A stampede of baby steps
Last Thursday I was listening to segment called China's Technological Leap Forward on NPR's Talk of the Nation. They were discussing China's technological future with John Seely Brown, former director of the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center; co-author of The Only Sustainable Edge: Why Business Strategy Depends on Productive Friction and Dynamic Specialization.
During the show a caller who was working for a technology consulting firm in China stated that the groups he worked with were pretty far behind and were relying heavily on US technology. John Seely Brown agreed that was often the case, but said all over China businesses were taking baby steps and a stampede of baby steps leads to inovation.
After returning from NECC I have been frustrated by those who continue to tell me that I can't push our staff too hard in technology - baby steps, just have them take babysteps. Now I am okay with that. Baby steps are fine, as long as I can start a stampede.
posted by DebTech @ 5:00 PM
1 Comments:
An interesting thing of late (concerning baby steps)... I've suddenly had an increase of email that is asking for advice about "student safety" in using a blog/podcast, web, etc. As well as wonderings about how to "sell" Parents on the benefits vs. their fear of the Internet.
This has always been a slippery question, but one I haven't been asked for a while. I sort of thought that we've moved a bit beyond this... i.e., more people accepting that publishing on the Internet is part of the new landscape for education.
I realize I've been very lucky in my district/with my parents. We have parents sign permission forms to allow work to be posted... mine always come back with approval.
What are others experiencing? Since this is still an ongoing conversation/concern, has the response you're giving parents evolved since, say, three years ago?
Post a Comment
<< Home