Guest post by Steven Baule, Superintendent at Muncie Community Schools, Indiana: “Technology” is a word that conjures images of phones, tablets, and laptops. Arthur C. Clarke gave us the concept that “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” A teacher once explained to me that the IT staff in the district would be considered wizards if we lived in a fantasy world. Thomas Sowell's statement, “for every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert, but for every fact there is not necessarily an equal and opposite fact,” is sometimes linked to Arthur Clarke’s “Fourth Law." This is also true whenever a wizard (or IT staff member) shows up--someone wishes to recast them as a witch and not an expert, a. la. this Monty Python’s Holy Grail video. Technology is any use of a tool to improve the human condition. Don’t assume that only electronic devices have value to our students. Books can be a great example of an effective use of technology, too. This lock from 1680 is another example of innovative technology that doesn’t “plug in”. It reminds me of some of the devices from a Daniel Brown novel. Of course, given today’s date, maybe a Shakespeare reference would be more appropriate?
