Try something different

Hare rant 1/26/09

Okay, still no real research. What was I thinking? I have, however, discovered many bloggers and other resources addressing the issues of how to bring meaningful technology education into K-12 (and more specifically of interest to me, K-5) classrooms. I keep adding the ones I think most practical and relevant to my Delicious bookmarks. Now the trick is getting people to get to them. And here is where today's rant begins.

What does it take to get educators to step out of their comfort spheres and try something different? I feel like I am screaming into a deafening thunderstorm when I address the teaching staff in meetings, send out e-mail messages, create, manage and promote a school technology wiki, and meet one-on-one with teachers. It doesn't matter how many communication tools I use, many teachers appear to pay no attention. They say they want to use technology in their classrooms, but there are too many barriers or they don't know what is available. I work diligently to remove barriers where I can, provide work-arounds where I can't and offer encouragement and links to resources, but most continue to operate as if it is too hard or not worth the effort to try. I understand teachers' jobs are difficult and complicated and the demands on their time are great. It would just be less frustrating for me if I knew how to reach them to let them know it's my passion and my job to help them use the technology we have successfully in their classrooms.