Between technologists and educators
I have a secret... there is a gap between technologists and educators.
The Living SchoolBook is in its 11th year of operation. We have been here in the School of Education for 11 years. For 11 years we have making changes to the culture of educators in higher education and K12 environments.
We are still addressing gaps between the two cultures.
I confess that my background places me more in line with the technologists than the educators. While in the Navy I was constantly required to be diving into manuals and schematics to figure out the specifics about how the technology worked. What did it do, why did it do it and how does that relate to the procedures I needed to execute with clockwork precision on a daily basis. When you are the new guy on a ship you are unqualified to do any job on that ship until you can prove that you possess the requisite knowledge to perform the job. Until that time, you are considered "DinQ" ("Delinquent in Qualifications") and your life onboard was difficult. As a “DinQ” your job in life was to become “unDinQ” and pull your weight onboard by standing a watch you were qualified for. You were expected to do work to get the knowledge you needed or suffer a lot of jibes from the crew and your supervisor. You were pointed towards the nearest manual and told to get qualified. The responsibility was yours.
The developers I work with relate a similar experience through their education. Many of the experiences they were given were to solve a problem given limited resources. Their grade and success in the program depended on it. Those that couldn’t figure out how to solve problems were quickly weeded out of the program.
How different the inclusive education world! The inclusive educator meets you where you are and tries to build you up rather than weed you out. Educators expect technologists to meet them where they are and build them up, not to weed them out. Where the complexity of the technology poses barriers to use, we attempt to provide help and guidance to encourage the use of new tools and techniques and build up the individual educator.