A New Paintjob on the Old Dodge...

Let's take a trip into the past. We all know someone who had that old car. I'll call it the "Old Dodge". It burned oil, smoked out of the exhaust, sometimes overheated and often stalled if you were at a light too long. The outside was a bit forlorn. It had rust and the paint, which used to be a deep blue, was now a darker shade of gray and black. Whatever shine it once had went the way of the dinosaur.

What does this have to do with anything? Keep reading.

Tonight I participated in a workshop with Dr. Mark Weston from Long Island University's T.E.A.M. program. We were talking once again about revolution in education, using technology and making 'the shift'.

Here are my feelings, and I'd be curious as to what people out there in the blogisphere feel about them:

Technology ≠ Educational Revolution
We were asked if we could identify a classroom that was revolutionary and how long it would take. Some participants said that they would see tech items like SMARTboards and computers being used. I must respectfully totally disagree. While I feel that technology use can be an attribute of revolutionary classroom, it is more an indicator of a progressive classroom. That is far better than the same old instructional model/direction, but in this blogger's humble opinion it falls short of a revolution.

When does 'different' become 'revolutionary'?
Educators are incorporating technology more and more these days, and many are using its resources as extension activities, exploratory instruction or even as direct instructional resources. The times they are a changin'. At what point can we say that a sufficient 'shift' has occurred and we are no longer just 'changin'?

What does this have to do with the Old Dodge? Well, let's think of the Old Dodge as educational practices. With that pretty paint job fresh on it, it looks brand new again. It shines in the sun, and you no longer are embarrassed to step out of it. Start it up however, and it still possesses the same ailments and shortcomings that it had before. It still stalls at stop lights, overheats sometimes, and blows smoke. Sitting idle in the parking lot, it looks like a dream, but in the end it is still unreliable. The only way to really fix it is to totally correct all of its problems, or to junk it and start all over again.