I thought this article was interesting, in light of what some of our class discussions have been. For technology (in any venue) to be worth while it must be relevant.
http://www.news.com/At-Microsoft,-seeking-the-next-billion-computer-users/2008-1014_3-6212609.html?part=rss&tag=2547-1_3-0-20&subj=news
3 comments:
"I thought that affordability was the biggest challenge. It turns out that affordability is actually the third on the list of issues. The first one turns out to be relevance."
This quote from the article you referenced is probably the key for many of us attempting to bring teachers along in areas of technology. If teachers can be convinced of the relevance for their students, themselves, and for their subject matter, the other obstacles become less formidable.
Resistance to technology melts and skills develop when a teacher finds a use for that technology either professionally or personally. I've had many veteran teachers become entranced with computers as their children use technology to keep them up to date on the doings of first grandchildren :)
Dan,
Yes, this is an eye opener and I can understand (especially as an American) why this affordability issue was easy to assume as the primary reason. It is smart of MicroSoft to focus on the needs of emerging areas and segments especially if technology is to continue to bring about equality while permeating the globe.
I agree with Christine, in that the following quote really hit home when considering why we have so many educators resisting technology. "When I started looking at this about five years ago, I thought that affordability was the biggest challenge. It turns out that affordability is actually the third on the list of issues. The first one turns out to be relevance." Profound.
Thanks for sharing.
Meredith
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