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Access for All?

And one more...

Dr. Hazari, How would this relate to a community college that "Team Teaches" and 50% of the staff are computer literate and the other 50% are not? We just got PDAs and already 2 faculty members have stored them into the closet for safe keeping because they don't want to use them or lose them. Mary Ann

I know the truth of this statement first hand, having seen the same thing happen with middle school students (if you can believe that), teachers, administrators (of all levels), and even site technology coordinators, including my wife! She is an amazing tech coordinator, but I guess she doesn't have a use for the Tungsten E the district assigned to her... which I can hardly grasp, as I cary my cell phone, blackberry and iPod most places I go, and I have used a Handspring Visor, Toshiba Pocket PC, and Palm Tungsten E (and C) all in the past five years. Still, she is a leader among computer using educators, so I suppose I must trust her judgement. (She does use her iPod with her kindergarteners after all!)

But it's still sad. :)

Over the past few years, as I worked at the district level and studied organizational leadership here at Walden, I have come to develop the philosophy that any program that looks to bring a new technology to ALL of anyone is a waste of resources.

Dr. Daggett suggests that all staff development be optional. The pattern he has obsevered is that 1/3 of a staff (the early adopters who are excited about the new technology or program) will come on board the first year. Another third (those practical folks who say "I'll believe it when I see it" and then do) will join in the second year, followed by the reluctant final third who will eventually bow to the pressure to conform... except for a small handful who inevitably leave the school one way or another to avoid the innovation.

-Mark