Technology: Time, Perspective, Priorities

I read a tweet recently that, I must admit, annoyed me a little. It suggested that teachers are the reason that technology is not advancing as quickly as it ought in the public school system. I would like to submit a different point of view.

In a previous article “Gone Fishing”, I spoke of students having greater equality access to knowledge and more opportunities to be challenged to their highest potential with the use of technology [despite the teacher]. Also, in my article “I don’t have the time” I highlighted that everything we do is measured in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, grading periods, semesters, or academic years to name a few. Put the two ideas together and it occurs to me it comes down to time, perspective, and priorities.



Time
Teachers are concerned with “engaged time”; inviting students to participate in learning activities; technological or otherwise. If this is true, then how can a teacher be expected to find the time to finish all the “have to’s” participate in board initiated professional development, take additional qualifications, raise a young family, …

even if …
i pads or i phones or
moogle or google or
blogs or gadgets or bing…
That you use is the very best one,
Learning without time is just no fun.


Perspective
Perspective is a powerful tool. Perhaps we need to put aside the “have to’s” and change perspective in the way we define our jobs. Consider Dufour’s story about a young woman who observed three tradesmen at work. Each tradesman was doing the same activity. She went to the first tradesmen and asked what he was doing; he replied “I’m just laying brick”. She went to the second tradesmen and asked what he was doing; he replied “I’m building a wall”. She went to the third tradesmen and asked what he was doing; he replied “I’m building a Cathedral”. Each one had the same task to complete, but three very different perspectives on what he was accomplishing.

Instead of “laying a brick” focus on “building a Cathedral”…

even if …
i pads or i phones or
moogle or google or
blogs or gadgets or bing…
That you use is the very best one,
Learning without perspective is just no fun.



Priorities
Once you have decided to “build a Cathedral” then anything is possible. The Savvy Duck suggests a number of factors when choosing to use hardware or software. Here is his quick list:
• Does it really solve the problem or do I just want to use it?
• How long will it take to integrate and build from?
• Does anyone in the building have any experience using it?
• How much does it cost and are support agreements available?
• What is the licensing scheme?
• How big is the internet community?
• What are the posts like in the support forum (if there is one)?
• How long has it been available?

If you decide in the end that it does meet the criteria to assist your students in their learning, then time no longer becomes an issue. You cannot choose to create more time, but you can choose your focus…

even if …
i pads or i phones or
moogle or google or
blogs or gadgets or bing…
That you use is the very best one,
Learning with priorities is so much fun.