As many of you have heard the Lower School’s iPad 1-to-1 program is receiving much attention for purposeful integration (like this NYT’s Parenting Blog Post). Please give your Lower School colleagues a pat on the back next time you see them, and ask them about their approach. Why, because they are at a very valuable point in their thinking about their technology use from which we we can learn a great deal.  For those of you that were here five years ago would have found yourself in the same place…..purposeful slow thinking about technology use.

Now our 1-to-1 program is so integrated that I believe we use the tablets just like our shoes.  I sure hope you don’t put much time and energy into putting on your shoes in the morning and unless your shoes are causing you to have blisters you likely don’t think much about them aiding you in where you want to go. As Daniel Kahneman describes in his book, Thinking Fast and Slow, those experiences that we do automatically w/o effort (system 1 thinking like putting our shoes on and walking from place to place) are very hard to deconstruct cognitively. I would argue that most of you are in this place when it comes to tablet use…….but…….. should you be?

As Peter and Erica pointed out in their visit feedback, purposeful use of technology is not using technology for technology sake.

Our technology goal as a whole campus last school year was to use technology like connoisseurs (remember the wine tasting:).

Let our fellow colleagues success be a gentle reminder to take a few steps back and think about our use of technology purposefully, so we can enhance the learning of each students as much as possible.