My struggle now is to continue to work on preventing my propensity for cool tools (toys) from coloring my promotion of education practices and facilities that are more relevant to today’s children, today’s prevailing information environment, and the unpredictable future for which we are preparing our children.
This is indeed the challenge of anyone who likes technology and education. In this sense, I often think that the best people to turn to when we are designing and implementing technology for learning are the educators who confess to *not* liking technology. The rest of us — the self-confessed techies — are too often victims of The Latest Thing, and we preach about its relevance to education as if it’s going to change the world. The fact is, we must focus on the *learning* first, and I love that Warlick is honest enough to admit that he struggles with this challenge. I think we’ve all been victim of this, to be honest (those of us who like technology, anyway).
I do hope we can look with fresh eyes on learning, not on the cool tools. Let’s use the tools that makes learning stick, rather than throwing tech at learning to see what tech sticks.
Adrienne, event with that confession, I also know, from self-reflection, that as I get older, I am increasingly reluctant to jump on new tech as instructionally appropriate. I am more skeptical than I use to be. My first response is, "But why?" Why are you buying iPads for all of your students? I like using tech. I like what it empowers me to do. I even like to show it off. But that’s the balance, between my love of tech and my passion for educational experiences that are relevant to today’s children, today’s information environment, and an unpredictable future.Thanks for the post! I love Posterous and am trying to find a way to work it into my general conversations. I like how you are using it…David Warlick
Thanks for the feedback, David. It really is about balance, and sometimes like you said above, we have to consciously be aware of maintaining that balance. It’s a tough but it’s all for the future of the kids we teach, right?