Twitter, a weird beast indeed. As I have written elsewhere regarding Twitter, some people get it and others do not.
In certain circles I dare not mention I have an account with Twitter for fear of being stoned by 21st century luddites. Mention terminology such as social media, web 2.0, and the like and some people give you a strange look. I have long given up on enlightening specific groups in various walks of life and differing organisations regarding the advantage of online tools that facilitate communication and collaboration.
Why bash one’s head against a brick wall? A cave wall might be a better analogy. One is dealing with troglodytes in some cases. They stare at you with blank looks. I cannot help but think of the individuals staring at their shadows in Plato’s cave. That is their reality. Although, come to think of it, perhaps it is I sitting in the cave, entranced by the flickering shadows on the wall of the cave.
When you think about it the statistics are not that good. The number of teachers that make practical use of online tools that enable communication and connectedness are few and far between. Assume there are 20 schools in your town. There may be, say, 2000 teachers in all. How many would have a Twitter account? Five, perhaps? Ten, maybe? How many would have some other form of online account that they use to enable collaboration with others in education? Not many.
There would be quite a few with Facebook. For family and personal reasons. Straightforward stuff.
Well, I shall continue to utilise the Twitter via @john_larkin to share news, resources and ideas. In keeping with that train of thought I have updated my list of links to resources, articles and views regarding Twitter.[table id=17 /]
Mar 17, 2011 @ 06:30:34
If I mention something about Twitter now and people cut me off and say Twitter is stupid I just smile and nod. They want me try and convince a brick wall. It’s like they want me to waste my life trying to convince them of something they are determined to hate without trying.
Life is too short.
Mar 17, 2011 @ 16:32:26
Hi Allanah,
You are quite right. It is frustrating in other areas of technology as well. In organisations around the world there are people, some in decision making positions, who simply have no idea regarding the pedagogical and creative aspects of using technology as a method to achieve desired learning outcomes. They cannot foresee the long term impacts of major technology purchases. They cannot see the big picture. They stare. There is nothing happening beyond the eyes. Single dimensional.
There are schools around the world where the executive, parents and/or teachers have consciously decided not to go 1:1. Then, unexpectedly, funding for 1:1 programmes becomes available and they snap up hundreds of devices. Just like that. They rush in. They have little or no idea what to do with them and by the time they do know what to do the devices will be out of date. The devices will be old technology. A waste of taxpayer’s money.
There are two types of education technology leaders in the world today. Visionaries like Jeff Utecht and others who may as well be working as a purchasing and logistics officer for a technology warehousing company. They can purchase the computer and they can point to the places where the computers will be kept. Regrettably they know little or nothing regarding how to appropriately employ the computers to enable a students to successfully navigate from “A” to “B” to synthesise “C” in appropriate areas of the curriculum where an outcomes matrix has determined that technology is the best fit. Give the devices to the students? “Heaven’s no! They might break them.” Sad. Very sad.