Technology & Learning
Community
From the Facilitator
May 1998
The Information
Technology Prayers
by Mark D. Milliron,
Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, and Cindy L. Miles,
Director, League for Innovation in the Community College
Imagine, if you will, a time in community college education when
information technology becomes so ubiquitous, stable, and integrated
into the educational enterprise that it is no longer the center
of great debate, fervent support, or angry contention. The
hardware, software, networks, and integrated database systems work
together to make everything we do easier. We are free to focus on
students and their unique learning journeys. Information technology
simply "goes away" from immediate attention, no longer trapped in
wonder and confusion, and is more comfortably welcomed as an everyday
and valuable part of our world.
Although some would
have you believe that this heavenly time is upon us, our everyday
experiences defy the prophecy. We earnestly turn our computers off
and on again, hoping that their demonic behavior will some how be
exorcised by a lack of power. We passionately pray for the lost
document to return, for the e-mail attachment to open, and for the
Internet connection not to crash. First-born children are jokingly
offered as sacrifices to keep a computer lab working through a class
period or a network connected to a printer. And, the technology
mystics on our campuses still descend from their perches to help
us solve problems without being able to adequately explain what
they've done—trust them, have faith we're told.
All the while, academic
leaders and scholars all over the world are offering poignant prayers
within the text of national studies, conference programs, and committee
reports to any and all powers that might help us realize what Steven
Gilbert of the Teaching, Learning, and Technology Roundtable program
calls "a vision worth working toward." Judging from the rhetoric
of the researchers, our own series of technology focus groups, and
painful practical experience, the following prayers are going to
have to be answered if our imagined world is ever to be realized,
if technology is ever to "go away" in the best sense.
Please Make it
Work
Help information technology hardware, software, and systems
stabilize to the point where befuddling incompatibilities, buggy
software, and conflicting network protocols are a thing of the past.
Give us truly user-friendly machines and programs that don't embarrassingly
crash in the middle of key projects or important class presentations.
Weave change seamlessly into products and services, so our health
is not endangered by the stress of our technological worlds being
turned upside down with each new version of software or upgrade
in hardware. We'll gladly take the responsibility for the problems
we cause in use if only the information technology itself can mature
to the point where the mystical, traumatic, and frustrating events
and changes no longer take precedence over our work with students.
Please Help Us
Accept It
Give us the patience to temper the true believers and carefully
listen to thoughtful critics. Help us understand and welcome technology
as a tool, not as a savior sent from on high or a devil destined
to destroy us. Let not hyperbole or fear stand in our way as we
integrate information technology savvy as a basic skill, necessary
for our students as they become educated citizens in a world fueled
by and filled with information. Teach us all the important lessons
of critical reflection and intelligent consumption of this mass
of information at our fingertips.
Please Help Us
Pay for It
Show us the bottom of this pit in which we seem to be pouring our
money for technology upgrades, improvements, and replacements. As
we explore purchasing, leasing, and elaborate phasing plans, give
us options that don’t force us to sacrifice the Peters of our organizations
to pay this pervasive Paul. Inspire more innovative approaches like
laptops for all students or Smart Classrooms that give us a range
of interesting finance and access choices. Finally, grant us the
wisdom to integrate technology planning into the broader production
of a learning-centered institution, where technology plays a role
without overpowering the more important members of the cast.
Please Help Us
Help Each Other
Encourage us as we collectively embrace the humbling feeling
of techno-ignorance. Help us use this process to better empathize
with the fear and discomfort, the challenge and stress, that many
of our students feel as they begin their studies at our institutions.
Bring the continuum of technology users closer together and keep
us open to learning from anyone—external agencies, internal trainers,
colleagues, and our students. Let us not forget the importance of
professional development and technology support as we move forward;
for without a laser focus on these areas, our costly hardware and
software may be reduced to door stops and shelf spacers.
Please Help Us
Bring All into the Fold
In our zeal to move forward with technology, let us not leave
anyone behind. Help us remember that community colleges can be the
gateway to information technology inclusion for all, much like public
libraries were for the printed book. Not only can we give access
to e-mail and the Internet, we can teach the basic skills necessary
to bring the economically disadvantaged into the Information Age.
Remind us also of those with disabilities and their needs. Help
us work to make sure that any and all of our students can benefit
equally from the information technology infrastructures we develop.
Please Let It
Bring Us Closer Together
Tempt us not with terse e-mails and asynchronous snippets of
communication that consume our time and inhibit thoughtful, sensitive,
and more substantive interactions. Make us more aware of the ways
and whys of our communication, so technology becomes a useful tool
in improving and expanding our relationships—so technology remains
the medium, not the message. Let us never lose sight of the importance
of the caring smile, the encouraging word, and the interested ear.
Remind us that human connections change lives in the community college
world more so than any CD-ROM, Web site, or Pentium chip ever will.
Please Let Learning
Lead the Way
In all we do with technology, let us ask the burning
question: "How does this practice, policy, or procedure improve
and expand student learning?" Help us ensure that in all areas of
our institutions—from teaching and learning to student services
to institutional management—the information technology tools significantly
contribute to the learning process. Grant us the ability to move
beyond the intoxicating interest in the novel and the new to a deeper
and more systemic concern for the learner and the learning.
In Closing
If these prayers are answered, our image of a time when technology
"goes away" may come into full relief. Until then, however, most
of us will continue searching for answers to these prayers and grappling
with the emotionally charged issues associated with each. And, we
will keep turning our computers off and on with mystic and positive
expectations.
©1998 Mark D. Milliron & Cindy L. Miles
Want to comment on this article? Send email to milliron@league.org
or miles@league.org
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