Technological Innovations: How are we doing in schools?

It has been observed that the educational world is about 10-20 years behind the business world in technology use. I would agree with this observation. Educators, in some respects, have been very reluctant to embrace the full potential of new technology. Although, in the four years that I have been in public education, I have seen some educators happily embrace technology and its educational benefits. I think that, overall, the educational system has not realized the full potential of common technologies, like the television, or the telephone, or the fax machine, not to mention the grand possibilities that are present in the Internet. I propose that the reluctance lies in the fact that to embrace some new technology is to change the traditional role of the teacher in the classroom. It means that teachers need to loosen the reigns on knowledge and move to the side of the learner and journey together as opposed to leading from the front. This perception can be changed not only through training on the technologies, but also through observations of others’ success, and more importantly with time. A change to the teaching structure that has been in place for hundreds of years (teacher imparts knowledge to the eager learner) will not happen over night, but will come with time and more naturally to those that are now students that will become the educators of tomorrow. These digital natives will be able to change the perception that the “new” thing is actually the “normal” thing. I see the educators seeking new technologies that will better enhance their teaching as opposed to resisting technologies that are viewed as taking their place.