One of the most difficult and frustrating aspects of my new job, (IT coach) is that because I am labeled the tech-guy, digital guru, all things- techno-digi- guy, I have become the lightning rod for all things related to technology. I sometimes feel like the spokesperson and sole defender of all things digital. I cannot count how many conversations I have everyday about tech, or the number of emails I get referencing the ideas presented in an article like this one. It’s worth a read. Go head. Take a few minutes. Read it.
We get it right? Life was different when this guy was younger. Big shock! I cannot think of any teacher working in the tech field that does not agree that kids need fresh air, that talking to each other is valuable, or as he put’s it, “The human connection in real time and space, is valuable.” I am just tired of the same old,” this or that,” argument. I have written on this topic before here and here. I am sure I will write about it again, but in the meantime I guess we continue responding to staff members who wish we could all be living in a logging village in BC in a calm and patient manner.
cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo shared by Striking Photography by Bo
I don’t want to devalue the other side. I agree that it should be part of the edu-tech discussion, I want to move away from the idea of their being sides. It is a balancing act. Yes, kids are distracted. Yes, they are connected. Yes, they need guidance.Yes, we don’t know the answers. Yes, it is terrifying. Yes, it is exciting. Yes, nature is mind blowing. Yes, technology connects us in ways face-to-face never could. It is all happening. I don’t get why we have to say one is better than the other. Why we have to either be “tech savvy” or a Luddite.
I would rather worry about what it means to be human in the year 2012. That is who I am. This is where I am. Technology is part of my reality. I want to see what I can do with it and be aware of what it does to me. 1970’s British Columbia sounds great, but that ain’t me.
How do you handle being the spokesperson for all things tech? How do speak to people without getting defensive? How do not lose your mind explaining to people that you understand and appreciate life as much as they do, even though you know how to exist on and off line?
This is me–in the Unschool/homeschool world. So many Luddites! Ugh..
I’ll be posting and sharing. So well said–thanks, Amanda
Yes, yes and yes. I totally agree with all of the things you’ve written about Jabiz and imagine that because you are such a pioneer at our school with technology find it very frustrating with all of the the questions,arguments and constant streams of thoughts assuming you must think in one particular way. Balance is the key to everything and I also find that perfectly phrased in one of your earlier posts when do we show this balance as educators? Thanks for sharing:)
I understand. Only just yesterday a colleague said to me “Next year you’re giving up technology to become a class teacher”. Can you believe that!??!??! Does that mean that class teachers aren’t perceived to use technology? How bizarre!! I tried to explain – I want to be a class teacher so that I’ll actually get to use technology as a teaching tool. As a coach I help others to use the tools but I watch the action from the sidelines – I want to be back in the drivers seat.
I agree with the notion of not having to be “on sides” in this debate. I got an angry e-mail a few days ago from someone who felt tricked by “Pencil Me In.” From reading #pencilchat and the Adventures in Pencil Integration, he assumed I was a techie. Then he felt like there was a bait and switch when he read the book and saw the tech criticism and the commentary on the human side.
Nuance, paradox, balance: How about choosing some of those for our list of “21st Century Skills?”
This is quite an interesting take on the topic: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/jan/26/how-find-time-matters-digital. I agree with you entirely on the unhealthy polarisation of this debate, but I also think that — on balance — technology doesn’t revolutionise education, only expedite it. I do my best writing not in front of an LCD but lying in bed, my eyes closed, thinking. We spend so much of our time [i]doing[/i] that maybe, sometimes, we forget to reflect.
Besides–people like you push for greater technological integration, but in a sense, that battle is already won. Look at the next generation. Technology, at least in the first world, is everywhere around us, and kids are better at using it than the average adult.
Everyone needs to find some sort of sustainable balance between life on- and off-line, and I think this is an issue which schools fail to address a great deal of the time. Time management? Procrastination? Can anyone argue that these are not driving forces in students’ performances? And yet, how much time do educators spend thinking about them?
Thanks for your comment, just had a couple of thoughts to add. I am not sure if I feel comfortable as being a “person like me” pushing for tech. Yes it is my job and yes I don try my best to help others understand how technology can shift the way we teach not just expedite it, but I hope that by reading my blog you can see that I try to be critical.
Secondly, just because technology is everywhere, doe not mean kids know how to use it. That is why we are so important so that we can figure it out with them and learn a way to be healthy and happy and function in these modern times.
But I think we agree that we need a balance. Thanks for your comments.
Very well said Jabiz! I absolutely agree. Not because you’ve been doing this for a while does not mean you know everything, and you will be able to address all the questions and issues arising. People should remember that learning is a never ending process and that we are all learning perpetually. We all should realize how to explore things independently and learn from our very own experience calmly and patiently. Thanks for sharing.
Exactly! Thanks. “People should remember that learning is a never ending process and that we are all learning perpetually. We all should realize how to explore things independently and learn from our very own experience calmly and patiently. “
Interesting post. There is a real tyranny in the ‘either-or’ argument alluded to in the Kevin Bray blog entry . Not sure why Bray (with the apathetic students) feels so powerless. What is it about the integration and/or use of technology in our teaching and learning that makes some teachers feel helpless and inadequate? I’m glad that most of the people I teach with ask questions like, “how can I engage my students better or what aren’t my math students hooked by my lessons?”
Trudge on Jabiz, one colleague at a time. Take the time to continue engaging and connecting even your most ‘stuck’ friends because it is most definitely worth it. Andy
People will always want to take sides; it’s just our way! Teachers in particular! We’ve just introduced laptops to staff this year and the backlash from certain sections has been incredible! Can’t wait to see what they say when the kids get and use them in class…
Good conversation here already that I largely agree with, especially John’s point: “Nuance, paradox, balance: How about choosing some of those for our list of “21st Century Skills?””
As I mentioned to you on Twitter the other day, the more I understand the tools (digital or otherwise), the more I see them as diverse means of achieving the same goal that education has been after since its inception: to prepare students for life. This takes many shapes, but I think is always centered around gaining an understanding of ourselves, our culture, and our community/ies. And so while I do get a lot of emails pertaining to All-things-Techie, for my part the conversation is always about learning, and the type of learning we want to be happening in our classrooms; sometimes this results in me recommending a digital tool that’s suited to realizing these goals, but not always.
As has been said many different times and places, tech for tech’s sake isn’t the answer, and providing tech-support (or defense) on the periphery of our own (or our colleague’s) pedagogy isn’t the same as striking at Thoreau’s root of the issue, which is about the way we teach, and how we strive to create meaningful learning (and is likewise a conversation just as fraught with Frontierspeople & Luddites).
Thanks. Well said.
Hey Jabiz,
My name is Matthew Rodriguez and I am taking EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama and I was assigned to your blog. It seems like you have a difficult job at the school were you work. You have to remember not everyone is tech savvy which is why they come to you with so many questions. You may not be able to help everyone, but just the the fact you are attempting to help them is the important thing. If you can make just one person’s life easier than you have been successful. As far as being a spokesman for all things tech goes, if it falls to you, I would suggest embrace it and run with it. I enjoyed your post
Thanks for reading and commenting Matthew. I know what you are saying is true, I guess sometimes we just need to vent. I am glad that my frustration has turned into some pretty useful comments from the amazing educators up above in these comments.