It's not about the technology

It's not about the technology

I made the video linked above to summarize my educational technology philosophy for my online portfolio during my recent job search.  It helped me land a position as an educational technology consultant for a regional educational services agency.  Below is a full explanation:

It’s not about the technology.  Learning in the 21st century requires a paradigm shift, and simply replacing old technology with new does not facilitate the type of thinking necessary for thriving in modern society.

Learners need an expert facilitator to design learning experiences involving inquiry, choice, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, and innovation.  These experiences need to be project-based and available just-in-time, to meet individual students’ needs. Technology is a set of ever-changing tools that are used to enable rich learning experiences; the technology should follow they learning, not guide it.

As an educational technology consultant, I will guide learning facilitators with the ideas and principles of the educational shift we need right now.  I will inform leaders of reflective learning practices, Universal Design for Learning, building professional learning networks, and blended learning in order to best educate their digital natives.  I will provide teachers the best web 2.0 tools and applications to best facilitate 21st century learning practices and to suit their learning needs; however, I will never allow technology to dictate learning.