Blog Reflection #

When I think of how much technology has changed our world just in my 30 year lifetime, I have no idea what to even imagine about what life will look like in even just 15 or 20 years from now. I do know that technology is completely changing our concepts of time and space and creating learning communities in the most improbable places and ways. Just a few years ago, I could never have dreamed of taking my students on a field trip to Canada. Now through videoconferencing, they can not only "visit" Canada but connect with new peers and learn about another culture in a much more meaningful way than just reading a textbook about it. A few years ago I would never have been able to earn a master's degree from Texas A&M-Commerce without ever stepping foot on the campus for a class. But in May I will graduate without ever being in a Commerce classroom. As new Web 2.0 tools come across our radar screen daily, the potential for creative teaching and learning is greater than ever before. Soon we will move far beyond the textbook, pencil and paper methods of instruction that have been an institution for centuries. However, as with any major paradigm shift, the transition does not always come easily.

I think the tools already exist for us to drastically change the way we teach, learn, and work, but not everyone is ready for that change. Human nature is static...we resist change. The unknown and unfamiliar is unsettling. Therefore we cling to what we know instead of what we could know. I think the challenges of funding, of training, of getting everyone on the same page is holding us back. There are so MANY tools and possibilities it can be hard to know where to start and it can be overwhelming.

In my personal situation at school, it seems like we're always missing a few pieces...always missing a few critical links. We get the equipment but don't have the training or support. We get the training and support but don't have the equipment. We get the equipment, training, support, and some brilliant concepts of how to implement...but the network speed is so slow its useless. Therefore we revert back to our trusty textbook, pencil, and paper. The technical difficulties hold me back!! So if I could wave a magic wand, I would make sure every school had fully functioning, up-to-date equipment, hardware, and software; every school had a helpful, knowledgeable technical support team; every teacher could be adequately trained and inspired; and most of all, every school had lightning fast connectivity!! If all of that were in place....oh the things we could do and the places we could go!!!