iPads, Electronic Whiteboards, Etc. – How is a Superintendent Supposed to Make a Decision?

Elliot: Ray Ozzie, Chief Software Architect for Microsoft must have read our blog about the iPad!
Cathie: Really? Why do you think that?
Elliot: Ozzie said, in effect, that the iPad supports consumption rather than creation.
Cathie: Elliot, I hate to tell you this, probably Ozzie figured it out for himself – since that is the general take on the iPad.  If you want to listen to music, watch a video, surf the web, the iPad supports you; if you want to create music, create a video, well, that’s not a task for the iPad.
Elliot: Hmm… Ok… well, at least then we weren’t wrong in our blog post! 
Cathie: You certainly can roll with the punches!
Elliot: I suppose then our comments about Electronic Whiteboards being  devices more suited to supporting stand-up-and-lecture style instruction are also old-hat?
Cathie: Yes and no. An article in the Washington Post just appeared that reported educators echoing our position. But, the article went on to say that districts were spending millions of dollars on Electronic Whiteboards.
Elliot: And, I am hearing that districts are buying iPad labs!
Cathie: I am sympathetic to the plight of school administrators. Techies…
Elliot: .. you mean WE Techies…
Cathie: … YOU are a techie, remember, I was a classroom teacher for 14 years…
Elliot: I am a classroom teacher!
Cathie: Teaching college students is not like teaching middle school; that’s a whole different kettle of fish.
Elliot: “Kettle of fish”? That’s from the 50’s!
Cathie:  My mother used to say that… but let’s stay focused here… As I was saying, techies dump out products and it is really hard for school administrators to sort through and pick the wheat from the chaff and translate techie-talk into educational practice.
Elliot: So, buying electronic whiteboards is a safe decision; electronic whiteboards aren’t going to increase student achievement – but then again, they aren’t going to cause a decrease in student achievement.
Cathie: And buying iPads is a safe decision. They are popular; they are elegant; there are thousands of apps you can buy; they are made by Apple… therefore they must have some educational application.
Elliot: Between the kettle of fish and the wheat, this blog is definitely food for thought.
Cathie: Very good – on all accounts. Yes, we techies…
Elliot: … I knew it!!...
Cathie: … need to do a better job of helping school administrators identify technologies that are truly educationally beneficial.
Elliot: That’s definitely a harder task than making up clever banter!
Cathie: And one that WE techies should not shy away from!