November 2004 — Features
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The Paradox of Integrating Handheld Technology in Schools: Theory vs. Practice
The first true step for school leaders is to take comfort in the realization that a willingness to learn anything about technology is a step toward the integration of technology in your life. Because the technology integration process is multidimensional rather than linear, we have to remember that each participant in the technology revolution approaches this culture in a different way. That is why there is no clear global definition of technology integration. And like so many other issues related to the evolution of a school, the job of figuring out how technology plays a role in student learning and achievement is up to the leadership team of a community to decide.
Gravitating to Technology
Before principals can authentically facilitate a technology vision for their school, they must first understand the vision. And before someone can understand a technology vision for an entire school, that person must understand technology on a personal level. For many school leaders, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and other exotic technologies are the “soy-milk tofu squares” of the digital age. These gadgets, while good, essentially provide a service that is already performed by other familiar tools. Case in point: One principal adamantly claims that her leather day planner keeps all of her appointments organized perfectly well. But the technology teacher argues that his PDA d'es everything her planner can do and more. The principal retaliates, “I don’t want to invest the time to learn about something that I won’t use because I can already do the job with the tools currently at my disposal.”
Is this principal against change? No, she simply conducted a cost-benefit analysis of her time and responsibilities. The result of her analysis left the PDA from the district on the storage shelf because the long-term commitment of training was not worth it to her. Sometimes educators and schools have pragmatic and politically motivated reasons to shy away from technology. Consider e-mail for example, it allows us to communicate with anyone at any time. What d'es that mean for principals? Well, it could mean 60 e-mail messages a day from various staff and district office folks either talking about nothing or discussing very important things - all demanding a response and the time to prioritize communication.
E-mail flattens out an organization in terms of providing instant access for subordinates to people above principals. For the principal, who is a middle manager, this means even more time devoted to e-mail or phone calls.
E-mail is also an interesting option because those who do not enjoy confrontation can simply (and safely) communicate in CAPITAL LETTERS TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS THAT THEY ARE FRUSTRATED. No matter how many in-service workshops regarding e-mail etiquette you have, someone will always prefer to sit quietly in a meeting and scream at you over the Internet because you forgot to order the right colored chalk for September.
The Digital Divide
Often we think of the digital divide as something between generations. A systems perspective reveals that it also exists between school administrators and district curriculum/technology experts.
