It is so easy to get caught up in the latest, newest, trendiest, shiniest piece of technology. Whether that is a device, a platform, or a new software – is new always better? How do we keep staying on top of the new? How often have we been in the situation where we just got the “new” and now there is already a “newer” and “newest?” The race to be at the forefront of innovation is endless.
The issue here: sustainability of the change. What if we could transform our existing tools and solutions to do something differently and more effectively and that is all it takes to accomplish our goals? If we can identify our goals and interests, perhaps we can curb the impulse to shop for something “new.” Why did we need the “new” in the first place? Think about it this way, how has our word processing software differed from its 1997 version to the current version? Aside from the convenience of some new built-in bells and whistles, if all we really needed to do was type, format, spell check, and print, do we really need the latest version to do the job? In fact, technology is often a solution that just does our current job better. Instead of hand-writing our documents, we can process it electronically. It is more efficient in terms of time, effort, and resources. However, regardless of how you change the interface of a word processing software, it is still doing just that: word processing. There is minimal difference in the use of Microsoft Word, Google docs, or Notepad to complete the task.
Consider this, if we are trying to make a change and travel from the start line to the finish line in our plan, how would we do it? What strategy should we take? If a part of our strategy can be easily replaced by a different solution or tool, it only indicates that the tool or technology is not the primary agent of change. In fact, we should select the most appropriate tool for the job last. Identifying what we can replace, remove, or change, and what serves as the backbone to the strategy such as theories, concepts, and policies will help us achieve our goals and keep our best interests in mind.
To bring it back to the topic of learning and technology, I like to think of it as identifying the goal to be aimed towards upgrading versus evolving:
- Selecting or upgrading our technology to enhance the learning experience: smoother, easier, more accessible.
- Challenging and evolving our existing learning structure, then implementing technology that will do the job most effectively and efficiently.
Neither is more correct than the other. More importantly, what are you hoping to achieve and which perspective are you coming from?
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