Putting the Education Back in Ed Tech
I am fortunate to be able to participate in a wide variety of professional development opportunities, both online and face-to-face. This week, I attended an educational technology conference that drew participants from several states. Although turnout was low due to inclement weather, I couldn't help but notice that the most popular sessions focused on tool-based technology integration. Web 2.0 applications were all the rage...and I'm not sure why.
To be clear, I am a proponent of the Read-Write web and regularly employ Web 2.0 tools in the classroom. Considering their low learning curve and ease of implementation, however, I cannot understand why they merit hour-long presentations. Time and again I heard ohhs and ahhs from teachers who were discovering "new" tools like Ning, Flickr, and Delicious. Where have these people been for the last few years?
Sessions on systemic change, culture shifts, redefining literacy, and other weighty topics were sparsely attended, and that is very disconcerting. The "quick fix cool tool" is taking precedence over sustainable, meaningful transformation of teaching and learning. As school budgets shrink while the expectations placed upon them rise, teachers have an obligation to become more independent in professional growth; get online and see what's out there.
While I applaud the presenters who engaged their audiences and exposed them to some truly powerful tools and techniques, I hope that in the not-too-distant future, educational technology conferences become more about education. Technology is more than an interactive tutorial, publishing platform, or organizational tool; it is a vehicle for empowering students to take ownership of their learning.
Maybe I'll propose a session on that next year; I wonder if anyone would attend....