Curriculum, learning and teaching
How to choose new technologies for your school Drawing on lessons learned as both business consultant and salesperson, David Pitchford offers a commonsense approach to adopting new technologies Fear not, this is not a technical article. Instead it’s about reclaiming your confidence when confronted with new, hypnotising technologies that claim they will revolutionise your world. A suggestion from the outset: don’t fret that you are being left behind by technology. Much of the technology industry has a curious start-up mentality, as captured in Al Ries and Jack Trout’s first Immutable Law of Marketing: “It’s better to be first than it is to be better”. The point here is that the latest technology is not necessarily good technology. Or it may not have matured to the point where it is good. A handful of products and services have indeed changed the world, but it was rarely the first version that made the grade. Remember Spring
Autumn |
| 2016
Atari, the Sinclair C5 and Alta Vista search? They all preceded PlayStation, Tesla and Google by several years – but where are they now? So don’t dive into the first option, and don’t believe the hype. Take a measured approach and take control. First steps For whatever purpose you are contemplating technologies, turn the telescope around. Start with what you need; don’t start with the technology. I strongly recommend, as a first exercise, asking yourself which aspects of your school are the most demanding, frustrating, time-consuming and expensive. Then ask your staff the same question. You
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