I sat in the auditorium at my second Edcamp*, Edcamp Chicago. Excitement filled me. Excitement for the amazing stories I would hear, the new educators I would meet and the new innovative, outside the box ideas I would learn filled me! The moderators took the microphones, welcomed us and shared the foundation of Edcamps (the part that really makes them awesome)**
Educators began coming to the front, writing their session ideas on neon notecards, stepping up to the microphone to share their idea and have it added to the grid. Ideas, strategies, techniques filled the session grids. I began to decide which ones I wanted to go to. I had the link to the grid, the room number of the first session I was going to and I was excitement and ready to start!!!
Up first….Flipped Classroom session.
I found my spot at a table in the Science lab classroom that would house this session. People came in and found their spots too. I found a plug…because duh! I forgot to charge up before coming to a tech conference. The room filled up. When the clock clicked to the start time of this session, someone spoke up and decided that we should all introduce ourselves.
“Huh… Not something we usually do at these things,” I thought to myself and shrugged “but ok?!”
People to the left of me took turns telling us their names and what they taught. I took my turn and my friend took hers too. Next it was time for the front of the room to introduce themselves. Three teachers sitting at a front table took turns introducing themselves. Each of them introducing themselves as teachers in the dual language*** program at one of area elementary schools.
“How exciting,” I thought “Someone from my daughters school district!”
“They’re from my daughters district,” I whisper to my friend ” This is awesome. They are so behind in technology at my daughter’s school. I’m so happy they’re here!”
They finished their introductions with we have no technology in our classrooms.
A huge sighed of sadness and an aw of surprise that this serious lack of technology even exists filled the room.
Introductions finished and we were finally ready to start talking Flipped Classrooms.
I pulled my laptop (my district issued laptop) in front of me and opened it up. I looked up to see the teachers from my daughters district pull out a pen and paper. My heart sank. Continue reading “Technology Inequality: The Quest for Change”
