MooseCamp 2010
It's Not About the Technology: Explaining "It" to the "Un-Initiated"
A discussion with @HHG
Michael Jordan YouTube: It's Not About the Shoes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nJLgKvVzY4
It’s not about the shoes
It’s about knowing where you’re going
Not forgetting where you started
It’s about having the courage to fail
Not breaking when you are broken
Taking everything you have been given and making something better
It’s about work before glory
And what’s inside of you
It’s doing what they say you can’t
It’s not about the shoes, it’s about what you do in them
It’s about being who you were born to be.
Some of my thoughts:
http://www.iwasthinking.ca/2008/10/09/its-not-about-the-technology/
Trying to Explain/Sell Tech to Decision Makers
Start with a clearly defined problem - otherwise it's just "gadgetry"...
Are social media tools better learning tools than traditional print? Or what other tools?
Setting boundaries - context for using these tools for productivity or learning. Students see it as tools for social, facebook, etc...
Assessment is more authentic - there are other eyes on it (not just teachers).
@bryanhughes Can be difficult because if you try to "short circuit" online publishing and yet students have a lack of context, don't know how.
Influence the people who influence the decision makers, rather than trying to convince decision makers. How can you find the right groups?
Relating What They Already Do to "New" Ways of Doing It
Networking
Learning
Conversations
The Best Part of Conferences (the connections you make over lunch and during breaks)
Diverse Perspectives
Stop asking questions and just do it - you'll either figure it out or figure out it wasn't the right question to ask anyhow
Trying to Explain/Motivate Educators to Try It or Let Students Use It
Overcoming Barriers/Fears
How does one teacher manage diverse directions that students want to take learning?
Making it easy to use
Leadership that creates a culture
Teacher confidence: Getting over the need to "know" or "be in control"
Taking risks, making mistakes, valuing failure
Support/mentoring
Teachers are concerned about/don't know how to assess such diverse learning. How to support them?