| Creating Systemic Change | |
| Author: Ron Canuel, Director General, Eastern Townships School Board, Quebec, Canada | July 17th, 2009 | |
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As the Superintendent of the Eastern Townships School Board, which has deployed 1-to-1 wireless laptop computers to our students from Grades 3-11, over the last five years, I have witnessed and experienced a wide range of emotions, thoughts and sensations. I have been fortunate to present our 1:1 wireless laptop deployment at various educational-technology conferences in Europe, the UK and in North/South America. However, in the past few months, a change has occurred inside of me, helping to further understand, in my estimation, some persistent issues that plague the entire technology in education world. Here is one of my new beliefs:  Innovators don't create systemic change: Mid and late adopters are the people who need our support and encouragement. In attending conferences in technology, I am struck by the zeal and targeted vision of some of the delegates and of their impatience at how slowly technology in education is happening. As a superintendent of a school district, I can now understand why some of my colleagues are almost fearful of technology, when the IT director or consultant returns from the conference announcing even newer and more complex developments in the domain. I suspect that to many educators not as immersed in technology, it honestly sounds like bafflegab, hearing about the latest modifications to twitter, wiki, Pluto, verve or whatever. And in this context, the superintendent is to express confidence that technology can make a difference in the classroom? I don't think so.To complicate matters more, in our school district, we have showcased the work of our teachers from across our entire system. Yes, there are teachers using transformational teaching strategies incorporating blogs, wikis, podcasting, etc in the classroom, but there are also some teachers still getting used to PowerPoint, Garageband and Excel. Some of the delegates who visited our schools, the same IT folks in your district, leave shocked and dismayed. They state that after five years of deployment, not everybody is using Google Earth Version 9, in their cell phones or ipods and communicating, via satellite, with students! I am also a little baffled hearing "experts" in the field who can attest to incorporating change in a classroom, one or two schools, (private or public school), yet miss the entire point of systemic change and the time that it takes to succeed. When I hear some presentations given, I am intrigued at how the assumptions that simply creative usages of a laptop will entice the Grade 2 or Grade 10 teacher to embark upon a 1:1 initiative. Those districts in the US and Canada who have successfully incorporated change, on a systemic level, fully appreciate the complexities and challenges that we faced and continue to face. What's wrong with this picture? Well, instead of celebrating "baby steps" for some teachers who were very reluctant or hesitant users in the past, and now have accepted to use technology as an important tool in their everyday practice, some of our more proficient educators of technology pooh-pooh the deployment. My answer to them: "Shame on you." If you keep acting this way, don't ask yourself why other educators are not using technology. You are plainly making them feel dumb and inadequate and that is wrong. So, from now on, in any district that uses technology, in any way or format, please support them, encourage them, help them, share your insights in constructive manners because if you simply return to your district and tell your IT director or Superintendent that you witnessed a "disappointing" deployment, you are only setting the entire cause of technology in education backwards. And guess what, watch how slowly technology will evolve in your district and you'll only have yourself to blame. The Eastern Townships School Board, located in southeastern Quebec, is responsible for the first board-wide laptop initiative in Canada. The ETSB began phasing in laptops in 2003. To date, approximately 5,600 laptops have been distributed to its students and teachers. |
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