Closing OUR Gap

Each year, we look back reflectively at what we may have accomplished during the course of the year. We cross off our list those things at which we have been successful, and rearrange the priorities of other things that we, through reflective practice, declared in need of additional effort to achieve completion.

When responsible for the implementation of technology, whether at a district level or within the classroom, we need to take a brave look at where we are in the continuum of this endeavor. In making a plan of action toward applying good use of our aggregate impact on technology within our classrooms and our schools, recognizing the power and potential for learning should be apparent. Negating a lack of action with platitudes will not allow new strides to be made, therefore perhaps catapulting us into creating measurable action items for next year’s completion.

Current research recently conducted by Forrester on how adult consumers use and adapt to new technologies, suggest that we as users operate on a technology use continuum which categorizes patterns of use based on Internet activities. At the bottom of the continuum is the Inactives, which makes up 52% of all computer users according to this survey. This group does not participate or use RSS, blogs, social networking, or have any sort of web presence on the Internet. However, at the top of the scale are the Creators. Creators are those that may participate in the other levels of use, but have moved beyond utilizing and collecting information towards publishing information in a collaborative medium. Only 13% of adult computer users fall into this group.

What would this incremental scale look like if the respondents to the survey were children between 8 and 18? Would the percentage of use in each group mirror those for adults? It is doubtful. Furthermore, would these same children answer each question identically if the question was asked what their Internet usage habits were at home versus at school? A recent Pew study found that 56 per cent of young people in America use computers for creative activities, writing and posting on the internet, mixing and constructing multimedia and developing their own content.

Why does the collaborative computer use of children far outweigh that of adults? If nothing else, this research represents a strong challenge to adult educators. Educators must begin to make strides in increasing patterns of use, making our usage patterns mirror more closely those whom we teach.

As we do this, the power of collaborative intelligence will emerge out of increased usage patterns. Educators will take their collective intelligence and move from the passive to the active; from follower to leader, from Inactive to Creator, not alone, but in tandem with the students we teach everyday. What a powerful metaphor this could be for educating students in the 21st century.