A few days ago, Dan Rezack swam against the stream….

• Although Moodle is open-source, isn’t it Web 1.0 to host it on my own server?
• Can Moodle look better than this?
• Should I spend this much time on this, when a free LMS already exists and fills most of my needs?

As I read Dan Rezac’s points, I was reminded that many educators have freedom of choice of the tools they use to enhance their teaching and learning environments. As an adult learner, I take advantage of the tools that work best for me, and I share those tools with other learners, encouraging them to explore how these tools best fit into their approaches to teaching, learning and leading. A kindred spirit, Dan makes a point I agree with:

I spend so much time on my own development, my own curriculum, getting a second Masters, especially for my own classroom….

Yes, many of us do spend our own time…somehow, we’ve caught the bug, we’re hooked on learning for learning’s sake and recognize how technology can accelerate that in key areas of our lives.

Yet, the truth is that some of us–like me, and perhaps Dan–are at that point in your life where such learning, time spent work to complement lifestyle and choices. Others are at different points in their lives, not as able/willing to bend with the wind of current opinion, decide to embrace new technologies and still enjoy time to hug their children or grandchildren.

And…some just don’t care. I say that last piece because we honestly care about transforming teaching and learning experiences, but we can also choose to NOT care about the dazzling array of new approaches/technologies/philosophies/books that distract.

Choosing to say, “Not now, the work I’m about is important and will get done, even if it doesn’t involve the latest whiz-bang technology” is a valid choice. Even if that is the current choice, it does not invalidate–it should not serve as a red flag in front of bullish technology advocates–the other technology-rich choices available.

Yet, make no mistake. Technology isn’t usually a REAL option in today’s schools because it is often irrelevant to what we do as people who facilitate learning.

Yet, often, teachers in schools today lack easy access to technologies that are freely available. I love the exasperated tweet of one librarian (jkandersen) in Texas who writes: our district blocked Glogster and Voicethread this weekend…what is up with that?

Aside: A quick Google of Joni Andersen reveals some fascinating stuff. TeacherTube videos. Blog. Classroom 2.0. Library Wikispace. Glogster.com. With someone this connected, it has to be frustrating to be limited to just one technology or those approved by the Network gods seeking to protect the masses against the actions of the minority.

Change is slow and can take many years to bring about. That’s true for a variety of reasons, including 1) Administration is slow to change and has a different agenda than in-the-trenches teachers; 2) Teachers are focused on crafting engaging learning experiences, while struggling in one of the most sterile environments ever created–the classroom; and 3) Technological change has to be an extension of the culture it is introduced into.

Moodle is but one approach…Dan suggests another (Edu 2.0) and includes video walkthroughs in his blog post to support it. So, the short of it is this–and I don’t support the attitude represented by the perspective below:

1. The Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) still serves as negative when “opening” up access to Web 2.0 technologies that facilitate creating, collaborating and communicating online.
2. Tech directors would rather, as a group, focus on the boxes and wires than argue instructional decisions. It’s just plumb easier to treat technology as an “ON/OFF” switch. “Yes, we can turn it on if you ask so long as it doesn’t violate CIPA or endanger children. You don’t want to endanger children, now, do you?”
3. Tech directors would rather not end up on the evening news. Administrators measure success by how little media publicity their district gets rather than how much. “Don’t bring me any more problems; you’re here to offer solutions,” remarked the Superintendent to the CTO.
4. School districts must have control over where teachers put their stuff. Simple as that. If you start posting student work, lesson plans, whatever on the Web, what happens when someone does something dumb and inappropriate? How can we “take that stuff offline”? The best way is to manage it ourselves, even though our management may not be up to the speed of a commercial company.

Dan argues about choosing Moodle when Web 2.0 tools in the cloud are more accessible, involve less management. And, it’s exactly because of those reasons that Moodle is so attractive to those who want more control over their content, who like Richard Stallman, find cloud computing an act of folly, a trap. Consider Stallman’s words, as cited in the Guardian:

Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation and creator of the computer operating system GNU, said that cloud computing was simply a trap aimed at forcing more people to buy into locked, proprietary systems that would cost them more and more over time.

“It’s stupidity. It’s worse than stupidity: it’s a marketing hype campaign,” he told The Guardian.

“Somebody is saying this is inevitable – and whenever you hear somebody saying that, it’s very likely to be a set of businesses campaigning to make it true.”

Wes Fryer writes of netbooks and cloud computing:

Netbooks are a major game-changer for laptops, 1:1 learning initiatives, and computing more generally. Netbooks represent an INNOVATION that is disrupting and will continue to disrupt the computing industry.

Wes cites Clive Thompson’s excellent article on netbooks, sharing that the “‘cloud’ is no longer hype.”

Moodle enables educators to create online learning environments, backup their courses for the future, take advantage of many tools and to make things, to SOLVE PROBLEMS, tap into a fantastic community of people. Dan’s excitement about Edu2.0 isn’t mis-placed, but represents a choice we are all struggling with…should we embrace creating our own walled gardens for education–and Moodle is as permeable, as collaborative as needed for academic purposes–or embrace tools that fling our content to world wide web, a prayer on our lips that our children won’t have to learn the lesson Vicki Davis’ students did from the demise of Google Lively.

In my opinion, Google shutting down Lively on the heels of a major price increase over at Second Life, is a major mistake. My students LOVE lively with Digiteen and I was just about to come out with a major recommendation on HOW to use this great tool for educators.

Or maybe, that’s exactly the lesson we want them to learn? Consider Scott Floyd‘s comment to Vicki:

If all else fails, it is time to make that lesson on trusting free Web 2.0 providers with all of your data. 😉 We will all be teaching that one time or another (or learning from it).

There are many “tools” available to achieve our teaching and learning objectives. Some will be more popular with the masses than others. The truth is, we all have different learning styles and preferences and we often do choose the tools that match our special population.

Standardization is evil because it constrains our creativity, but good because it makes it easier to support…at the end of the day, it’s a balancing act. Open-ended tools like Moodle enable us to be less constrained and ease the fears of the technology directors who haven’t had their first learning conversation…

From my perspective, Moodle is a Trojan Horse, replete with blogs, forums, RSS feeds, wikis and more that enable it to be seen as an “absolute good” that opens the door, that enables powerful ideas to slay the fears our leaders hold.

The real question that we need to be asking is, How are you using technology to expand global connections, revitalize your approach to teaching and learning for adults as well as students in YOUR learning environment?

Image Source: Dean Shareski via Scott Floyd

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Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin’s blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure