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This past Monday I had to give a presentation on Information Literacy in the classroom and decided to take a different route.  It seems as this has become a dominant theme this year for our school, but I have to wonder if we’ve taken the right approach.  With this in mind I set out to redefine Information Literacy.  My first task was one I strongly feel must be done.  In our school, it is an unfortunate fact that even the technology has become a part of the “Us and Them” structure that causes tension between the faculty and the administration.  Part of this I believe is due to the fact that teachers look at the tech department as forcing technology on them as well (as a number of other factors).  In order to somewhat alleviate the tension and separation between the two groups, it would be best if we can come together with one common understanding of technology.

The word “technology” has its roots in two Greek words: teche, meaning “craft, skill, art,” and logia, meaning “word, speech, wisdom.”  Logia is an interesting word.  When we look back into Greek philosophy (I’ll try to keep this brief, so please forgive the oversimplification!) we find that philosophers argued over the nature of the Logos (translated simply as “word” or “thought” but it’s implications are quite profound).  Plato argued what really mattered was the true nature of something.  For example, a chair is a chair not because it has a physical existence (which can change), but rather because the word chair evokes an image of the absolute essence of what a chair is (which is absolute and unchanging).  Aristotle argued just the opposite- that what really mattered was what we could sense with our physical senses.  Either way the word logia does not simply mean “word” but rather it is the absolute nature of something- it is what really matters.

When we combine these two Greek words, teche and logia, we are now left with a better definition: Technology is the tools that allow you to do your art, craft, or skill to be its absolute best.  Technology is the tools that allow you to give your job meaning.  We often associate technology with machines and computers but by this definition, technology can be a pen or a piece of paper.  For a carpenter, technology can be a hammer (after all, isn’t a hammer just a technological advancement over the rock?) or a fancy compound miter saw.  A whiteboard/chalkboard are great pieces of technology and are excellent tools for teachers just as a tablet pc with the right software is as well.  In the end, the tools needed to do a job effectively are the pieces of technology that allow a teacher to do their job to their best ability.

Now that we’ve defined technology, we need to next consider the implications of that terminology.  Using a bit of reason:   if technology is the tools that we need to do our jobs to their absolute best, and our job as teachers is to prepare our students by helping them to develop the proper skills necessary for functioning in a 21st century world, then what tools do I need to accomplish this task?

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