Jeff Utecht was left hoping for more last week at NECC.
I saw a lot of technology being used and sold in the same way it has been for the past 20 years. Maybe I wasn’t listening to the right conversations, but the feel of something different wasn’t there…for me anyway.
And he asks if maybe he was expecting too much. Not possible.
First of all, as was obvious from my posts, I did feel something really different at NECC this year. Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t see it at all on the exhibit floor. There was nothing there that said “We get it.” If anything, I just get more and more depressed when I go to see the vendors on the floor. Not for nothin’ that there are millions of hungry or impoverished kids in the world that could better use the millions of dollars that go into the absolutely awful conference schwag and the overdone, glitzy booths. (Best Buy deserves a “Worst Try” award for the huge shopping bags they were giving away, 90% of which are already in the waste stream, I’m sure.) But this is America, after all and we have to have our stuff.
But the conversations and presentations about Web 2.0 were there in a way that I haven’t seen at NECC. They were NOT about pedagogy and about, as Jeff says, “about the changing nature of our students, our classrooms, and our society.” (That would have been amazing and should be the goal for Atlanta next year.) But they were about the conversations that have to come before pedagogy. Here’s what these tools are. Here’s what they can do. Here are the first practices that are sticking. It’s about building the vocabulary and the context, which, for some, takes time.
eSchoolNews ran an interview with David Thornburg last April where he talked about how fear of technology is really what’s stalling our progress. And he makes what I think is a relevant comparison to when the printing press came into being.
Any economic theory involving price elasticity says that there should be more computers, but there are not. There’s a force that’s keeping them from being more fully utilized. We think that force is related to a reluctance on the part of certain educational establishments in transforming themselves. That, by the way, happened when the printed book came into existence. The printed book completely changed education. In that case, it took about 100 years.
Obviously, we can’t wait 100 years. We can’t even wait 10. Hopefully the transparency of the technology will speed things up a bit. But it is going to take some time before people seriously get out of the fear mode and into the imagination mode. When I think about this NECC compared to just two years ago, I’m amazed at where we’ve come. Two years from now, who knows?
Regardless, I just want to echo everyone else who has made note of the fact that the best part about NECC and any other of these types of conferences are the conversations that take place outside of the meeting rooms and convention centers. It was great meeting Jeff and a host of others, and I think David’s idea for Atlanta is a great one. In fact, we should start planning ghe Blogger’s Cafe sooner rather than later…
Will-
I couldn’t agree more. I think the best part was the conversations that took place outside the convention center and meeting rooms. I was however, inspired by a few workshops: Yours ofcourse. The others that I hope to see and hear more were Ian Jukes and Michael Furdyk. Are you at all familar with them? What are your thoughts? Other than the 3 of you, I too found the conference a little mundane, and not as cutting edge as I had hoped.
Oh well, better luck in 07.
The ennui I felt at the conference I guess wasn’t confined to myself. Super. Nice to feel a little bit validated in my thoughts.
I didn’t attend 2006, but I would like to attend in 2007 and the more I think about it, the more I think that the educators who want innovative thinking and flat world participation have to model it in our interactions. If NECC didn’t satisfy, WE can improve it by participating in creating content for it. I know what I want to see.. I know what I want to participate in.
Vicki Davis of CoolCatTeacher recommended that a conference wiki be put together where people can brainstorm and help develop content for NECC 2007. I think it’s a good idea. What do you think?
I think so, I know a couple of Georgia educators that I think are involved. It would need to be some sort of “official” thing or we would all end up duplicating the same thing (again!)
I’m ready to see some coordination and am frustrating with participating like crazy on a wiki or project and then see several “competing” projects. Most collaborators are only going to do that once!
Will–
You captured my feelings exactly. On the one hand it’s clear that the “leadership” in the educational world is interested in assessment and remediation, evidenced by all the companies selling those types of products on the vendor floor.
On the other hand, what teachers are actually doing with kids to motivate, excite, and lead them on their journey through the educational system continues to amaze and inspire me. By far the best part of the show for me was all the terrific conversations that went on.
I’ve been rereading the Cult of Information by Theodore Roszak and the question that runs through my mind is if technology is so great for education, why do we have to try so hard to get it to work.
We, I think, would all agree that there are some considerable problems (and successes) with the way that technology is being implemented in schools.
Could it be that technology in the classroom is not as great as it is sold to us by the IT industry and the techniliterati?
There is an economic driving force that encourages the obsolesence and repurchasing of computers. This is not nearly the same force driving the sale of books and that is a signifcant difference in my opinion when comparing the introduction of books to the classroom and the introduction of computers and other technology.
What part of education will not survive if we don’t embrace technology? Are students going to stop being able to listen to someone talk? Are they going to become unable to write their thoughts on paper? Will their science exeriments not work?
I agree we can’t ignore the impact of technology on our students, but that doesn’t, to me, mean that we have to imerse them even further in it.
Perhaps computers are a product looking for a solution rather than the other way around? They are a tool like the calculator and the pencil, but they are not magic bullets that will solve all our educational ills.
Thus sayeth the neo-Luddite computer science teacher – that’s irony for you.
This is a great conversation! I couldn’t boil my ideas down succintly enough to include it here, so I’ve written a post on my blog: http://theatreedutech.blogspot.com/2006/07/rehearsing-revolution-thoughts-on.html#links
Hi Will. Got to meet you at NECC and as it was my first NECC, I thought it was great. Hearing from the vets like you about expectation vs. reality, especially on this topic of fear being the reason we’re stalling, it occurs to me that many of us “out here” are waiting for our fearful administrators to retire. And some of that will be happening in the next couple of years. So we keep learning, operating under the radar in some cases, and counting the days until we get to take over.
Our school community is in the midst of a major transition and having 5 of us attend NECC has helped us solidify a shared vision. I have personally been learning and pondering for almost a year as I worked to establish a vision for our school. There is much I still need to learn and you , David and Clarence along with a few other are still giants to me. I value your insights.
Not unlike you comments regarding the Exhition Hall I found myself pondering the vendors in light of the Open Source sessions. (Dare to dream). I would hope that by Atlanta we wil find Open Source claiming an even more prominent position.
As a relative neophyte I did not take part in as many conversations as I would have liked but I hope that through the on going Blog conversation that I will be better prepared to enter the conversation.
With regard to
“I agree we can’t ignore the impact of technology on our students, but that doesn’t, to me, mean that we have to imerse them even further in it.â€
I am not sure about this I think the point about the half-life of knowledge is a very persuasive point for the need to embrace Web 2.0. It is not however about the tool but the avenues of learning which it opens. I also found the article on then digital native based o brain research pretty persuasive.
Sorry I did not make my links corectly so here are to URLs for the articles I mentioned.
http://www.twitchspeed.com/site/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part2.htm
http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm
I’m glad someone mentioned the Best Buy Bags. I volunteered for traffic control on Thursday night. As I stood near Door A (directing folks to the acrobats performance), I witnessed a petite woman DRAGGING a BB bag. It was full! I bet it weighed 50 pounds or more.
I’m glad I wasn’t alone in feeling the gap between the sessions (and the open source lab) and the exhibit hall. I am both a teacher and a content developer for ed publishing. As a teacher, I left the conference with great ideas for the classroom. As a tech content developer, I left very discouraged and am still racking my brain trying to figure out how to get our clients to understand how far behind they are.
Ultimately, I agree with the post above that the change most likely will have to come from administrators and politicians–the publishers are often just reacting to the marketplace. The key, I think, is to change the marketplace.
The “Blogger’s Cafe…” We did have a “Blogs and Wikis” booth in the Open Source Playground area, but I think it was pretty unknown and under-attended. Adam Frey from Wikispaces was there, and if we’d known he was going to come earlier than we did, we could have made a bigger deal out of it. I think ISTE/NECC might consider letting us do some of those booths again (hopefully, closer to our regular lab), and if so, we could do a better job of publicizing it and of promoting it as a meeting place. Maybe we could even get some chairs and a couch and actually have “guest bloggers” who would sign up to be at the “cafe” during certain hours so others would know that they could come and meet them…
With regard to Barbara’s comments on Open Source, reflecting Will’s comments on the Exhibit Hall and the money spent to market technology to schools:
This is a really tough issue, since free-market capitalism can be so effective in many areas–however, it does seem a little weird to me that schools are “marketed” to. I know the issue is bigger than the small part of it that I see. The lack of very much funding for many schools all over the world (and thereby the lack of incentive to “market” to them) leads pretty clearly toward Open Source implementations. What’s interesting about that will be to see if the use of Open Source Software, and the tools of collaborative software building, will actually put some of those students in a position of advantage in the flat world. If I had to choose for my own children between 35 minutes a week (to borrow a statistic from Mike Huffman) using P4 computers and proprietary software, or some greater amount of time on a PII or P3 using and learning Linux and Open Source software, strictly based on their learning something of significance that would be useful to them in their college and working lives, I’d choose the latter. (What Mike said was that they’ve been spending $100,000,000 a year in Indiana to give students a whopping 35 minutes a week each on the computers.)
So then I ask myself where you are going to find teachers who know enough about technology to teach more than 35 minutes a week on Open Source platforms. On the other hand, somebody puts a computer in a wall in the slums of India and without any instructors, within 9 months the slum kids working on the computer and teaching each other have the proficiency level of an average office worker in India… So could there be a teaching model for using computers that provides for more ubiquitous use that makes sense?
I keep thinking about the Gates Foundation and an article I read in Business Week about how, for all the money they’ve spent on improving education, they are admitting that they haven’t really been able to see much success, and sometimes things have even gotten worse. I finished that article and thought: there is no VISION. Reducing schools sizes (the main focus of the article) is a method, but not a vision. With a vision there is passion, creativity, and excitement.
Could the same be true of technology in schools? No real vision of how to use them or how they help? I think that may be why blogging elicits such passion in those teachers using it–they can see clear results of increased interest by the students in communicating, and they see it making a real difference in their lives. There is a vision there of improving teaching and learning that comes from the use of technology in a specific way (and an inexpensive way, since blogging doesn’t require the latest and greatest hardware and software).
I think another potential area for real vision in the use of technology in schools is in the teaching of technology classes around Open Source software tools: programming, networking, etc. For me the vision is that students would actually leave the classes with employable skills using hardware and programs that they could actually afford (or would reasonably be free). Apache runs over 70% of the world’s web servers, it’s a Free and Open Source software program, and it will run on computers that most anybody would be willing to give away. And it’s virtually untaught in schools. Teach a student in a technology class to run Apache, and you can create a vision of emowering low-income students to finding good and decent jobs. PHP, MySQL, Python, etc.
Another vision area for technology in schools would be the application of Open Source or collaborative software building (and web 2.0) in student projects to help local service organizations. Many schools have a senior project that is community oriented. How about: build a database for the local homeless shelter or food kitchen. Create a website listing of local services for the Salvation Army in town to use when helping people. I’m sure it sound scary to think of managing students using technology at such a high level, but with a vision would come passion, interest, and enthusiasm. Invite some Open Source geeks to mentor the class.
This has turned into a rant (a ramble?), but I’m very interested in this. Seems like were at a great moment to help create a vision (visions) for the use of technology in schools, and the passion that blogging has stirred is the very kind of passion that is needed.
I noticed that much of the content was changing. I went to a great workshop on Utah’s use of open source software to create a SIS that tracks and provides formative assessment. Why aren’t we using it in my school system? It doesn’t matter. We will need to tacke baby steps. I love talking to other techno’s and getting all jusiced about his idea or that program but I know it will fizle if I can’t chenge the school culture to embrace technology. Thanks for evangalizing for all of us Will.
I did not go to this year’s NECC. I went to the one last year. I left that conference feeling very disappointed. It seemed like glitz was what everyone wanted. In many ways I believe ISTE pushes too much for hardware/software “solutions” for education – the more you have, the better the school. I just don’t agree with that and I am a technology coordinator. Education is the second biggest market that the technology vendors have. It is to their benefit to sell, sell, sell.
I am so glad to read the comments on this blog, as I thought I was all alone in my feelings.
I am hoping things will change and be better next year as I want to go one more time to the NECC convention.
Steve wrote:
Another vision area…application of Open Source or collaborative software building (and web 2.0) in student projects to help local service organizations….build a database for the local homeless shelter or food kitchen. Create a website listing of local services for the Salvation Army in town to use when helping people…Invite some Open Source geeks to mentor the class….
I think those are wonderful ideas, and while I was unable to participate in the open source lab this year, I will definitely be involved in Atlanta! I still want to learn more, and I want to be informed about Open Source options.
I am beginning a new job as technology integration coordinator for a Hartford magnet school in the fall. There is currently nothing in place for effective and appropriate use of technologies to speak of. They have the new hardware, they have funds, now they have me 🙂
I am looking for the expertise of those who have started a program from square “3” and welcome input and suggestions as well as folks to chat with.
Thank you to everyone who is blazing the trail. There are many getting ready to join you in the journey!
~Kristen
Steve wrote:
Another vision area…application of Open Source or collaborative software building (and web 2.0) in student projects to help local service organizations….build a database for the local homeless shelter or food kitchen. Create a website listing of local services for the Salvation Army in town to use when helping people…Invite some Open Source geeks to mentor the class….
I think those are wonderful ideas, and while I was unable to participate in the open source lab this year, I will definitely be involved in Atlanta! I still want to learn more, and I want to be informed about Open Source options.
I am beginning a new job as technology integration coordinator for a Hartford magnet school in the fall. There is currently nothing in place for effective and appropriate use of technologies to speak of. They have the new hardware, they have funds, now they have me 🙂
I am looking for the expertise of those who have started a program from square “3” and welcome input and suggestions as well as folks to chat with.
Thank you to everyone who is blazing the trail. There are many getting ready to join you in the journey!
~Kristen