Today I did a keynote session for a leadership conference in Ft Lauderdale. It was a great group and they were very responsive. The topic was evaluating current Ed-tech programs while effectively planning for the future.
One of the openers I do with the group is to have them visualize and discuss what they would like to see in their classroom or school if they could simply wave a wand and make it happen. Taking away financial, connectivity, and software issues, what is the perfect learning environment.
This group talked quite a bit, and I assumed that once I called for ideas that we would have some truly revolutionary ideas. I was surprised, therefore, to hear that most of the ideas expressed were about having more devices, more dependable wifi, or better electronic texts. Actually, I shouldn't have been surprised, because these responses were similar to those I received every time I asked this question.
I attribute this to two key factors. The first is a fear that we all feel of letting go of the known for the completely unknown. Our experience of learning is so ingrained that it is hard to picture learning another way (this is exacerbated by the fact that most teachers learned very well in traditional environments). So many of our ideas are older models hidden in tech clothing (a lecture taking the form of a worksheet, students presenting dull information instead of the teacher). We worry (perhaps rightly) that any change might not bring the outcomes we anticipate, so we cling desperately to the shores of the known.
The second factor might be even more fundamental. It is extremely hard to anticipate something that does not yet exist. The number of times when a non-derivative product or process has emerged in our lifetime is very small. Not everyone could have envisioned the iPhone or the iPad, which each in its own way was derivative, but created a new class of devices. It is not simply a matter of letting go of the past, many (I would say most) cannot effectively picture a different future. The most honest answer for any of us to the question of what a future learning environment might look like, is “I don't know.”
This is not to criticize those who don't know and can't envision what is coming next. This is most of us most of the time and all of us some of the time. I simply point out that a future that is not simply a redressing of the past is hard to see (and even harder to explain).
As always, I welcome your comments.
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