Education has an above-average ability for devising intriguing acronyms. The three above are just a few. Yet, acronyms like these are the one I believe will be the true power behind any initiative involving integration of technology in education.
Let me back up a decade or so. I've been the CIO/Tech Coordinator for a relatively small district (roughly 2100 students as of today) since 1999. While many of my early years in the position were spent on getting my feet wet, inheriting projects from my predecessors, learning new things and worrying about the Y2K apocalypse that never happened, I also spent a good deal of time planning for how to integrate more technology in the classroom.
The term integration has evolved over time. At one time, it used to mean that the teacher could utilize technological tools for whole group instruction, or if we were lucky, small group and perhaps individual practice. Just a few years ago, integration meant that students were given multiple opportunities to use technology for education. We are still grappling with what "multiple" means; mostly we grapple with that term when it comes to technology because of the resources we have available to us. At least I hope that is the reason. Consider if 30 years ago, we evaluated our use of instructional resources using the statement, "students are give multiple opportunities to use a textbook to enhance their learning." That's just silly.
Opportunity is not enough. How the technology is used is more important than the fact that it was used at all.
That brings us to today. There has been a resurgence of a need for thinking, deep thinking. Deep thinking is nothing new in human history; I contend that we've lost our way (at least in education as a whole) over the last several decades, perhaps a century give or take, on the journey to build thoughtful, creative minds. What we've built instead is a complex system of accountability that nourishes teaching low-level skills.
In the technology realm, I've seen district after district investing enormous amounts of money in technology initiatives. While some of these initiatives are software-based, I would like to concentrate on the hardware-based initiatives, specifically 1:1 or even BYOD.
What I have heard from teachers and parents in districts (no, my reach isn't wide, but I listen) that have some sort of 1:1 program is that it is failing. It is failing for a number of reasons: teachers aren't prepared; students haven't been taught how to resist the temptation of playing games, etc. It's not failing across the board, some teachers have learned to adapt. Yet, if the adaption is "put your iPad away", then they're missing the point.
Giving every kid a device to access information is not enough. Opportunity is not enough.
Integration today means using available devices hand-in-hand with developing the thinking, creativity, communication/collaborative skills necessary for being a productive citizen in our global society.
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