. That just screams sexy, doesn’t it? #
#
In all seriousness, though, I’m curious to see what they’re building here. Might be handy. Perhaps we’ll get to know soon.
Their first strike? My school’s not listed in their "peer network." Might that be fixed soon? #
Oh, and while I’m thinking about it, while I think it’s wonderful that big technology companies like Google and Yahoo are putting some resources into teacher professional development, I have a real concern about the "certifications" that both Google and Yahoo, as well as other corporate "partners," are offering to teachers. #
I understand the business angles around entering into arrangements with teachers. If we teachers are "certified" in your products, that means we’re probably more likely to use them with our students. That means we’re helping to build user bases. I am okay with that if the tools and products are good ones. Such relationships are also good PR, as well as good things for businesses to be involved in. I don’t believe that every corporation is necessarily evil. Many folks in business honestly want to help schools. That’s a good thing.
But since when did we need a bauble or two from a company, along with a sticker, t-shirt, or resume line, stating that we were "certified" to use their stuff? In light of the certification conversation over at Will’s place, I wonder what others think about whether or not a few hours spent with a corporate cadre is a meaningful certification.
Sure doesn’t sound like one, at least from much of what I see. But teachers get something out of that deal, I’m sure. Why else would so many folks become Discovery STAR Educators, or Google Certified Teachers, or Yahoo Teachers of Merit?
Do we want to belong to something that badly? Do we desperately crave that praise that we’re not getting elsewhere? Or is there a deeper something there? A greater understanding that translates into hours of free labor and word of mouth marketing for those corporations in exchange for some coupons, clothing and community? (Disclaimer — I actually really like the WOMMA philosophy — I think it’s a refreshing and honest approach to marketing. I’m afraid this post doesn’t sound so kind to those ideas.)
I’m realizing that I’m beginning to sound rant-y, which is not my intention. I’m genuinely curious here – are these meaningful, two-way partnerships, or are we lowly teachers being taken advantage of a little bit? #
Bud,
I’m now curious. I would really like a chance to work within a network that allowed teachers to experience and experiment, build links and networks and develop our abilities. I’m a bit hesitant but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. BTW, teachers are looking for some recognition. The education system has been taking a beating for much too long and teachers are weary. It’s not just in the US but in many countries. The technology has moved so quickly and society, which traditionally looks to education for some stability is seeing that even we are unsure of how to handle these changes. Teachers are looking and Yahoo might just have been the first out of the gate!
Yahoo! Teachers
Coming soon
(HT: TeachAndLearn via Twitter Bud the Teacher)
…
Bud,
Just a further interesting bit about this Yahoo Teacher thing, when I checked, not only is your school missing, but my country is missing. Poor ol’ marginalized Canada again…I wonder if they’ve considered making this thing international in its scope…I’m still optimistic…
Great blog, I read and lurk often…Thanks.
RM
Hi RM -
Thanks for the feedback. We’re working on expanding our initial school feed – as you can imagine it’s a challenge to keep up with the rapid development of schools. To your second point, our beta launch will be for the US market, but we are definitely planning for Yahoo! Teachers to be an international product, supporting educators worldwide.
Regards -
Gailene
Yahoo! Teachers
Web 2.0 for Teachers
Yahoo is launching a site for teachers. I assume it will be similar to the Google Educator resource site. When I took a look, I thought it seemed pretty interesting. Over at Bud the Teacher, Bud Hunt questions whether these sites are really what they s…
Ditto, the missing country…
but at least you can zoom into Canada and see some of the little details like, oh I don’t know, Streets! and Roads!
I have to admit I signed up for info on teachers.yahoo, always a sucker for a new angle, but then again I’m still (three years on) trying to work out what Yahoo are planning with Yahoo360…
Are you just in DEN for the coupons?
I was reading a post by a friend of mine, Bud the Teacher, about the new Yahoo Educators Network (YEN?) group and came to a screeching halt when I read this: I wonder what others think about whether or not
Every once in awhile, I question the motives of Discovery Education for setting up The Discovery Educator Network. Yes, I am sure that it is done to market a product and yes, it is fun to get some goodies every once in a while. I just showed a copy of Planet Earth Pole to Pole that I won to my students. Very nice perk. I am also really looking forward to the opportunity to be a part of the Summer Institute in Berkley this summer. A really wonderful perk. But what really drives me is being in the company of so many creative and innovative people who are pushing the envelope and really trying to be the best educators they can be. I know that I am not the only innovative teacher in my community, but it often feels that way when we are all so busy doing our own thing in our own classrooms. This is my window to that excitement for learning and the creativity in the teaching craft that made me want to become a teacher 16 years ago. Along with my wonderful students, the DEN is my fuel to keep persevering and finding better, more meaningful and more motivating ways to engage students in learning.
I belong to discovery Educator network because I have gotten so many innovative and new ideas to work in my classroom. I am not sure about the other networks, Google or Yahoo because evehtough they are just up the street from where I live, I don’t know very much about their programs. Discovery connects us together with valuable resources. I too look forward to Atlanta NECC and Berkeley.
Chuckle, chuckle…coupons??? (I don’t clip them.) clothing??? (I end up shrinking them.) community? YOU BETCHA!!! As both a STAR DEN educator and a Google Certified Teacher I can attest to the fact that I’m not in it for the tangible perks. I’m in it for the tremendous support provided by my colleagues in these organizations (both my fellow teachers and the incredibly dedicated individuals working for both DEN and Google). Often, our schools/administrators lack the resources to adequately recognize and supports its teachers in technology endeavors. Both DEN and Google do an AMAZING job to fill that gap.
Bottom line: My students and district colleagues have benefited from my participating in DEN and the Google Teacher Academy. I know that the knowledge and support that I receive from my ‘family’ at both DEN and Google HAS made an impact on student achievement. Now, that’s the REAL ‘perk’!
User groups! That’s what we used to call them in the last decades of the last century of the last millennium. The one I joined in the early 80′s to learn how to get the most out of my Apple II was started by local ham radio operators. Apple, PC and Amiga users gathered once a month to share tips and ideas. We had a phone list of “experts” to help with immediate needs and problems which led to a bulletin board system and eventually a web page. It’s about time educators and corporations catch up to the power of these learning communities. Teaching used to be a very isolated profession. Anything that gets educators sharing, exploring valuable tools, and receiving recognition can’t be bad for students and schools.
I’m a STAR Discovery Educator. I cannot lie and say that the perks aren’t great — it would be impossible to deny that spending a few days on a Bahamas Cruise this summer is not a perk! However, at the time I became a STAR DEN member, and at the time that I volunteered to devote my time to the Texas Leadership Council, I did not have any idea that I would be getting to go to National Institute this summer. During my time with the DEN, I have received things like pens, t-shirts, a laptop bag, and the ever-useful lab coat. I can tell you that, without all these incentives, I would STILL be just as active in the DEN as I am today. Why? Because I believe in the power of a group of really fantastic educators (their bios are truly impressive and I feel privileged to get to tag along). Since I’ve been a member, I have gained knowledge to integrate technology into my curriculum and I have gained the confidence to really believe I can do it! Every free professional development event I’ve attended with Discovery has been something I would have gladly paid for. Yes, Discovery lets us know about their products, and yes, they give us opportunities to share that information with our peers, BUT Discovery NEVER makes us feel like we have to do so to maintain our status in the DEN. On the contrary, the requirements for us to remain STAR educators do not include having to “push” any Discovery product — we only have to believe in technology integration to the point that we share what we learn with our collegues. In the events I’ve attended with Discovery, I can only think of one that had anything to do with a Discovery product — the rest of them were simply products that the Discovery team believed would be helpful to us, and more importantly, to our students. The Discovery Educator Network is a keeper!
Bud,
As a NBCT, I invited you to visit my Language class webpage.
It is a current testimonial to the knowledge and technology applications I learned from being a part of the Discovery Educator Network. My students and I are posting interactive PowerPoints, podcasts, embedded widgets, a wiki blog site, on-line created activities and quizzes, webquests and MORE! The professional development I needed to guide my students to this level didn’t come from the NBCT process or my own district. It came from my connection with the leaders and members of the DEN. What small perks I earn, such as videos, t-shirts, etc. are passed on to my students as COVETED PRIZES for THEIR efforts and successes. So, yes, I enter competitions to earn them. While our district budget is scrambling to cut staff and services to minimize the 5 MILLION dollar budget short-fall, I have needed the opportunity offered to STAR DEN to purchase equipment at a discount. I need the connections I make through the DEN to put me in touch with tech suppliers who are helping me find a way to purchase a used SMART Board system to go with the projector and audio recording devices I purchased earlier this year. I have purchased (from my own personal funds) over $2,000.00 worth of products this year alone – NONE of it directly from Discovery. What perks are Discovery gaining from me? There are only givers or takers in this world. Discovery gives. I take. I give to my students. They take. I know they will DISCOVER a way to give back.
This spring I became a Star Discovery Educator, and my intentions for doing so had nothing to do with getting, or taking, but learning. As teachers, we are all life-long learners -that’s part of the job. If there are organizations out there that are willing to assist us, so in turn we can assist our students, great!
All right, I would be lying if I didn’t say the “perks” were nice. I also will be sharing a copy of Pole to Pole that I won, and as another TN LC person will tell you, I am very competitive. Therefore, for every contest that comes out, I am all over it! That is not why I joined the DEN though. I love the networking that I can do with other educators. I have learned so much from the people involved with the DEN, and I will continue to do so. Without everyone at the DEN I would not be into digital stories or podcasting. Yes, I would still be using technology, but probably not to the extent that I am now. If I didn’t believe in what Discovery was doing I would never have thought of becoming part of the TN LC, but I do so I did. Thank you to everyone who has contributed and will continue to contribute to the DEN; this sharing helps all of us become better teachers!
I copied portions of my blog response to your question below:
I am a STAR Discovery Educator and a member of the Pennsylvania leadership council. I have to agree that I, too, initially questioned the same. Yet, regardless of Discovery’s corporate motivation, not a single person could possibly question the motivation of Coni, Hall, Jannita, Lance, Scott, Betsy, Steve, and the other Discovery Educator Network directors and managers. I have had extensive opportunities to work with the Discovery team. They are unquestionably driven by the goal of supporting teachers and, thus, extending student learning.
Yes, the perks are great. I’m looking forward to geek camp part 2 this summer . . . I wear my DEN sweatshirt and lab coat with pride. I love testing out new features on unitedstreaming and Science Connections. While those extras are certainly appreciated, they are not the reason that I remain an active member of the Discovery Educator Network and coordinate the Pennsylvania blog.
The connections I have made with teachers from all over the country – people to whom I look for inspiration and support – are invaluable. Though I fancied myself somewhat tech-savvy before the DEN, I was misguided. Since joining the DEN nearly two years ago I have become empowered to engage my students in rigorous and relevant ways with exciting 21st century technologies (blogs, podcasts, wikis, digital storytelling, social learning, etc.) Might I have stumbled across those applications on my own? Perhaps. Though I can say with absolute confidence that my current students would not be experiencing all these technologies and more this school year. My adoption these technologies would have be significantly slower.
The members of the DEN have become a tightly-knit community of teachers who all support each other through ideas, suggestions, and online and face-to-face collaborations. I have come to rely upon this community for my ongoing professional growth and my students have been the beneficiaries of outstanding commitment of Discovery educators to perfect the art of science of teaching in the 21st century.
While it is not out of the realm of possibility that we may have all found each other online at some point in time, I would assume that we would have been unable to generate the supportive cohesiveness that Discovery has structured for us.
I am a better teacher because of my affiliation with Discovery and my students continue to benefit. I am motivated and engaged to push myself – to extend my own command of technology and content. Every time I leave a physical or virtual DEN event my mind is awash with implementation ideas. I just can’t wait to get back into my classroom to engage my students.
Anything that can accomplish the task of sustaining professional creativity and excitement is a good thing. In the nine years I have been teaching I have sensed a marked (and negative) shift in the public perception of education. I think teachers find themselves increasingly more isolation (both literally and figurative) at precisely the moment when they most need supportive professional learning communities. The demands of our profession have increased exponentially in recent years (and, no, I am not just referring to the fallout of NCLB). The megatrends of which Dr. Willard Daggett speaks – globalization, demographics, technology, and values/beliefs – have created a perfect storm of change agents that necessitate schools adapt or go the way of the dinosaur.
So, this was a verbose response to Bud’s question. There IS something deeper here. Based on many of the comments to Bud’s posting I feel that I am not alone in that assertion. I firmly believe that teaching is much more than a profession; it is a calling. Great teachers do not simply “go to work” each morning. Teaching is a lifestyle and teachers live to see their students achieve. I know so many educators who sacrifice day in and day out to facilitate those “a-ha” or epiphany moments with their students. The Discovery educators with whom I have collaborated are among the very best of the dedicated and creative teachers I have ever known. It is inspiring just to be around them and, yes, I DO want to belong to something like this “that badly.”
I just finished the Google Academy and I echo much of what is said above. It is about sustaining learning, connections with educators, great ideas and staying inspired.
But at least for me there is another idea…Bud you question the certification concept..I ask where else do we turn for 2.0 education and putting some kind of legitimacy to what we are doing. The University programs I have looked into are not up to speed…it goes back to a post from will quite a while ago…What paths are there to receiving knowledge and how do we recognize them…I am a private school principal and I want to move 2.0 education ahead in my district…so putting “google certified” after my name opens doors or more specifically people’s minds. Could it be more rigorous…yes but it is a good start.