The First Day of Kindergarten

I recently had to show my Mom how to use my iPhone 4s. She wanted to call my Dad. I could sense her fear. It was like she was crippled by the thought that she might break something on my phone or cause some other calamity. A gadget that a two year old plays with and learns intuitively felt so foreign to her. She was like a fish out of water. I felt impatient. But the reality is, the way she felt and responded is like how I sometimes feel and respond in the face of contemporary technological changes that impact, among other things, education.

Have you ever tried to drink from a fire hose? I haven't. But I do remember trying to drink from a lawn-hose squirt-nozzle as a kid. I didn't drink much but I did manage to squirt water in my eye and up my nose. Getting water in my eyes and up my nose wasn't a pleasant experience. I stumbled around disoriented for a few moments until my head cleared and the discomfort dissipated. In truth, I've never seen anyone attempt to drink from a fire hose but I have seen videos of water cannons being used by authorities to blast protesters and knock them on their butts. If you've ever seen a newbie on ice skates, you get the picture. If not, imagine lots of trepidation and thin air betwixt and between arms and legs flailing in all directions in vain search for sturdy support.

Along with excited curiosity, this is a little of how I feel when confronting the explosion of technology and the recent changes taking place in society as well as in education. Some of the changes they imply seem staggering. Revolutions are bloody. They are not comfortable.

To use an educational metaphor, my thoughts about emerging technology are a little like those of an excited but anxious child on his first day of Kindergarten. What will my new environment be like? Will I be able to "make friends" with this rapidly changing educational context? Will I be competent? Will I be able to succeed? Where is my security blanket-the way I've always done things? Will the other kids (my students) like me in this new environment, especially if I struggle while learning new tricks? Will I be able to keep up?

When I watch videos like Mr. Winkle Wakes, I can identify with Mr. Winkle wanting to stay in his comfort zone. I like comfort. I like being comfortable. As the Chinese character implies, change is opportunity but it's also threatening. Like the water cannon, change threatens to knock us me off my feet and at least temporarily disorient me. As I try to drink and take in the new technology, some spills and is wasted because I don't know how to use it. I have a fancy gadget (Panaboards anyone?) in my classroom but I haven’t been trained in how to use it. ‘Smartboards’ can make great video screens.

As an educator, am I a little like the one-year-old who gets a shiny new toy but prefers to play with the box and wrapping paper instead?

You know you're a technological dinosaur when you watch a video that you think is current, only to find it was uploaded to YouTube in 2009. Don't you just hate that? The train left the station hours ago. Hours are like years in the brave new wired-world we live in.

You know you're a tech newbie in danger of being left behind when you watch a video like 'Mr. Winkle Wakes' and you totally identify with Mr. Winkle. You wrinkle your imaginary nose, wag your metaphorical finger in your mind and you're like, "Hey, don't you be poking fun at Mr. Winkle."

Just as one part of the Chinese character for change is ‘threat’, the other part is ‘opportunity’. The kid on his first day in Kindergarten is still excited about the possibilities. The first day turns into the second and the second, third. Before long, our newbie is getting along famously in the sandbox. He’s learning to share his new toys. As educators, we will learn how to share and collaborate all over again.