I have a friend who knows what I do, understands technology, and uses it in his daily life both for work and leisure.  He is a very involved dad–even serving on his kids’ PAC–and is generally an intelligent and thoughtful human being.  But this post isn’t about him, it’s about me… and how really surprised I was by the poor job I had done in communicating, even to a close friend, how I view the importance– the CRITICAL importance– of educational technology.

First, a definition: When I refer to Ed-Tech, I do not mean Teaching about Technology.  I mean, embedding Technology as a common tool, as vital as a pencil, a desk and books, in the successful, modern Education model.  Can learners learn without electronics?  Absolutely.  And if I ever get the chance to visit an Amish schoolhouse, I will be curious to observe what the process must have looked like in the past. But for me, in my setting, my aim is to support teachers and their learners in incorporating technology into any and every activity that makes sense, and where technology is at least an augmentation, if not a redefinition (see:  SAMR)

The other day I visited a class of senior high students in their cooking class.  They had been tasked with using iPads to create a presentation on Kitchen Safety.  This is a great example of allowing technology to augment a critical lesson.  They were able to take pictures, video, download clips, add text, subtitles and sound effects.  The teacher had a wide range of abilities in the room, and the projects reflected that–from simple still photos and slide shows to elaborate and clever short films. If we embed the principles of SAMR, the lesson looks like this:

Substitution–a simple Keynote/PowerPoint instead of a poster with magazine cutouts and printed captions.

Augmentation–an ebook which includes both photos and videos with text features

Modification–Self-scripted and performed meta-project short film that includes the  criteria of the original assignment, but also provides reflective opportunities for learners.

Redefinition–while I didn’t see any examples of this, the possibility exists, in the imaginary event a video project was uploaded to a social media site, and garnered feedback, re-purposing or live interaction.

It was a successful lesson, and the teacher will have a variety of projects to grade, based on common criteria, and the learners had the opportunity to be more engaged and self directed.

Which leads me back to my friend…. in telling him about an incident that happened during my lesson, he asked for clarification about the class I was in.  I explained it was a senior foods class, and carried on my tale.  He interrupted me again to ask: “Wait…. I don’t understand… a cooking AND technology class?  What kind of a class is that?”.

It was at that point I realised I have failed to clearly express my philosophy and educational goals to a friend who knows me well, clearly there is still a fundamental lack of understanding in  mainstream society about this: technology needs to be present, seamless, and employed as more than just a secondary tool.  The best tool for the job might a pencil.  Guess what?  A pencil is technology too.  It shouldn’t be viewed in a different light than an iPad, a laptop, a mobile phone, a cassette-tape recorder.