When looking at the next five years, and perhaps beyond, technology is going to stretch our students, teachers and school systems; some will snap back as technology rushes forward and declare its to difficult reverting to older technology, some will break because of poor foresight and planning, and some will find the sweet spot and be able to expand and contract with the flux and flow of new devices, software and support requirements. In two recent discussions, 14 things that are obsolete in 21st century schools by Ingvi Hrannar Ómarsson and Iowa’s YouTube video Iowa: Did You Know by Dr. Scott McLeod, the impact of technology in our educational environment is a major topic in most learning decision forums. The formost questions asked in these discussions include; How important is technology? and What is the direction students, teachers and school districts need to meet the future?
In Ómarsson’s blog he is a proponent of free access to technology devices, powerful wifi connections, universal classrooms, healthy lifestyles incorporated into the school day, and he would like teachers and librarians to understand and embrace the technology movement. In a utopian society this approach would be successful, but today our schools are dealing with so many issues of personal safety, homelessness, budgets, hunger. Technology is the elephant in the room. As the need for bigger, better, faster technology the decision makers are overwhemled. Watching the Did You Know video clip it was important to realize the education board of Iowa is not going to have the think tank of technology decision makers to take them from 40th in the nation to the top 10.
Is there an answer? Maybe the designers of technology need to look at the impact they are creating and develop a smart way to implement technology in our schools. Instead of every school system developing their own technology environment, maybe it is time for collaboration of our edtech teachers where they build a universal requirement for educational technology (hardware, networks, devices) and then look at specialized requirements that meet school districts special needs. Instead of thousands of tech directors hidden in closets, as mentioned in Ómarsson’s blog, maybe it is time for a revolution of Edtech leaders to drive the requirements instead of the device company’s enticing and teasing the school boards and teachers with “latest, greatest, biggest, best” . Both McLeod and Ómarsson are right something needs to be done, but maybe a different approach in how we build our requirements is a better approach.
Ómarsson, I. (2014, February 26). 14 things that are obsolete in 21st century schools. Retrieved August 24, 2014, from http://ingvihrannar.com/14-things-that-are-obsolete-in-21st-century-schools/
McLeod, Scott. (2011, Aug. 4). Iowa: Did You Know? Retreived 28 August 2014 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1JyLYphevc
In Ómarsson’s blog he is a proponent of free access to technology devices, powerful wifi connections, universal classrooms, healthy lifestyles incorporated into the school day, and he would like teachers and librarians to understand and embrace the technology movement. In a utopian society this approach would be successful, but today our schools are dealing with so many issues of personal safety, homelessness, budgets, hunger. Technology is the elephant in the room. As the need for bigger, better, faster technology the decision makers are overwhemled. Watching the Did You Know video clip it was important to realize the education board of Iowa is not going to have the think tank of technology decision makers to take them from 40th in the nation to the top 10.
Is there an answer? Maybe the designers of technology need to look at the impact they are creating and develop a smart way to implement technology in our schools. Instead of every school system developing their own technology environment, maybe it is time for collaboration of our edtech teachers where they build a universal requirement for educational technology (hardware, networks, devices) and then look at specialized requirements that meet school districts special needs. Instead of thousands of tech directors hidden in closets, as mentioned in Ómarsson’s blog, maybe it is time for a revolution of Edtech leaders to drive the requirements instead of the device company’s enticing and teasing the school boards and teachers with “latest, greatest, biggest, best” . Both McLeod and Ómarsson are right something needs to be done, but maybe a different approach in how we build our requirements is a better approach.
Ómarsson, I. (2014, February 26). 14 things that are obsolete in 21st century schools. Retrieved August 24, 2014, from http://ingvihrannar.com/14-things-that-are-obsolete-in-21st-century-schools/
McLeod, Scott. (2011, Aug. 4). Iowa: Did You Know? Retreived 28 August 2014 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1JyLYphevc