I met a former administrator of our district the other day who proudly introduced himself to me and said he worked in the district for 41 years. That in-itself is an amazing accomplishment. He came up to me to make a statement. Less is more. I did not tell him at the time, but sometimes, less is simply less.
He told me a story of how he was at a technology conference many years ago. Based upon his statement, it had to be in the late 1970s. While at the conference, he came back with, "less is more." Because of what he hears we are doing in the district, the former administrator felt he needed to impart this wisdom on me.
As a person who majored in and taught economics, less is more is a concept I applied frequently. However, when it comes to implementing technology into a district whose students do not have it, giving them more is like watering a dry plant. There is a point of saturation, but it absorbs a whole lot in the beginning.
That is where we are at, the beginning. Teachers have feared using technology and shied away from it. At the same time, students were parched for it. Microsoft Word and Powerpoints were old school; Google Docs is refreshing; Animoto is fun; Little Bird Tales is cool and posting videos to YouTube to show parents is exciting. Is it too much? No, students still want more. They want to grow. Upon using these technology creation tools, we are seeing focused students; students who do not want to stop working; students who are helping each other. Who am I to stop this?
I will agree with this former administrator that introducing too many tools is overwhelming, which is why I search out only the tools that enhance learning, not replace current methods. With that said, water your plant and let it soak it all in, you will see exponential growth. We already have.
He told me a story of how he was at a technology conference many years ago. Based upon his statement, it had to be in the late 1970s. While at the conference, he came back with, "less is more." Because of what he hears we are doing in the district, the former administrator felt he needed to impart this wisdom on me.
As a person who majored in and taught economics, less is more is a concept I applied frequently. However, when it comes to implementing technology into a district whose students do not have it, giving them more is like watering a dry plant. There is a point of saturation, but it absorbs a whole lot in the beginning.
That is where we are at, the beginning. Teachers have feared using technology and shied away from it. At the same time, students were parched for it. Microsoft Word and Powerpoints were old school; Google Docs is refreshing; Animoto is fun; Little Bird Tales is cool and posting videos to YouTube to show parents is exciting. Is it too much? No, students still want more. They want to grow. Upon using these technology creation tools, we are seeing focused students; students who do not want to stop working; students who are helping each other. Who am I to stop this?
I will agree with this former administrator that introducing too many tools is overwhelming, which is why I search out only the tools that enhance learning, not replace current methods. With that said, water your plant and let it soak it all in, you will see exponential growth. We already have.