Earlier today, I saw that Dan Rezac had tweeted about UbuntuLinux being an honorable mention on the list of Top 10 Disappointing Technologies. Like many new technologies, it hasn’t been as widely adopted as the proponents had hoped. Yet, I adopted it.

Those who do use Linux as the primary OS for their home or work PC are still by and large tech-savvy users who comprise what used to be known as the ‘hobbyist’ market. The larger end-user crowd has not been able to warm up to Linux.

Ubuntu was supposed to change that. When the OS was launched, I remember all of my Linux-advocate friends predicting that this would be the product to make the jump and challenge Microsoft in the consumer and workstation spaces. Nearly five years after its release, Ubuntu remains popular amongst Linux users, but has yet to really pick up any sort of real momentum in the greater desktop OS market.

Although I have to spend a lot of time in Mac and Windows for work purposes, I’m currently running on UbuntuLinux at home. Dan’s tweet–not you, Dan, the opinion–triggered an irritated reaction from me, and as I noticed it, it made me wonder why.

While I know that UbuntuLinux isn’t widely accepted, that chances are, most school districts aren’t going to abandon their fixation with what they know–Mac and/or Windows–to save massive amounts of money by going free, open source on the desktop/laptop/netbook computer, I continue to use it…it represents a choice that is free from having to run out and buy the latest software for my computer. Instead, I can use GNU/Linux as an alternative. And, like anything else, there are consequences for that decision.

As I reflected on that irritation, it comes to mind that I’m growing increasingly weary of trying to bring about change or “education reform” as it’s espoused…in blogs, research journals, etc. There seems to be a wealth of ideas and how-to change available to us, but we so seldom take advantage of it. Change is hard, obviously, or we’d all be healthy, self-disciplined, and doing exactly what we set our minds to do.

The truth is, I no longer care whether you use UbuntuLinux or anything else. I use it, and if you’d like to learn how, I’ll be happy to show you. But aside from that, don’t expect me to beat the drum…I sense that this is more than just about Ubuntu.

Karl Fisch highlights Seth Godin‘s words as he says, “the way we make change is by leading, and that leading is simply helping to connect people and ideas.” Karl, like Tim at Assorted Stuff, points out:

Godin then says there are three questions to ask yourself if you’re trying to lead something. If educators are leaders, then we need to ask ourselves these same questions.

1. Who are you upsetting? If you’re not upsetting anyone, then you’re not changing the status quo. (Note that this is not upsetting people just to upset them, but rather with a purpose, with a goal, with an important change in mind that’s necessary to improve things for someone. Editor’s note: I’ve got this one nailed. Unfortunately, I don’t think it stands on its own.)
2. Who are you connecting? Because for a lot of people, that’s what they’re in it for, the connections that are being made, one to the other. (Think outside your classroom walls for a moment here. Nothing wrong with connecting inside your classroom, but some of those students have yearnings that don’t match up with others in their classroom, so help them find their tribe.)
3. Who are you leading? Because focusing on that part of it, not the mechanics of what you’re building, but the who and the leading part is where change comes. (Don’t limit this to the students in your classroom, or the adults in your building/department; leading is not limited by proximity or geography anymore. Also some folks will protest that they don’t want to lead or that’s not in their job description. I say it should be, and I’d ask you to add it now.)

I’m reading John Kotter’s A Sense of Urgency. At the moment, I’m still in the intro. The questions I’m asking myself run together like this: “Is it that you’re weary of trying to bring about change, or is it that you want to be some where advocating for change is encouraged and supported, or you really need to relinquish ‘education reform’ as yesterday’s bad habit, instead focusing on doing awesome stuff day by day that eventually results in change…and if it doesn’t, at least is rewarding to engage in?”

I’m not sure.

Succeeding in a Changing World
—with John Kotter

http://www.ouricebergismelting.com/html/succeeding.html

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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