It is Not Okay

Today I stumbled upon a Fischbowl post from 2007 that caught my attention. Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher? I say in our flat world…NO!

So, as a leader of technology in my district, it makes me think about my role in all this. When a discussion came up at our district technology meeting about adopting the NETS Standards for Teachers, I balked. The district needs to commit the time and money to train its teachers, I argued. It wouldn't be fair otherwise. Most everyone agreed. Three years have passed and the issue has not resurfaced.

I also used to teach math, as the blogger noted about himself, and used to hear parents state matter-of-factly, "I'm not a math person." And now I even hear students say, "I'm not a computer person." How ridiculous are those statements! Can you imagine if I said that I'm not a writing person (even though some might agree with me)?

As chief negotiator for our district, I have been spending a lot of time on RIF language these days. 'Last one in, first one out' has been our guiding principle. It does seem like the fair way to do it. But, the potential is there for one or more of our 'barges' to bump our 'speed boats' out of the way. I hope it doesn't come down to that. We obviously need the latter in order to win the race.

In today's world, it is not okay to be technologically illiterate. State-of-the-art computers in schools are not enough. Having an airplane in a backyard is of no use unless someone can pilot it. All of our teachers must embrace technology in education. Maybe it's time to revisit adopting those ISTE standards.