Yesterday was (unofficially) my first day as a local RÉCIT consultant for general adult education.
What does this mean? RÉCIT is a French acronym, standing for “réseau de personnes-ressources pour le développement des compétences des élèves par l’intégration des technologies.”
(and now in English) What does this mean? “a network of resource people for the development of student competencies through the integration of technologies.” (definitions found here)
(and now, what does that really mean?) My role is as a helping professional, and it is two-fold:
- to help and support the teachers at two Adult Education centres as they integrate technology into their teaching practices in purposeful ways.
- to help the centres refine their plans for purposeful integration of technology into their programs.
Purposeful is key here. There is no sense integrating technology for the sake of flashing shiny new gadgets around a building. Those of you who have read some of what I have been writing for the past 6 years or so know that, though I use a lot of technology in my own teaching and reflective practice,
- I am not a techno pusher per se.
- I don’t necessarily believe that all will be lost unless we immediately incorporate technology into our teaching practices.
- I don’t believe that it is malpractice to teach in non digital ways.
One of the reasons I went in before my official first day of work (Monday) was that Avi Spector, the (yes, the. If I understood correctly, the English system has 1 regional RÉCIT consultant, the French system has 17 for the same region…) regional RÉCIT consultant for Adult Education was visiting and I had a wonderful 1/2 hour (ok, maybe it lasted closer to an hour?) scheduled to talk with him. My biggest takeaways from meeting with him were that
- a) he loves what he does,
- b) he is extremely helpful
- and c) he shares my belief that pedagogy comes first. Techno bling is not worth much if doesn’t enhance good, solid pedagogy.
I had a lot of fun meeting the people I will be working with for the next 4 months. I spent yesterday at one of the centres, I will visit the other centre on Wednesday. So far everyone I have met seems to love what they do, so that is already a bonus! How lucky am I that I get to work with a group of people who love what they do? Talk about inspiring.
