In a comment on Tuesday’s post, Will wrote:

[I] want to press the question to what extent is it now a teacher’s responsibility to make use of these tools in his or her own learning in order to be able to implement one or more when the moment for deeper understanding through the uses of these technologies presents itself?

I think it’s a question that bears serious exploration, but I think it’s a hard one. Larry Cuban claimed back in 2000 that teachers aren’t technophobes, in fact, many teachers are early adopters of technology. That may seem a little tough to believe for the School 2.0 advocates who have spent a great deal of time explaining what a blog or a wiki is, but the question is… if you went into a room full of lawyers, doctors, or any other non-tech-specific professionals, how many folks would know how to edit a wiki? Are we frustrated more that the tools we have embraced haven’t gotten more wide-spread usage society-wide? I don’t know.

That’s not excusing teachers. Will is right when, in his recent speeches, he says that this matters, and it matters now. And while I don’t have a problem holding those of us in education to a higher standard, I also say that we have to be realistic that even those of us who are techies are having a hard time keeping up. I admit, it took until around three months ago before I really saw a reason for me to delve into really learning wikis, and that was when I felt a real reason to — I was giving a presentation and it made sense to do it as a wiki.

So what do we do with that? Is it realistic to expect every teacher to read blogs? Is it fair to expect all teachers to explore the technological tools so they can think about how to bring it into the classroom? (And I’ll even throw the inverse out — should every tech-loving teacher feel like every time they find a new tool, they have to find a way to bring it into the classroom? I watch so many of us try to find a way to use twitter in the classroom when really, maybe it’s o.k. if it’s not a classroom tool…)

I think this gets us back to school structures and creating systems where both students and teachers can learn about the tools in the larger context of the learning they do. At SLA, 9th graders take the technology infusion workshop with the same cohort (or stream) of students that they take English, History and Science with. This means our tech infusion specialist (Marcie Hull can work with teachers and students to teach the skills we think are important so that it enhances the learning going on in their core classes. It allows teachers and students to see the power of the tools through the work they have to do. Once that happens, I think we move toward more passion-based learning of technology because now students and teachers have a reason to continue that learning on their own.

But again, that’s structural — that’s about creating systems in schools to create the impetus for personal learning, growth and change. So I guess that’s my answer to Will… yes, teachers should be exploring these tools on their own. With all the many tools at our disposal, if teachers can act as a vetting system for kids, that’s a very good thing, but I’m going to argue it’s bigger than that:

We need school and district administrators to create a culture of innovation where teachers and students can bring new ideas, new tools and new ways of thinking to the subjects we have at hand and be rewarded for their innovation. When that happens — when teacher learning through non-traditional means is valued — then we can a) expect to really see change and b) hold teachers accountable when they don’t. Until that day, we will see the early adopters and the risk-takers bring new ideas to bear on the classroom, but I don’t think we’ll see wide-spread adoption of any tools at any rate faster than general society.