I think my personal history with technology explains my mixed reactions to Richardson's presentation. I agree with so much of what he has to say, and I recognize the importance of his message. At the same time, it left me wondering two main things: a) Will I, a teacher, eventually be replaced by technology? and b) How can I, a teacher, provide the kind of learning experiences to my students that Richardson advocates? Richardson mentioned the "education we create for ourselves," and I have successfully learned in the way Richardson shows us many people are learning; I learned how to run marathons without ever taking a class, interacting with a teacher, or setting foot in a classroom. From various online sources, a few books, and conversations with friends, I evolved from a person who had never run more than three miles to someone who has completed five half marathons and two marathons with decent times. I know through experience that I can learn most anything I want to learn from simply having Internet access. I don't need to take a cooking class or own a cookbook to prepare a pretty good meal. But does that mean my students don't need me to teach them how to be better readers, writers, speakers, and researchers?
I believe the answer to this question is NO; they DO need me, need all educators who are passionate, committed, and knowledgeable. They just need more technologically savvy and creative versions of us. Richardson discussed the difference between bold vs. old schools, and one of the characteristics of a bold school is that it "embraces failure." I feel as though ASCD is moreso a "bold" school, but certainly we still have some old ways and some teachers who often rely on old ways. I'm guilty of this; we all are. When you teach the same courses year after year, it's often easier to use a unit plan, a lesson plan, an assignment that you have used before rather than devise a new way to teach the same information/concepts. Learning about new technologies and then coming up with ways to implement their use in your classroom is time consuming and can be difficult and frustrating. However, being "bold" with technology usage or even just a new method in regards to planning and instruction, though it may not work every time, is essential. Our students need us to do that.
One of the things Richardson said that resonated with me is that we need to teach kids how to learn, not just play, with technology. I can't just hand my students iPads and expect them to figure out how to write an awesome research paper. They need guidance and instruction about how to best use the technology available to them, about how to find the best technology for a certain purpose, and about how to sort through billions of sources of information and determine which sources are of merit and quality. A difficulty for many educators is that we were taught how to teach and started teaching in a completely different era and thus were never trained to teach kids how to interact with technology. That's no excuse, though. I usually take an approach where I try to learn about and to use as many technologies/technological resources as possible, and then I have my students teach me new things. I have always viewed myself as another learner in the classroom, not the sole controller of learning, and so when a student shows me a better way or a new way to do something, I appreciate it.
Overall, I feel that what Richardson advocates is aligned with what our kids need and deserve, but I know that it will take many school districts a long time to fully embrace or to be able to implement this approach to education. And although technology is here to stay, I believe that teachers are, too. No device, program, or app can replace the sacredness of the student-teacher interaction/relationship. That human contact will always have to exist if we want our students to be the most wonderful versions of themselves that we hope they will be.
