by Leslie Wilson

We educators throw around terms such as ‘transformation’ and ‘reform’ when discussing the need for meaningful integration of education and technology.  The heart of the matter is that those who are truly engaging ubiquitous technology had to rethink and REALLY retool their craft and skill set to successfully move into the 21st century market of expectations.  They have created innovative practices that run parallel to what they knew as past pedagogy.  Brain research tells us that when adults purposely develop ‘new’ habits, they cause new brain cells to emerge which brings about new, innovative thought processes. These are significant for 21st and 22nd century classrooms.

Consider the fact that traditional education settings and practices (those from the 19th and 20th centuries) had been indoctrinated across schools’ community boundaries.  Rote routine became a country-wide ‘habit’.  All that became comfortable and held anticipated routines. The introduction of technology, let alone seamless integration with curriculum and instruction, created discomfort and territory unknown.  The innovative practices brought about by the fusion of education and technology creates many possibilities.  Those lead to wonder and creativity which are crucial 21st and 22nd century skills.  One can understand the significance of teachers’ modeling of these qualities among their learners.

Researchers from the ’60s found that by puberty, humans’ brains shut down half of their original capacity for collaboration and innovation for problem-solving.  I believe that educators who have jumped into the education technology frontier have built their professional capacity to such a high degree that their new ‘habits’ around teaching and learning are truly compelling and moving the education profession by leaps and bounds.  It is this scenario about which educators speak when discussing ‘transforming’ and ‘reforming’ schools.  Retooling and building new ‘habits’ have been crucial to the education industry.