It’s tough to go back

For a student who was in a school district’s middle-school-only 1:1 laptop program, it’s tough to go back to ring-binder-and-notebook-paper classrooms when she transitions to the high school.

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For a child who had an opportunity to progress at his own pace while learning something that he loved (perhaps online or via an independent project or using robust learning software), it’s tough to go back to a undifferentiated, non-individualized learning experience.

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photo © 2008 Colin | more info (via: Wylio)For a teacher who worked in a 1:1 laptop school, it’s tough to go back to her former way of doing things when she moves to a new district and a non-laptop school.

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For a kid who spent a year with a teacher that valued collaborative hands-on, inquiry-based, and problem-based learning, it’s tough to go back the next year to a teacher that has more of a lecture-based, isolated-seatwork-oriented approach.

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For a principal who has been immersed in robust online learning networks, it’s tough (and perhaps unimaginable) to go back to the way things were before that experience.

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For many teachers / administrators / parents / policymakers, it’s not tough to go back – and it’s easy to be skeptical about the importance of robust, technology-suffused learning experiences – because they’ve never been there.

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[See also: A taste of honey]