The Electric Educator: Technology without the Tech

Monday, December 5, 2011

Technology without the Tech


Image: Flicker via Worcester Academy
It's very easy for a school to argue that its technology implementation/integration is one of its strengths. The typical campaign goes something like this:
[School Name] is a leader in educational technology. Each classroom is equipped with a digital projector and interactive whiteboard. In the high school there is a 1:1 laptop program designed to teach students the importance of collaboration and 21st century skills. 
This is the wrong way to approach technology in education. The above statement focuses primarily on technology hardware, not application. The measure of a schools success with technology should focus on how the technology is being used to enhance student learning:
[School Name] uses technology to provide students with meaningful learning opportunities. Each faculty member is skilled in leveraging hardware and web resources to challenge students with formative and rewarding learning opportunities that go beyond the walls of the classroom. 
If this is the metric that schools were measured against, far fewer of them would be able to list "technology integration" as one of their core strengths.

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