Part of my responsibilities include working with a group of K-5 teachers re-writing the elementary social studies curriculum. We are committed to constructing a curriculum that not only aligns with state content standards, but incorporates essential learnings relevant to the current nature of information and communication. Having written the basic framework and first drafts of grade level profiles and unit plans, the teachers are in the process of experimenting and teaching through the new curriculum. We are now allocating the budget to both technology and print resources and reviewing our options. Part of this involves the inevitable parade of vendors sharing their wares and sales pitches.
Yesterday a team of representatives from a prominent publishing company presented their materials which included a great deal of print material and online resources. When discussing the web site, one representative (who was of a certain age) joked that she could not answer many questions about the web site because she was “still figuring out her microwave”. After a little laugh and smile, she dug the hole a little deeper by pointing to her partner “who has just joined the world of computers” and added that he may not be of much help either. She apologized that their “expert” was not able to come to the presentation because she “was a real wiz with this stuff”.
Imagine for a second if the representative had said, “I’m not really up on this new standards thing, I’m still figuring out the golden rule”. Or even worse, “I can’t answer any of your questions about our books, it’s too bad our expert couldn’t join us, she’s a real wiz with indexes and tables of contents.”
We would have, and should have, laughed her out of the building and told the publisher to stay far away for our district. Why should we be so forgiving when it comes to technology?
How can a salesperson laugh away their ignorance of the most dramatic change in their industry in the past 500 years? It’s clear to most of us that the effect of technology on the process of education will be as significant as the printing press. Five years ago a person who cracked a nervous joke like this could get away with it, today they shouldn’t. It perpetuates the myth that new information and communication tools are complex, techy things that only experts know how to use. It excuses those teachers who remain unaware of even the most basic features of e-mail, let alone rss, wikis ands blogs. I sympathize with these teachers, and want to bring them into this new world and assure them that it is not difficult. I have no patience for anyone who fuels everyone’s ignorance by adding to their list of easy excuses.
This simple joke takes everything from advanced programming, web design, css, ruby on rails and ajax and lumps them together with powerpoint, excel, and e-mail; only egg-headed, star trek fans can figure this stuff out. What we should tell teachers is that Bill Gates’ fortune was built on selling computers to a nation of people who could not program their VCRs. Technology is not a special skill, it is a basic skill.
Hoping that we get to the stage where PowerPoint is simply a chalkboard, assigning homework online is the same as handing it out in class and posting events on a class website’s calendar is the same as writing them on the board, I cannot forgive people who joke about “not knowing any of this new-fangled stuff”.
Come on folks, get on the bus or get out of the road.