Teaching the Teachers

This week I have been thinking quite a bit about the difference between the old and new literacies. I'm working on a scavenger hunt on the subject. What I have been noticing, specifically, is that process of doing research in the "new literacies" can be overwhelming. As I locate new articles about my topic, I am confronted with links that take me to new articles, with new links, that take me... well, you get the picture. It is so easy to get off on tangents or to lose track of your research objectives. I wonder about the way "technology natives" think and about how much work it is for us immigrants to try to think as they do. Will we ever really learn to think as they do?

I used to wonder why some schools seem to resist bringing in technology. But now I know it is not as simple as as bringing in the equipment. There obviously needs to be a technology specialist to keep the hardware running. However, that is only a piece of the puzzle. There also needs to be support for those of us immigrants who forget our passwords, get confused with the non-linear environment, and get overwhelmed with the vocabulary. In short, schools need to have the resources to teach teachers the new literacies -- not just the kids.