If you're visiting this post for the first time, please read the comments as well - that's where most (all?) of the good stuff is.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Update 11-26-07: This post has been nominated for "Most Influential Post" in the 2007 Edublog Awards. Thanks to the folks that nominated it, whoever you are. For my thoughts on the nomination, read this post.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Warning: Grumpy blogger alert. Do not read the rest of this (especially if you�re on my staff) unless you�re in the mood to be provoked.
One of the things I love about the edublogosphere is that when I really annoy my staff with something (which is pretty much daily, if not hourly), I can rest assured that there�s an education blogger out there that�s written something recently that will probably annoy them more. I ran across this post today by Terry Freedman over on the Tech Learning blog where he talks about whether it�s acceptable for teachers to be technologically illiterate and lays out a set of proposed �standards� for teachers.
Before I give my list, I should like to say this. The first step in establishing a standard is to state what that standard is, and/or what it is not. Just because you may not know how to go about achieving it is certainly no reason not to state it. For example, in my classes I always had expectations in terms of acceptable behaviour. It would sometimes take me three months to achieve them, despite teaching them every single day, but that's besides the point.
Here is my list:
1. All educators must achieve a basic level of technological capability.
2. People who do not meet the criterion of #1 should be embarrassed, not proud, to say so in public.
3. We should finally drop the myth of digital natives and digital immigrants. Back in July 2006 I said in my blog, in the context of issuing guidance to parents about e-safety:
"I'm sorry, but I don't go for all this digital natives and immigrants stuff when it comes to this: I don't know anything about the internal combustion engine, but I know it's pretty dangerous to wander about on the road, so I've learnt to handle myself safely when I need to get from one side of the road to the other."
The phrase may have been useful to start with, but it's been over-used for a long time now. In any case, after immigrants have been in a country for a while, they become natives. We've had personal computers for 30 years, and I was using computers in my teaching back in 1975. How long does it take for someone to wake up to the fact that technology is part of life, not an add-on?
4. Headteachers and Principals who have staff who are technologically-illiterate should be held to account.
5. School inspectors who are technologically illiterate should be encouraged to find alternative employment.
6. Schools, Universities and Teacher training courses who turn out students who are technologically illiterate should have their right to a licence and/or funding questioned.
7. We should stop being so nice. After all, we've got our qualifications and jobs, and we don't have the moral right to sit placidly on the sidelines whilst some educators are potentially jeopardising the chances of our youngsters.
I had to smile because it reminded me of something I wrote in February of 2006 � wrote, but decided not to post on the blog. At the time, I felt like it wasn�t the right time for my building to post it, and that it would be counterproductive. But, after reading Terry�s post today, I think it might be time to let it see the light of day. Here�s what I wrote on February 10, 2006 (it was part of a longer post, but this is the part I edited out):
Some of the tech questions I answer from staff members are really rather depressing. But it's the bigger picture I'm more concerned with. I think there's a general feeling among teachers (not all teachers, but many) that it's okay to be technologically illiterate. It reminds me of when I was a math teacher. In about 80% of the parent conferences I had with students who were struggling, at least one of the parents would say "I was never any good at math either." While I don't doubt the truth of the statement, it was the fact that they said it and almost seemed proud of it that bothered me (and of course the message it sent to their student). I can't imagine a parent saying "Oh, yeah, I never learned how to read" and being proud of it. It seemed like there was a different standard for math - not knowing math was socially acceptable, not knowing how to read was very unacceptable.
I sort of get the same feeling today about technology. It's acceptable to say "I don't really get computers" - and many people appear to be rather proud of their technological ignorance. And let me be clear, I'm not saying that technology is the end all and be all of education. As I think I've always tried to say, it's just a tool to help us teach and learn and grow - but an indispensable tool. Technology is the underpinning of just about everything we do today - and especially so in relation to how we communicate with each other. And isn't communication one of the essential ideas that runs through all of our disciplines? The fact that a large percentage of our staff is not only fairly comfortable in their ignorance, but apparently unwilling to make any effort to learn new things (I'm not just talking about Infinite Campus, I'm talking instructionally - and even personally), is really worrisome to me. So let me make a rather extreme statement for you to comment on.
If a teacher today is not technologically literate - and is unwilling to make the effort to learn more - it's equivalent to a teacher 30 years ago who didn't know how to read and write.
Extreme? Maybe. Your thoughts?
Keep in mind that was written after a particularly frustrating day. I�ve gone back and forth on this issue myself. At times completely agreeing with Terry (and myself above), and at other times stepping back and saying that there�s so much on teacher�s plates that it�s unrealistic to expect them to take this on as quickly as I�d like them to. But then I think of our students, and the fact that they don't much care how much is on our plates. As I've said before, this is the only four years these students will have at our high school - they can't wait for us to figure it out.
The more I think about it, the more I think it�s analogous to the 20th century. In the early 20th century, people who couldn�t read or write could be pretty successful. By the middle of the 20th century, that was still true, but it was getting harder to be successful (and certainly those that could read and write had much more opportunities available to them). By the end of the 20th century, there was very little chance of being successful if you couldn�t read or write. (Note that I�m defining �successful� both in economic/employment terms, and in terms of citizenship/personal fulfillment.)
Now at the dawn of the 21st century, I think the same can be said of technological literacy. And � since we�re living in exponential times � I think the timeline compared to the 20th century is very much compressed. In the late 1990�s (I know, still 20th century, but go with it), you could be successful if you were technology illiterate. In the first few years of the 21st century, you can still be successful if you�re technologically illiterate, but it�s getting harder (and those that are literate have many more opportunities available to them). And by the end of the next decade, I think there will be very little chance of success for those that are technology illiterate. (Don�t forget, those Kindergartners that started school in the last month or so are the Class of 2020 � we need that 2020 Vision.)
I go back to my rant from our first staff development session of the year, where I talked about developing personal learning networks (for both ourselves and our students). One of the things I said was basically:
In order to teach it, we have to do it. How can we teach this to kids, how can we model it, if we aren�t literate ourselves? You need to experience this, you need to explore right along with your students. You need to experience the tools they�ll be using in the 21st century, developing your own networks in parallel with your students. You need to demonstrate continual learning, lifelong learning � for your students, or you will continue to teach your students how to be successful in an age that no longer exists.
Or something like that.
So, let me repeat the last part of what I wrote back in February of 2006:
If a teacher today is not technologically literate - and is unwilling to make the effort to learn more - it's equivalent to a teacher 30 years ago who didn't know how to read and write.
Extreme? Maybe. Your thoughts?
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