Technology in Schools: An Administrator's View


Editor’s Note: Patrick Larkin is the Principal of Burlington High School in Massachusetts where he is in his 14th year as a high school administrator and seventh as a building Principal. Under his direction, Burlington High will become a 1:1 school next year. Learn more about Patrick in the “about the authors pages” at the end of this book.


As school leaders we have a choice. Do we pull up the shades and look at what is going on outside our school walls or do we continue to insulate our schools from the “evil distraction” of technology with the ongoing misconception that what we have been doing for decades is still good enough?


Here are a few of my thoughts: We are so fortunate to be educators living in this time where the number of tools


available to us to engage our students in meaningful activities grows by the minute. In this amazing era where we can increase our educator toolbox exponentially with the use of technology, it is the schools that allow their staff and students access to these tools who will have a distinct advantage. We need to think long and hard about the fact that we are preparing many of our students for jobs that do not exist yet. In order to do this successfully we need to break out of the model that was put in place to create assembly line workers.


This is truly an overwhelming thought for educators to ponder. However, if we


open our eyes and our minds just a bit and do something that is not encouraged often enough in our schools and think outside of our classroom and school doors, I think we will see how we can accomplish our challenge. We will see clearly how the embracing the opportunities inherent in web 2.0 tools will allow us to create students who can think critically, problem solve, and work collaboratively.


In my eyes, the starting point is control. Or better yet, the false perception of


control that many of us in schools cling to. This is not to say that we should not spend significant time setting up policies, procedures, and guidelines that help us function in a more organized fashion. The point here is only that schools claim control in some areas and all that really is in place is a mirage of control. While the policy may exist in words in some school handbooks, we need to be honest in regards to what we are really accomplishing.


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