Educon 2.1

It was a good conference. I enjoyed some of the presentations, and picked up a couple of valuable tools. Coming from a private school, I forget the constant struggle, whether real or perceived, between us (teachers) and them (school system). These conferences tend to be a rallying cry to the tech elite and administrators to fight for change or else become obsolete. On a lot of points I agree with them, but it still strikes me as funny, that we have to go through all of these "call to action meetings" in order to get people to use something that makes their lives easier, and helps kids get more out of their own learning.

I again look to other professionals and say "do you tolerate this?" Is using a new tool an option at your company? We have to move from the argument to use it, into the expectation that you will use it.

Do you get it?

I am coming to the realization that if you don't get or use technology in your personal life, you aren't going to get it or use it in your professional life. If you spend 2 hours a month online, don't get facebook and have never read a blog, I don't think you are going to all of a sudden start incorporating technology into your teaching. Why would you?

I also think that training only helps a little bit. If you can't learn on your own, or figure out how to use something on your own, there is only so much I can show you. A colleague told me I don't want to train them to do what I am doing, I want them to go off and create something new, something I could use. A few will, but most will only be able to follow a recipe, and unfortunately the thought of creating something new terrifies them.

Sorry I don't have any answers, only frustration.

Simplicity
Having just survived another Christmas, I have been thinking a lot about simplicity and minimalism. The 100 thing movement is an interesting concept, and personally one I would like to embrace. I am not sure how my wife or three kids would feel about it, but part of me thinks they might embrace the more streamlined lifestyle. Some things would be harder than others, like books and socks, but I guess more trips to the library wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Naturally I started thinking about these ideas and how they might shape or reshape a school’s technology landscape. Like most schools we have an abundance of “stuff” that we no longer use, and are in the slow process of getting rid of it. We also have an abundance of older desktops, monitors and printers cluttering classrooms and workspaces. We are moving away from this model, and are starting to lease laptops and provide specialized labs as well as centralizing our printing.

However, I would like to think beyond the infrastructure changes, and take a look at how technology can really help streamline and simplify the day to day operations of our school. My desk has piles of paper all over it, and I still waste time looking for stuff. Where is the paperless world I was promised? Meetings still take time to schedule, and collaboration still requires face to face meetings. There are better ways to do things, but like my family it may take a while for people to fully embrace the simple life.