The unrealized potential of ed tech
Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 05:41AM Scott McLeod in his post Dear Will. sends a challenge to Will Richardson who will be doing some workshops down in Iowa (Motto: Where it's always just a local phone call to God). Scott asks:
We’re ready for you to take our already-forward-thinking brains into 2015, 2025, or even 2050. We need to hear from you what the new information and technology landscapes are going to look like. We need to hear from you what school organizations could / should / MUST look like. And because you work with schools all over the world, we need to hear from you what innovative schools currently are doing to make the shift.
We can handle whatever you throw at us. Don’t be afraid to E-X-P-A-N-D our brains exponentially by asking us difficult questions and offering us enormous challenges. We need grounding in a future reality, but we also need concrete details about current and potential transformative practices. We need our mental models to be rearranged, reframed, and reconfigured. And, of course we want lots of opportunities for discussion and hands-on experiences. All that is not too much to ask, is it?!
The first thing that comes to mind is that I am damn glad it's not me that has to clean these Augean stables. "Grounding in a future reality"? Good luck, Will!
As much fun as speculating what education might or ought to look like in 2050 (I'll only be 98 years old, after all), I'd suggest energies are better spent in realizing the potential of the technologies and opportunities we have available to us - TODAY. These would be my questions for Will ...
- Why don't we now have an IEP for every child (and every teacher), with tech facilitating this today?
- Why doesn't every child have a laptop or netbook with 24/7 access to tutorials, information, and productivity tools for all learners with genuinely differentiated approaches and resource for each student TODAY?
- Why is not every teacher taking advantage of challenging/engaging game environments and MUVEs TODAY?
- Why is every teacher not taking advantage of a nearly unlimited number of resources to allow the creation of relevant assignments based on personal interests for every child TODAY?
- Why do teachers and students not have 24/7 access to information professionals (librarians) TODAY?
- Why do there only seem to be a few teachers in every school that make creativity, problem-solving and global interactions a priority TODAY?
Why are these things not the norm, but the exception TODAY? It would take no extra funds, no revolution, no scientific breakthroughs, no visioning. Just work.(And I'll bet these things are not universal even in the districts of the administrative geniuses Scott describes.)
My grandson is in school TODAY, so quite frankly, I want to know how education can be different when he walks into his classroom after lunch TODAY - not in 2050.
2050? - my grandkids may well have grandkids in school by then!
Oh, my 2050 bold predictions:
- Polar bears will be extinct.
- The rich will be getting richer and the poor, poorer.
- Computers will be smaller, faster and cheaper - but not a damn bit smarter.
- Educators will be worried about 2100 instead of 2050.
Help yourself, Will.
Image from: <http://memebox.com/futureblogger/category/Education>
Reader Comments (7)
I love the questions! Regardless of how people come down on answering these questions, it is so important to have these conversations, and to continue to have them. Indeed, it's important for those of use who are reform minded to be able to argue the opposing point-of-view so that we clearly understand our differences of opinion and respect those who think differently.
Your questions, Doug, remind me of a couple of posts I wrote using "What if" statements:
http://taffee.edublogs.org/2009/11/06/what-if/
and
http://taffee.edublogs.org/2009/11/16/what-if-another-bakers-dozen/
While it's enjoyable to act the role of provocateur, it's even more enjoyable to engage in conversation about important questions. Thanks for raising these!
Steve Taffee
Castilleja School
Great post! It takes hard work to affect the NOW. I don't have anything more to add!
I agree Doug. While it is important to think about what the future will look like, it is somewhat futile. We can not know beyond a few years what is to come. If we instead focus on what we could and should be doing, we might make some headway on some of those questions of yours. Your questions, by the way, are really on the mark! I might add one or two!
1. What can we remove from our curriculum that is now or soon to be obsolete to allow teachers more time to focus on these new skills?
2. How can we restructure the day to allow for more time to meet these needs?
I believe that your first two questions may be the key. If students have a device to access instruction and/or reinforcement that is targeted to their needs (including ongoing formative assessments with immediate feedback) this might free up teachers to take on some new learning in the other areas you mentioned.
Great questions, Steve. You have a new blog subscriber in me!
Doug
More great questions, Dave. The "what part of the curriculum to remove" is extremely important right now.
Doug
The technology IEP...I was kicking that around with my colleagues in the department when we were discussing the upcoming tech plan. That's the only way you would be able to get real staff improvements...but how do you create technology IEPs for 800+ staff members? The generalizations you get from online surveys/quizzes are interesting for us technology geeks, but are kind of broad and sometimes predictable. I wasn't surprised to see collaboration and creativity as low points in our review.
As always, an insightful (and funny) post, Doug. Thanks for extending the conversation over here. Our 1:1 superintendents aren't geniuses, but at least they're trying to move in the right direction. Wish I could say that most other administrators were too, whether here in Iowa or elsewhere.
I think visioning is important. I concur that we can do MUCH more with current tools, and I think your questions are fabulous. But we also need to look ahead if we want to do more than always play catch-up.
Hi Nathan,
You can find a description of our attempt to create IEP's (professional growth plans, really) for teachers related to techology in this article:
http://www.doug-johnson.com/dougwri/now-that-you-know-the-basics.html
All the best,
Doug
Hi Scott,
Thanks for your good humor about these little back-and-forths as well. Balance is something for which we all need to aspire may be the lesson here.
Have fun will Will and your sups. I'd be curious to know which districts have the more forward thinking individuals in Iowa. Always thought West Des Moines and Iowa City had great schools (or at least great individuals in those schools).
All the best,
Doug