My wife works for an airline. On a few occasions I have witnessed the complexity of the online resources she has to use for work. Not only is the security multilevel to do anything, but changes are sent in notices, not in requests.
She has e-learnings that are “posted regularly” without notice. If she doesn’t do one, and shows-up for work, she is not allowed to work; and she can be fined. Some how she adjusts.
In May 2011, Facebook had 138.9 million monthly unique U.S. visitors. When they switched to a new set of privacy settings and a new interface, they barely lost any users. Some how without training or warning people adjusted- even though many had personal privacy violated until they sorted it out.
Students come to school everyday and are bombarded with new information and requirements. They are expected to adjust and comply; or create an alternative solution that meets the set goals. Most of them seem to complain and then get on with their work. A week later the change is just normal.
Whenever I have meetings with people about changing policies, IT procedures, educational technology strategies, etc. The first thing that comes up is that we have to train the teachers. We have to make a plan to slowly bring the teachers into the new scheme. We have to…we have to….
Why? My question to people who read this blog is why?
Could we be making a huge mistake in slowing things down? Are we sending the wrong message by not simply saying – Get On With It!
If all our time and resources were put into creating materials and methods for distributing learning instead of trying to group people together and walk them step-by-step through a process, would be be better off?
Do we expect enough out of a group of people, who expect others to adjust and learning daily?
I am hoping for some feedback …and I will write a post highlighting the comments and my opinions.
Tony DePrato
Technology in the Classroom 