An Analogy
I work for a wonderful superintendent. Among his many talents is his relentless questioning us to explain concepts clearly and concisely. In fact he would rather have a picture than an eloquent written explanation. Short of a picture, I am working on an analogy to explain how Libraries and Web 2.0 fit into a possible future of education that he wants.
Here is my analogy. See if you think it might work:
The Analogy |
The real world of technology, Libraries, Web 2.0, education, etc… |
| Technology is like a car | The components—computer, projector, Internet connection, speakers, etc… |
| The infrastructure is like the road | Wireless hubs, fiber, routers, pipeline, etc… |
| Campus Technology Representatives are like the local Gasoline Station and Attendant | The Campus Technology Representative does minor things to keep the technology working and occasionally provides tips for the user to learn to manage their technology better. |
| The Gasoline Station Attendant may change the oil and remind the driver to keep the tires filled to 32 psi. | The Campus Technology Representative may do a printer configuration and remind the user to do a disk clean every now and then. |
| The Gasoline Station Attendant may give a tip that when the car does not start to check to see if it is in Park first. | The Campus Technology Representative may remind the user to be sure all the plugs are connected when the technology does not work as expected. |
| The Technology Services Department is like the full service car repair place that can do major engine over hauls. They also maintain the street traffic lights and fix potholes. | The Technology Services Department does the major technology repair and infrastructure maintenance and upgrades. |
| The Web and all its resources are the destinations that you go to with your car. | The destinations are the learning. |
| The Librarian is the travel agent and tour guide for the destinations to which the car takes you. | The Librarian can help you plan a really detailed trip with lots of destinations (a project) or a short trip to the store (facts). |
| The car does not matter as long as it is big enough, fast enough, and reliable. | Technology does not matter as long as it is powerful enough, fast enough, and reliable. The destination is what counts. |
| Driving to the local vacant lot for a game of tag football is a destination. | The equivalent might be to look at a web page from an unknown source. It may be useful and it may not. |
| Going to the local park where a group of friends congregate and make good times is a destination. | The equivalent would be Web 2.0 technology where people collaborate and create together. |
| Going to a paid theme park like Sea World is a destination. | The equivalent would be using Online Subscription Databases. |
| Bringing back souvenirs would be the learning received. | The souvenir would be the learning and/or the project created with the new knowledge found and then communicating it. |
The analogy can continue. What are Drivers Education Instructors?
The point is that for the foreseeable future it is not the technology that is really important as long as it works, but it is the places you can access with the technology that enhance the learning, the creativity, the new knowledge gained, and the communication (like FreeRice or Animoto).
Oh, I don’t claim any real originality for this. We have been talking about the Internet being the information superhighway for over a decade.
How would you add to or change the analogy to make the points about Libraries, Web 2.0, other resources, learning etc… to an inquisitive superintendent?
November 29th, 2007 at 9:15 am
Fascinating analogy, and so true. The Driver’s Education Instructors are perhaps the people who provide technology training OUTSIDE the realm of what the Travel Agent does. Say, the people who provide training for ActivBoards, EasyTech, Odyssey, and the other technology programs that we use on a daily basis and are trying to integrate into the fiber of our daily educational life. But the Travel Agent also knows all about these, too. The Travel Agent wears many, many hats.
My biggest wonder in this analogy is WHAT to DO with all of the drivers on the highway. We have many drivers that clip along at 100mph, which is great. They speed through the highways, are only too happy when a new freeway is built, will pay toll for a really good highway, and are always wanting to drive the newest vehicles to get them to their destination. We also have those lane-huggers who meander along at 20 mph, stalling now and then, and flat breaking down sometimes. They don’t want to drive on any new roads, they love their old ‘79 Chevy, and they think that their 8-track radio is still the best thing since sliced bread. They have no desire to move forward, yet here we are, pushing them. So, the highways need to be easy enough to navigate for both types of drivers. If we are too complex, with too many quick exits, with not enough gas stations and gas station attendants, and no maps available, we’ll lose the 2nd group on the 610 loop, and they’ll never get off. They’ll just keep going around and around, not really ever getting anywhere. Just my .02 cents.
November 29th, 2007 at 9:39 am
I agree with BSL. The Driver’s Ed. would teach the basics of navigation for the car and the highways, but the travel agent should also know this, they also need to know about construction and possible road blocks and or obstacles that would prevent the driver from successfully navigating the planned route.
I really like your analogy, it simplifies the ideas, concepts, and potential of the Web 2.0 “highway”, it is also a way to help those with the “79 chevy understand that the roads they are taking might require a newer car, or upgrades to their old familiar favorite vehicle. I also agree that we need to address the drivers who aren’t comfortable with the new, fast, “Porche” that we offer and perhaps have a plan for easing those drivers into the newer faster vehicle so that they will eventually feel comfortable upgrading from their old “classic” car to a newer more efficent model.
November 29th, 2007 at 9:44 am
Great analogy! Using technology to teach kids to think for themselves in creative & constructive ways is a very complicated task. It involves more than the nuts & bolts of “just” driving or surfing 2.0 avenues. The drivers are the important ones in this scenario .. drivers being both teachers & students. Who will train & guide them is a good question. Librarians serve as tour guides, but more than that they supply drivers with a dream of places they can go which are unexplored & perhaps unknown to them as yet in their former experiences as teachers utilizing technology. Aren’t Librarians also the gentle parent urging the novice driver to take some risks & get behind the wheel? Do we take care of the car or the driver? I feel these are two vastly different realms not easily undertaken by the same person with satisfactory results.
November 29th, 2007 at 11:08 am
Great analogy! Technology is a wonderful tool to use to teach students and teachers to think outside the box. It involves more than just understanding the basics or surfing 2.0 websites for both teachers and students and the district provides training. I like that the Librarian is a tour guide and a traffic cop providing training and guidance to unknown and unexplored places for teachers and students. It seems we are the mechanic for the car as well and this can often divert our time from the driver. I agree with KR when she says “Do we take care of the car or the driver?”
November 29th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
I thought the analogy was very clever and certainly gives a clear picture of “the real world of technology.” The librarian not only serves as the “travel agent/tour guide” but as a customer service representative. A live person to listen to the needs of each customer and find a realistic way to honor the customer’s questions, concerns and expectations.
November 29th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
This is the first time I have commented in a blog. Now I see that I should have just entered my initials…
November 29th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
I am back for more highway analyzing… this is very interesting. I agree in many respects w/ KR… the librarian as the Tour Guide AND the Gas Station Attendant does stretch one a bit too thin. Often times, there is so much attending to the Full Service at the Gas Station that the Tourism Industry suffers a bit. However, I do feel that these 2 seemingly random jobs go hand in hand… in some way… but I can’t figure out how to sacrifice one for the other, or how to make both jobs get equal time/effort. Perhaps if the Tour Guide had an Assistant Tour Guide, the Gas Station Attendant piece could fall into place? There’s no way that the Tour Guide can be all of the things in your analogy without some help at the Tourism Shop. I look forward to pondering these thoughts more in the future, as the highway is looking wide and long ahead!