I recently attended a most fulfilling education conference, FETC, The Future of Education Technology Conference. It was enlightening, uplifting, and inspiring. This international conference is a premiere showcase for the latest and greatest in education technology with the best tech advocates, and evangelist educators speaking and presenting for three days. Any educator in attendance had to have benefitted from the shared information and collaboration by all in attendance. Unfortunately, Even with thousands of educators in attendance, very few educators nationwide get to attend such conferences. Most schools do not budget for classroom teachers to participate in such conferences because of the price tag attached for each individual. The cost of attendance, travel, food, and lodging all add up fast.
I started the conference with an early presentation by Phil Hintz, a friend and social media connection for many years. He explained the differences between AI, VR, XR, AR, and MR so that I would have some understanding of what I would be looking at with many of the vendors at the conference. It was most helpful when I attended the reality “playground” where I experienced all of those realities from several companies in one location.
I saw objects in 3D that were totally moveable to see them from any perspective. I saw a full-sized dinosaur standing in the room as I walked around and underneath it. I observed a life-sized Howie Mandel standing inside an eight-foot box talking to me as if he was really there. I even had the opportunity to dissect a heart. It was truly a wonderful technological experience. This is the point that got me thinking about all of the potential of these products in the classroom. AI, VR, XR, AR, and MR are all great technologies that are impressive and even gobsmacking, but unless real learning is attached, they are all just very impressive illusions.
To further add to my thinking on this subject, I was fortified by what the keynote speaker who said to me, and the packed auditorium of educators. Guy Kawasaki is an author and technology advocate in education. I first experienced a keynote from him 30 years ago at a NYSCATE conference in New York. I have been a fan ever since and found myself fortunate to hear him again. I was not disappointed. My big takeaway came when said, “Ideas are easy, it is their implementation that is hard”.
Implementation of anything new in education is the most difficult. Changes in education are slow especially when it comes to technology. As a former English teacher from the 70’s I remember how difficult it was convincing people that writing and editing on a word processor was more effective and productive than handwriting rough drafts and final copies. it was solidly backed up by the research. It took years to get that accepted. As an educator trained in the last century, I never understood why my colleagues resisted change as the world changed around them. PD is supposed to keep us relevant. We do not need irrelevant educators.
For any tech to be implemented in a classroom two things must be clear. First, what learning does the teacher want to take place? Second, how does the tech enable that learning to happen more effectively than previous non-tech methods? This takes a knowledge of specific lessons in the curriculum and a specific knowledge of the use of the technology. Can lessons be tailored to utilize the tech, or is a new approach to the lesson required to benefit from the tech?
None of this can be done in the limited time that people have at a conference. That is what professional development is for. A conference is to better inform educators of what they don’t yet know. Like anything else, you don’t know what you don’t know. Seeing tech at a conference will never inform teachers of its effect in their own classrooms. The very best education conferences do not get technology implemented in schools, teachers do.
This is where I fall back on all of the shortcomings of Education in its professional development which I have been so critical of for decades. Is enough time provided for PD? Is there follow-up and support to assess the impact of that PD? Is there staff dedicated to coaching and supporting classroom teachers in using tech in the classroom? Are teachers being treated as adults? Androgogy is adult learning which is different from pedagogy, children’s learning. Are districts sending the same people to conferences year after year with little change in relevant tech in the district? Are teachers being tested in their knowledge and experience in technology to better personalize their needs in tech? Are districts still doing limited one-day “sit and get” conferences to check off their PD to-do list of things that must be done? Most importantly, does your school have a culture of support for a growth mindset? Without changes in methods and priorities of professional development implementation of new tech will be slowed or non-existent. It is time to assess what we do and how we do it in PD.
Implementation of technology is not going to happen spontaneously. Teachers are resistant for a boatload of reasons. Districts are resistant because of the almighty dollar required. This is all part of the reality we face. To remain stagnant should not be our goal. Ignoring progress will not serve our students well. How PD is scheduled, how PD is prioritized, how PD is supported, and how individual staff needs are addressed in PD are all questions that must be considered. We should not support reasons for not implementing tech but rather devise and foster reasons why it must be a reality.
Technology is now a fact of life and embedded in our culture and infrastructure. It is not going away and our kids need more than a familiarity of it. They need to understand it and use it ethically, efficiently, and effectively to thrive in our society. No, there is no such thing as a digital native. Technology use must be learned. We can take on that challenge and do it as responsible, relevant educators, or leave it up to our kids to figure it out on their own. Either way, it will be part of everyone’s life. Yes, technology is just one more thing educators need to do to be relevant. Let’s not get stuck in the last century. We are a quarter of the way into this new century. If we are to better educate our kids, we need first to better educate their educators.
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