Wrestling with Technology

I spent the last two weekends working at our Regional Team and Individual wrestling tournaments. I have have been involved in the sport of wrestling for more than 30 years, first as a participant, then as for two and a half decades as a coach and , finally as a volunteer at meets. If fact I run a couple of meets a year because I have the right software. Looking back over this involvement, wrestling provided me with some very useful guidelines about working with technology.
1. Setting a goal without commitment is a futile excercise. In technology we are always setting goals whether it is learning a new program or just becoming responsible and efficeint users of teachnology. There are great benefits to learning technology. Benefits that, ultimately, will make your life as a teacher more efficient. Yet the universal rule in technology is there is a front end price to pay in time and perseverance in learning to use new programs or pedagogy. It takes commitment to your goal to achieve desired results.
2. Hard work can overcome natural ability. In wrestling there are athletes that are naturals. They have the right genetic combination of strength, agility, speed, and balance to be successful with just a little coaching. Yet every year many of these athletes are beaten by wrestlers that aren’t blest with natural gifts but have the determination to train and the desire excell. In technology there always seems to be the guy that can talk to computers. Everything comes easy. Their minds are hardwired to the way technology works. Yet any teacher can become an efficient and effective user of technology through hard work. Take classes, take chances, and practice. Most technology isn’t rocket science; it is just getting comfortable with the tools and what they can do.
3. Everyone loses once in a while. Even the great Dan Gable lost some matches, not many but he wasn’t perfect. Expect failures but don’t give up because the Internet went down or the program crashed during a class. What would you do in the old days when a film strip broken or an overhead bulb went out? Back up plans are always necessary in teaching and even more so when using technology. Just tell the students that we are going “Old School” for a day. Then get back to the practice and work even harder.

We all wrestle with technology at times. Yet our goal should always be to come back and battle again. Learning to be an efficient and effective user of technology is no longer an option for us or our students. The work place demands technology skills. One of my sons, the one that makes the most money, is a cement finisher. His curb machine (the lumbering beast that pours and forms curbs) has multiple computers on it. While some of his work is artistic, the hand forming of curves and corners, the majority of the work has a technology component. Stay the course, get that wrestler’s mindset, and train yourself to victory.