During a conference session last week, we were discussing the ideas of: devices = access = content. AND that we are all trying to get as much access to content as possible for great learning experiences with students (no matter what age or ability level of student). It’s all about providing the opportunities for great learning experiences – anytime, anywhere, always on, and any device. That’s the assumption, right?
So during this conversation, a teacher in the audience expressed something AND I didn’t respond the way I really wanted to. I did not respond with the urgency we are all feeling. She was passionate and perhaps I didn’t want to offend her. But I probably should have gone down this road, but for some reason I didn’t. She passionately stated:
All we are trying to do is Keep UP with the Joneses. There’s no plan, it not about learning… it’s about another district beside us doing it!
I felt the frustration from her and I could see the fear in her eyes (I felt bad for her). If I had my A-Game on I would have gone down the following path. Next time I will.
OK… Keeping up with the Joneses, huh. Who are the Joneses? Let’s find out!
- Raise your hand if you have purchased a Smart Phone (Droid, iPhone, etc…) in the past 2 years.
- Raise your hand if you use the Web browser on that same device.
- Keep your hand up if you truly feel like some things you do are improved because of that access to the Web, that happens to always be with you. <enter in the notion of Change vs. Improvement/>
- Keep your hand up if you have a 1:1 ratio in your house hold. …keep it up if you have 2 devices per person OR even greater.
- Put your hand DOWN, if you think you will go back to NOT having a connected device in your pocket within the next 12 months.
So who are the JONESES? If we are really trying to get to this opportunity of Access and Content (creation or consumption)… Then aren’t WE THE JONESES? So in a school, are teachers and administrators the Joneses? … if so, surely we would want our students to “Keep up with the Joneses.” Right? Surely we are NOT trying to hold our students back from “improved” learning experiences because of fears OR even really cliche idioms, right? Are there really difficult scenarios and problems to leap over with a single bound — YES! But that’s the fun part, especially if we let students help own that. Right?
Just for references purposes… “keeping up with the Joneses” is an idiom based on a comic strip from the early 1900’s. It’s all about social benchmarking and accumulation of goods. Bringing it home, accumulation of learning experiences is good.