NotAboutTech


 

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

 

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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?