Why has Technology Become a Snooze in Schools?

Hey ... my school lab just got evergreened! I've been looking forward to this for four years. Finally a whole room full of brand new computer technology. What will they be ...

Well it turns out they are big, square, fat, full towers with separate monitors. They come in room dampening black and are full of cords but no card reader, web cam or even a mic. This particular set even comes with ball mice. You remember ball mice don't you?

Well, at first I was very sad. How can this be? Three years ago we brought in a few beautiful flat, all-in one macs. They were white, slim and silent. They was only one piece with few cords, yet they came with a web cam and mic and still ran our district's required Windows. What happened to that direction?

I've concluded that I and my fellow teachers have somehow failed. We've failed to showcase what we can do with better technology. We've failed to engage kids in web 2.0 stuff like voicethread, sketchcast, eyespot or even podcasts. Instead all we've proven is we can use MS Office, so that's what we get. Fast Office boxes.

I really can't blame IT. They do not teach. They do not know how frustrating it is not to be able to see your students. Or how much positive difference it makes if your room looks engaing, innnovative, or even just bright and appealing. They fix boxes. Now they have a large nearly empty case that's easy to access. These are a win for them.

Sadly, they are a loss for us and our students.

So the challenge must be issued. We must do better. Our communities and students should be clammering for more web cams, camcordes, mp3 records, card readers, and cleaner, smaller, easier to use pieces of computer technology. If we do it right, I'm sure they'll listen.