From: Miguel Guhlin [mguhlin@yahoo.com] Sent: Friday, October 25, 2002 11:56 AM To: Joy Rousseau Subject: RE: [tecsig] A New Beginning? Sigh 8-> Sure...appreciated your response. Miguel >Miquel, May I post this wonderful dissertation on my Website? You >write sooooooo well! ;-) Joy -----Original Message----- >From: Miguel Guhlin [mailto:mguhlin@yahoo.com] >Sent: Thursday, October 24, 2002 10:26 PM >To: tecsig@yahoogroups.com >Subject: [tecsig] A New Beginning? Sigh 8-> > >Howdy fellow Tech Coordinators/Directors! > >Over the last few weeks, this thought has been knocking around in my >head (plenty of room up there, you know). It began with the realization >that the differences between Curriculum and Instruction and >Instructional Technology have been swept away. That's not to say that >there aren't differences...it's just that in the face of No Child Left >Behind legislation, there is a clear message for Instructional >Technology--define or be defined (yes, I've read "Beyond Technology"). > >INTEGRATION HAS FAILED >I don't know if you realize it, but it's true. "Technology integration" >efforts have failed. That's right, they have failed to have a >significant, across the board impact and be measured in a way that is >convincing. Worse, even if you are able to argue that integration works >(yes, I know the arguments well), integration efforts are now >IRRELEVANT. Technologists have been describing the light of the sun so >much that they don't realize there has been an earthquake and the cave >has cracked open. Now, in the light of the sun, what do the sun >prophets do next? What is there left to say? "I told you so?" Forgive >my analogies. > >Like so many other technologists, I focused on showing hundreds of >people how to create webquests, subject samplers, etc. Now, I'm not so >convinced about their effectiveness. Sure, people learned something but >they didn't learn how to use webquests. We created libraries of >webquests, they were great to look at, they helped us all learn how to >make web pages, discuss copyright, focus on higher levels of Bloom's >Taxonomy, but few people I talk to now will deny that webquests were a >fad. I almost feel sorry for the folks who are just finding out about >it...yeah, yeah, big deal. . > >UBIQUITOUS ACCESS >As C&I departments hire their own content-area technologists, and >technology becomes more ubiquitous, everyone starts to wonder why the >Instructional Technology department is offering classes that compete >with C&I's classes. The next question that comes is, how is >Instructional Technology impacting student achievement? Why are IT >departments still sidelined from C&I? Now that the sun is shining, it's >obvious that there is sunshine, why is that group of technologists OVER >THERE instead of OVER HERE? Wouldn't it be cheaper to collapse the >group into C&I? They're teachers aren't they? I can feel the backlash >among some technologists...they don't want to be a part of C&I. So what >do you do with the technology gunslingers who can't live in a new "Old >West?" Or, soldiers that have returned from the war to find all has >changed? > >In struggling with these questions, I turned to books such as >Information Power and Information Problem-Solving processes like the >Big6 and focused on information literacy. Define or be defined...if we >are no longer focused on integration--reminiscent of "Who Moved My >Cheese?"--then what can we be focused on that will allow us to stay >apart? > >The other approach I consider is developing the district instructional >technologists into an Office of Professional Development that can >design online content. But where's the "teaching and learning" >connection there? Might as well hire consultants. > >Change is hard, I tell myself, and then realize that the change agent >is undergoing change. What a frightening concept. What will happen to >all the technology directors? Technology trainers? > >Part of me is struggling with this being apart and merging. Yesterday, >I received a copy of Jamie McKenzie's From Now On >(www.fno.org) electronic newsletter, and I happened to click on the top >link of one of the pages. It took me to a page advertising "How to Use >the Internet in the Classroom." You can see it yourself at >http://www.fno.org/howtouse.html > >Notice the first bullet: >What sets this course apart from other courses on the Internet? >* Emphasis upon information literacy and Information Power > >Wow...this hit home since last week, I worked on developing a class >entitled "The Big6: Your PFD in the Information Ocean." >(http://itls.saisd.net/prodvmt/big6/index.htm ) It follows the same >concept. In preparing for that class, I found that several districts >are using the Big6 and interweaving them with webquests (drop it into >the process section) and other activities. > >So, the reason I'm writing this, sharing this idea with you, is that >while I'm sure it will be a few years before C&I and IT merge, I'm not >quite sure what to do in the meantime. This is a transition period and >I wonder what will happen. I'm in between the trapezes. > >Am I going crazy or is this zeitgeist? > >-- >Miguel Guhlin >mguhlin@yahoo.com >http://www.mindwrite.cc > > >To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: >tecsig-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > >Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to >http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > >------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor >---------------------~--> Home Selling? Try Us! >http://us.click.yahoo.com/QrPZMC/iTmEAA/jd3IAA/e3qrlB/TM >---------------------------------------------------------------------~- >> > >To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: >tecsig-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > >Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to >http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ -- Miguel Guhlin mguhlin@yahoo.com http://www.mindwrite.cc