Technology & Teachers

We have all heard the various jokes about how many ______ (insert the name of some group here) it takes to screw in a light bulb. The punch line is usually funny and everyone enjoys the joke. Jim Lengel, Hunter College School of Education, Boston University asks, “How many teachers does it take to screw in a new high-tech low-consumption halogen light bulb?” The answer: “Don’t bother, I’ll sit in the dark.”

This statement came from a discussion about teachers, competency, and computers. For years, many of us chose to sit in the dark when it came to adding technology and creativity to our classroom experiences. After teaching a few computer classes in my early career, I went back to teaching classes where I had training and expertise: Ethics and Management. While always striving for creativity and occasionally even controversy in my classes, I never added technology. I was not alone though since this was the late 80s and early 90s and only computer classes had computers in the classrooms. Sadly we were still using overhead projectors, slide shows and film strips and were comfortable with these technologies. Yes, we were indeed sitting in the dark.

As colleges and universities added computer experts they worked diligently to get all of the professors to add technology to our classes. Some of us tried and others gave up and retired. So, what was the big drawback for me when it came to adding useful technology to my classes? Control! Often computer labs would “go down” and the day was lost. The “Instructor’s Computer” in the classroom often didn’t work correctly (generally meaning I didn’t know how to properly work the computer and software) and that was frustrating. As a control freak, I gave up on technology.

When I moved from full time teaching to administration I got to talk to a lot of students about classes they liked and classes they didn’t like. Almost unanimously they loved the classes that had incorporated technology into their assignments and lectures. Contrary to what I thought, many of my colleagues were not sitting in the dark with me. Professors were finding ways to be more productive and technology was a big part of the process.

So I started to learn the basics. One of the best things about being a Vice President of Academic Affairs and Academic Dean is that you can schedule workshops and in-service training for faculty and staff and make sure the areas presented are things you want to know more about. I learned PowerPoint! This was a technologically savvy as you could be in the 90s if you weren’t a “computer geek.” I learned to add sound and animation. From that point forward my presentations and faculty meetings were technological experiences from heaven. I was hooked.

Along the way I met a guy who was a true geek. I called him “Geek Boy” for years. We became best friends over time and I learned just how much I still didn’t know about technology and how it could help me in academic administration and help in adding technology to the classroom. I thought I had arrived and then found out I had a long way to go. In the end though, isn’t that how life is supposed to be? We can choose lifelong learning or we can be left behind. It is our choice to make. I am going to learn how to screw in that dang new high-tech low-consumption halogen light bulb!