Imagine you are waiting on your first shipment of brand new microcomputers!
The year is 1983 and yes, those microcomputers are Bell and Howell
Apple II’s with marvelous green monochrome monitors, or was it gold? I
carefully unpack and set up our first Title I funded computer lab and
unwrap our 5¼” floppy disks from MECC. With no NCLB requirements nipping
at our heels, we step boldly into the future with our students…
confident that we are preparing them for the world they will enter upon
college graduation.
Little did I know that when our kindergarten students graduated in
1995 the Internet would just be gaining steam, revolutionizing the way we access
information, communicate and do business around the world. By the time
these students fully launched their careers, they were carrying more
computing power in their pockets than the sum total of all our computers
in that little Apple II lab in Houston, Texas.
From Basic programming and MECC Number Munchers to sophisticated
digital learning content and tools, technology’s potential to impact
learning has grown in leaps and bounds. As I traverse the country,
visiting school districts from Michigan to Florida, I am struck by an
odd contrast. During the past 28 years, while technology continues to
grow in sophistication, we are still struggling to realize it’s true
potential in our classrooms.
But wait – this year something feels different. Across the country a
new movement is gaining steam, perhaps as a result of budget cuts,
community pressure or a push to provide our students with 21st
Century tools and curriculum. 'Bring Your Own Device and Technology'
(BYOD, BYOT) programs and one-to-one initiatives are providing students
with unprecedented access to technology.
Let’s take a lesson from the past. Will we fail to capitalize on
major technological advances, or this time will we make the most of this
opportunity and find a way to harness technology’s full potential to
transform learning. This time our students are leading the way… Will we
follow their lead or be left behind?
