This article was originally published on 1st September 2009. I thought it might be interesting to re-read it in the current UK context.
Those responsible for ICT (educational technology) should beware of using technology too much: if they’re not careful, it can deter people from wanting to use it themselves.
What can we learn from a band about the characteristics of the expert ICT teacher?
This sounds like an odd kind of question to pose on an educational technology website, but bear with me. A couple of days ago I went to my local swimming pool and the clock on the wall was tilted at an angle, and stuck at ten to six (it was three in the afternoon).
So that got me thinking: does a broken clock indicate that the management really doesn't care that much about such details because they are regarded as unimportant in comparison to customer service issues?
You’d think that giving people in your team the freedom to teach ICT how they like would be met, by them a least, with unbridled enthusiasm. You’d think that the best way to get on with your boss would be to offer no resistance to his latest idea, even if you secretly believe it is completely nuts. You’d think that not challenging your students when they proudly show you the results of their programming or desktop publishing efforts would be much better than the opposite, lest their (supposedly) fragile self-esteem be damaged.
You’d be wrong.
“But what do you actually have to do?”
“You have to implement this solution.”
“Yes, but what do I do?”
“You have to implement this solution.”
“How? Who do I have to speak to? What should I say?”
Why is it that all innovators seem to have an “either-or” mentality, an all-or-nothing approach? “Out with the old, in with the new!” seems to be their call to action, yet sometimes – I would say often – the new is not as good as the old. At least, not so much better that the old should be dispensed with altogether.
As an exponent of educational technology, are you expected to use technology all the time? The answer is probably “yes”. But should you?
There is no better way to quell enthusiasm and induce frustration than to respond to a “brilliant idea” by saying, “Yes, but what about…”. One of the things you learn from experience is that there are always unintended consequences, and part of the leader’s job is to try and think of what they could be, and to help other team members do the same. In the sphere of educational technology, there is ample scope for unfortunate outcomes.
In this day and age, in which anyone can publish and distribute their books electronically, or self-publish them by going down several routes (none of which need include the traditional vanity publisher), why should anyone bother approaching a traditional publisher? After all, very few of the thousands of manuscripts that publishers receive find their way into book form, and of those that do, very few hit the big time.
There are, in fact, at least 4 reasons to try to get published by the age-old process of going to publishers. On the other hand, there at least 7 reasons to abandon the commercial publishing route, and do it yourself. In this article I look at both options, in particular from the perspective of an ICT co-ordinator in a school -- although the points could easily apply in many other contexts.
You can describe what your school does with educational technology ad nauseum, but in my opinion nothing will bring it alive as much as a well-written case study.
The reason that case studies can be so effective is that they take just one aspect of what the school is doing, rather than trying to present the whole lot.
Julia Skinner disagrees with Terry's analysis of people who manage but don't lead.
As consumers ( in the real world) when things go wrong we call for the Manager. That role holds power. Power to sort out difficulties. Power to have answers to customers questions and queries. In retail particularly it is the aim of those career minded youths to work their way up to management and the exulted places they are considered to be.
eLearn: Feature Article - Man Up Your Leadership: The European management perspective
very in-depth analysis of leadership in general, not ICT-specific.
tags: leadership
eLearn: Feature Article - What Makes a Good Learning Game?
interesting analysis, with useful references. see also the Computers in Classrooms games-based learning specials.
tags: games-based learning
(c) Terry Freedman All Rights Reserved