Adopt and Adapt

Adopt and Adapt! I agreed with this article. I think there are too many, "Oh, but I'm afraid _______ will happen." I like how the article notes that we are like that with everything new that hits the market. It's not just technology. Then there are so many teachers and people who are not only afraid but also somewhat intimidated by technology. My mother is a prime example. We have had a computer in my parents home since I was sixteen. She has, no exaggeration, never hit the power button on it. She can't even find it the power button on the tower when it's not lit up. I'm not saying this to make fun of her, I'm sharing this to share a point. She is intimidated. It is not her technology and so she can't even make a point to learn to do old things in new ways. She is stuck, as are so many, in the old things old ways phase. In her defense she has finally started to say she wants a laptop because she knows there is a world of information she is missing. I know there are teachers like this also. We do need to ask the students and listen to what they say.

I observed at Noe Middle last semester. The students there worked on computers everyday. The one to one portion of computers meant they had to share, and while this was a hindrance, it was by no means as isolating as not letting them work and operate on systems they can already navigate. The teacher informed me that she had no idea how to use the programs her students were using. She just let them go to navigate it themselves. When they had learned it she had them to teach her so she could show her future classes. I was drawn on this issue. Yeah, it seems like the thing to do and yeah, power point is harmless and helpful. But what happens if there is something harmful in the program that the teacher is unaware of? What then? Now you've released one hundred students into the arms of harm (hey- I kinda' like that!)? There has to be a medium and the implementation of technology has to start! But how?