Focusing on the wrong tools

A couple of weeks ago, the Charlottesville Albemarle Technical Education Center held a panel to discuss ways to implement technology in the classroom.

Marijean Jagger, Waldo Jaquith, Sean Tubbs, Jim Bain, and I were some of the “tech folks” invited to participate along with several members of the Charlottesville and Albemarle School systems.

What technology did we recommend? The “tech” folks in attendance agreed on many things, most strikingly that focusing on which tech tools to use was not the best use of resources.

Reading, writing, critical analysis, independent thinking, independent research – from multiple, often contradicting sources – these were the skills that the tech people thought should be the focus.

Technology is changing too quickly for cumbersome organizations to keep up with daily and weekly trends. Evaluating the right tools to use is a time consuming process, one of trial and error. Recognizing that technology is but part of the solution is part of the struggle to evolve.

If you want an example of the fleeting nature of tech, read this story – Facebook is so 2008. By the time bureaucracies figure out how to use Facebook, something else likely will be emerging to take its place.

Changing gears, the argument is often made that “we’re in the real estate business, not the technology business!” Those of us reading and writing real estate blogs likely are in both – and to varying degrees. Some are bleeding edge, some merely cutting, and some are sitting back trying to take it all in.

What’s next year going to bring? Changes. Changes in how we communicate, whether it’s in 140 characters or less, video conversations, or good old fashioned blogs, effective communication will remain in demand. Fragmentation of the message will continue in 2008, but there will be an equally vigorous effort to reassemble (and profit from) the disparate messages and mediums.

Dustin said it perhaps best:

I really don’t care if its a new CMS, new listing tool, new social network, new blogging tool, new MLS backend, or new analysis reports… If you can get enough consumer eyeballs, the real estate agents will follow.

Same goes for the school system. How can schools use Twitter effectively? Ask the kids.

Here’s a related post at Marijean’s blog.

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