Thursday, February 02, 2006

Moving Beyond the Theoretical

On the TechLearning weblog, David Jakes has asked an important question with his post, “One Big Giant Taffy Pull.” Why isn’t there more talk about the actions that people are taking in using technology as a catalyst for change? And it’s an interesting one…

Is the ed tech blogoshpere all just talk....talk that leads to little else? There is a lot of good thinking and conversation about technology and educational change. Is this talk making a difference? Some other questions that popped into my head after reading David’s post:

  1. Are our leaders (not just technology leaders) in touch with the philosophical base that much of the ed tech discussion is built on?
  2. If they are “getting it,” do they actually lead to move their schools and classrooms beyond the philosophical?
  3. Do our leaders actually model, for the rest of the system, the curiousity to move beyond the talk into action—action focused on clear goals with a plan for assessment?

Our schools in general have leaders that, through habit, get so wrapped up in the minutia of the system, that they lose sight of the possibilities and consequently never take action. And those of us who might have an understanding of the possibilities of technology are falling victim to the same narrow vision as those “leaders.” Even when we realize this, it may still be a challenge to deal with the “minutae vision” being touted by our myopic leadership.

Dave’s call for us to be more vigilant in our actions is a good one. That action, coupled with the continued conversation, will make a difference. Let’s get away from the minutia and get down to putting these ideas into action.

Posted by Randy on 02/02 at 08:06 PM
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