Is it now time that we teachers controlled our own learning technology?

Note: First published on 1st June 2016 via my LinkedIn account 

 I started teaching in March 1989 and at that time it was expected that administrators/secretaries wrote my letters and typed up my hand written learning material.  With the introduction of PCs in the staff room, typing my own letters and learning material soon became the norm.

During the last 27 years information technology (IT) has had a massive impact on teaching and learning. The use of technology enhanced learning (TEL) has become embedded to some degree in every subject taught in schools, colleges, training centres, universities and other educational establishments.

I believe it is now time that I start to loosen my reliance on the IT support team just as I reduced my reliance on administrators and secretaries 27 years ago and learned to use the PC/laptop/tablet/mobile phone and internet server to not only produce my learning materials (as I am currently doing) but manage and support my own IT infrastructure.

I will blog my journey and hope that it will generate a true 'community of practice' as Etienne Wenger (1998) model describes. I hope that together we can develop a shared repertoire of resources, tools, experience to help to solve (recurring?) problems and become a shared practice.

Reference:
Wenger, E. (1998) COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE: LEARNING, MEANING AND IDENTITY. New York: Cambridge University Press