I’ve been thinking about educators who are technophobes, Luddites, etc. The question keeps coming up and I usually dodge it because while I find technology relative enjoyable and easy to use, that’s not the case for all of my fellow educators. I guess I’d say my thinking up to this point has been that if it’s going to be required for doing the job, it really needs to be useful, and necessary for our students to learn. To follow that up, I think it is possible to be a fantastic teacher without technology, but maybe it’s past that point. I recall a post on Classroom 2.0 from Sylvia Martinez talking about her experience in the business world where new technology and software was brought in and you had to learn how to use it because it was part of your job. There was no grandfathering in or folks left using legacy systems (by their choice). Should teaches have a choice about technology implementation?

I started by thinking about libraries. I was a public library advocate as libraries were switching over to online systems. It was not without detractors. Even today there are some librarians who are tech skeptics. But notice, they are not talking about no technology (that battle was lost long ago). They aren’t resistors anymore, but skeptics. Even they have a place in libraries because as that article points out, there are a substantial number of patrons that are definitely pre-technology, and how no knowledge or interest in technology. Our patrons in schools are young children who are growing up in and with technology. My husband points out that since the implementation of online technology in libraries, usage has increased (card catalogs, asking a librarian for help may have been a barrier to access), and seniors often embrace the technology because it gives them independence (no gatekeepers). There are always going to be usability issues, and skeptics to bring up questions, but technology in libraries is here to stay.

Look at education, some districts are dropping 1-to-1 programs (granted, that they were ill-planned and implemented), a DoE study questions the efficacy of computer based instructional programs. Technology is barely implemented in many classrooms and districts. It’s not a retreat, but it’s not the norm or anywhere near it either. Here are some thoughts…

1. We need to make teacher training in technology mandatory. This is not without precedent. In California because of the variety of different home languages, and the passage of laws restricting bi-lingual education, all teachers who have ELLs have to have either bi-lingual certification or certification to teach ELLs using English only. Needless to say, this required a number of teachers already in the classroom for a number of years, to get supplemental certification. The final group of teachers are getting that certification now, or they will lose their jobs. You set up programs for certification (new teachers are already required to take classes in implementing technology in the classroom), and give them a deadline (I’d suggest 3-5 years or with their next renewal (at most 5 years for all but the lifetime credentials). Obviously, certification and renewal varies from state to state, but I think you get the basic idea.
2. When you implement 1-to-1 programs plan for it, make it palatable, and have a comprehensive plan.
3. Here is the perhaps the most radical/crazy/potentially dangerous part. When online catalogs came in, card catalogs were first not maintained, then thrown out. Maybe we need to throw out and eliminate texts in paper form. Forget the Riso and copy machines, they’re gone. If something in analog needs to be available, that’s what scanners and ELMOs are for. If the analog resources are no longer there, you won’t be able to use them.

I’m sure I’m pissing someone off, but let’s chat about it. The discussion needs to start somewhere.