Options?

by Shelly Blake-Plock

Been talking to a variety of folks recently -- from ed school professors to urban middle school principals to teaching interns to tech entrepreneurs to professional development pros to cutting edge engineering firms to high school presidents to third graders. And one thing keeps popping up in all of the discussions: technology isn't an option.

There used to be a time when digital technology was optional. This was in the era before the Internet. Before social media. Before mobile tech. That era is gone.

This is obvious to most people.

Unfortunately, it is not obvious to enough people in education itself. It is partly a matter of curriculum not keeping up with the times. If you have been successfully teaching the same thing for twenty-five years without tech, you sure as heck should be questioning why you need tech now. And your colleagues and students should be questioning why you've been teaching the same thing for twenty-five years, as well.

Refusing to create curriculum relevant to the world our children live in is not an option.

Likewise, it is a matter of a broken tradition of resource management that makes schools subservient to textbook manufacturers and the makers of various software. Hint: if your tech folks aren't able to use, make accessible, and mentor teachers on the use of open source material and applications, it is time to find new tech people. Hint number 2: a teacher who knows how to locate and use the public domain and open resources and apps available on the net is worth her weight in gold.

Failing to identify and implement resources that make tech accessible to all is not an option.

Lastly, technology is not about devices. Technology is about context. To focus on the device at the expense of the context is to set oneself up for failure and heartache. Our purpose in educating children is not to prepare them for college, it is to prepare them for the demands of whatever life throws at them. Likewise, the purpose of our integration of technology into learning is not to prepare students to be better consumers of devices, but to be more engaged and connected citizens in a world in which technology is the context.

Missing the context is not an option.



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