One of the funniest interactions that happened at Educon last weekend took place in the planning document for Patrick Larkin’s session on school vision just after Patrick asked: “What does your school look like?”
Within seconds, an anonymous participant typed, “The same way it looked like 200 years ago, with shiny iProducts added ;-)”
That left me inspired to create a slide with the same theme:
Sure, purchases matter. I’d be MORE than happy to have a couple of hundred thousand dollars to spend upgrading our school’s wireless network and outfitting classrooms with complete sets of iPads and/or laptops.
In fact, I won’t turn down ANY digital iCandy that you want to throw my way. There’s room in my room for student responders, 3D printers, digital cameras, and high-end video equipment, too.
But let’s not mistake purchases for
progress when reflecting on our efforts to change teaching and learning
spaces.
All too often, purchases do nothing to actually move us towards a
new vision for what schools should be and — more importantly — towards a new vision for what students should be
doing while they are with us.
Change depends on leaders with visions that are bigger than their checkbooks.
2 Minutes
