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.