I'll preface this post by saying that I have been an EdTech professional in K12 for 13+ years, in the same position as the first day I started my career in EdTech. To boot, I've been in the same small district for my entire educational career. I believe this gives me a certain perspective to watch our district evolve over the years.
For 13 years, I have been advocating more TRUE technology integration in our schools. In my mind, we still aren't there yet and I'm not just speaking of my own district, but countless others.
TRUE technology integration is hard to define if you don't first have a solid belief on what TRUE learning is. We struggled for years trying to convince folks that teacher-use of technology wasn't the end goal. We've also struggled trying to convince folks that just because a kid creates a Powerpoint(less) presentation to regurgitate information, doesn't mean she has used technology to better herself.
Over the last several years, I have seen an enormous swell of "Web 2.0" that educational folks have promoted for learning purposes. I have seen the same swell in physical devices that promise the same. The echoes of "this is where are kids live" still bounce around inside my mind.
My daily professional life collided today with my virtual one when a coworker sent me a link to Paul Barnwell's article in EdWeek. I read the article and all of the comments, some of which touted that the title of the article was misleading. One comment by Vicki Davis (@coolcatteacher) was reposted today on her own blog with additional commentary.
I'm writing tonight to say that I agree with both of them. They both are looking for ways that technology can be used by our students to enhance their learning, to promote real thinking and problem solving. They are finding ways to do this that are comfortable to them and their students. Paul has seemingly abandoned the short and quick nature of social networking tools because he values deep prolonged thinking, citing blogs as a way to do this. Vicki has found a way to use those short posts as a stepping stone to greater learning. (If either disagree with my summary, please feel free to comment!)
EdTech is neither a savior or a demon. First and foremost, it is a tool. As with any other tool, if you don't use it appropriately, you won't get the desired results. Every educator should be ignoring the gimmicky attraction and ask first, how will this help my kids learn?
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