The New Technology Song

One thing is certain: this new world of technology is here to stay and will continue to alter the face of education. And another thing is also quite certain. The endless stream of innovations in this field will provide fodder for additional verses for �The New Technology Song� for many years to come.

The New Technology Song

(Sung to the tune of Silver Bells)

The world of computers has changed the face of education. My face, for one, changes constantly as I learn to navigate the new technology. My expression shifts from puzzlement to a frown to downright exasperation and -- sometimes -- even to joy when something works seamlessly. Ah, the pleasure that comes when I don�t have to run to the IT department for help.

Eric Baylin has been a teacher for 38 years, working with a variety of age levels in both public and private schools in New York and North Carolina. He currently works at Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn, New York, a K-12 independent school established in 1854. In addition to teaching art and photography to middle- and high-school students, Eric coordinates a program of collaborative faculty study groups in Packer's professional development program.

Wikis, podcasts, blogs, and Facebook, Google Earth, and much more;
It�s a new world and getting much newer.
Kids are savvy, much more savvy; for adults, it�s a chore
To keep up with the tech-no-lo-gy.

Internet, Internet,
There�s so much stuff you can find out.
Google him, google her;
It�s scary what you can do.

Making spreadsheets, cropping photos; if I just do it once
I will surely forget it the next time.
Learning programs makes my brow sweat, makes me feel like a dunce.
I was happy with paper and pen.

Virtual, virtual,
There�s nothing real to hold onto.
What if I, by and by,
Delete it all by mistake?

Use the Smartboard, make a table, instant message a while.
In the old days, I felt that I knew things.
Now I call on my teenager when I�ve lost a big file.
When she�s at college what will I do?

Wireless, wireless,
How does all that info travel?
Greek to me. Speak to me
In language I understand.

Send attachments, run a spell check, try to burn a CD,
Change a photograph into a J-Peg,
Find some music you can download onto your MP3,
But you don�t have a clue what to do.

Ring-a-ling, fix this thing.
Calling 800 and waiting.
On my knees, won�t you please
Just make a house call for me.

Information superhighway; it�s a revolution.
And it surely is speeding right by me.
There�s a new gene that I�m missing, part of evolution.
Maybe next time I�ll have the gene too.

Cursor here, cursor there.
Put it on Help in the menu.
Cursing here, cursing there.
I still don�t know what to do.

This is my 39th year in teaching. Ouch! It's hard to see that in print. Several years ago, I had one of those great "aha" moments that has given new life to my role as an educator.

I've always been interested in working to change schools in ways that enhance and support learning, but I'd gotten to a point in my career when I saw that all my serious, effortful striving played only a minimal role in change. The "aha" came when I realized that I could, at least, change my state of mind by laughing at the very things that bugged me most. OK, maybe not everything. But at least the little everyday stuff that nags at me and drags me down.

That thought became fodder for songs about school and teaching, which I started writing as a way of helping myself (and my colleagues) survive the year with an intact sense of humor.

I still work hard to change the things that stand in the way of student (and adult) success in schools. But now I wonder -- seriously -- if laughter itself isn't one of the soundest pedagogies, a "best practice" that can help us re-tune our schools and shift the culture to one that genuinely embraces wellbeing and lightness of heart as sound supports for learning.

I wouldn't mind working at a school whose mission statement included, after those ever-familiar phrases, "lifelong learning" and "supportive, yet challenging environment," the words

And this is a school where we love to laugh!

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01/29/2008