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Technology? It's all about selfies and being a gear freak. 7 questions on tech.



I find it very hard to resist a gauntlet being thrown, so here are my responses to Mark Anderson's technology questions ahead of this week's BETT madness.

What's your earliest memory of technology?

Tricky one this as I consider technology to be about gear. Yes, I'm a gear freak, and gear to me includes the stuff used for running, climbing and mountaineering. I didn't grow up with a huge amount of gadgets around, I remember playing Pong on the Atari console. However, the biggest impact of technology on me was in the outdoors. I remember getting my first proper technical fabric fleece - lightweight and windproof thanks to a new Gore fabric. I also remember tents and stoves becoming lighter, more reliable and better.
I also love tech pants - trust me, but a nice pair of boxers crafted from tech merino wool is epic.

What bit of technology frustrates you most?

Technology doesn't frustrate me, but some of the muppets using it do.

Finish this sentence: technology is....

.....a tool in the shed. Used appropriately and subverted for good, technology is great. However, the next technology is either really well designed for purpose, or really well subverted for a totally different one. For example, I've been using social media with students in lessons since 2003.

What tips do you have for others?

1. Don't start with the shiny, start with the learning you wish to achieve. If technology helps you achieve that, great. Whatever you do, if fun and engagement is the only reason to use that kit, there's probably a better way of achieving your aims.
2. Hold your ideas lightly - chances are a student or another teacher or a really unhealthy looking person will have a better way of doing it. If it meets your learning aims, I wouldn't worry.
3. If technology stops you for experiences the real world, such as sleeping outside or swimming in a wild lake, bin it.
4. Ignore the people who shun technology just because that's what they do. While you're at it, ignore the ones laughing too.  One of the best things ever is the 'selfie-stick.'  Don't agree, take a look at my brother and I on the Summit of Snowdon on his 30th.
5. Don't stick to a certain flavour of fruit but use and champion the technology that is best for the job.
6. Don't get distracted by 1st world problems.  Technology in some parts of the world gives people clean, safe drinking water.  

Finish this sentence: technology isn't....

....anything without people. If people aren't involved and if its isn't making an impact on someone, it's just a box with flashy lights.

Who would you like to answer these questions?

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