Tinker, Teacher, Techie Talk

What does being a technology facilitator look like? I suppose a technology facilitator looks like me, or one of my colleagues, or even you. Technology facilitators come in all shapes and sizes (I will not admit to my own shape and size), but I do have some thoughts on what a technology facilitator's actions and behaviors might look like. George Couros explains what innovation is in his book, The Innovator's Mindset . From what I can tell, innovation looks like a person taking a concept or idea and building on it to make it new and better. This might involve technology, but the actual technology is not the innovation. The innovation is in how the technology is applied. One example from my own job that stands out to me was an Anatomy instructor that was teaching online that wanted to transform a classroom activity into an interactive online activity. We discussed the different tools available in the LMS, and the technology that students would have access to. After a fe...

My name is Cynthia and I really have very little talent with technology. I learned about my lack of talent my senior year of high school, where I received Cs and Ds in computer science. My brain does not like structure and methodical planning and organization. My brain prefers more creative/artistic pursuits. I left that class with the belief that I would never deal with technology or work in a technological field. I have been working as an Instructional Technologist for a community college for the past nine months. My first day of work in this role was proof of my lack of talent in instructional technology, but talent isn't a requirement for success. I've lost track of the number of times an instructor has asked me a question I could not immediately answer (it happened about 25 times during startup week alone), but I know that if I search for answers, troubleshoot, and ask questions, I will eventually get to an answer. Persistence makes me smarter and more talented in my job...