Evangelising Ed Tech

When I started my MA in Online and Distance Education with the Open University two years ago now, I can honestly say I wasn't prepared for the massive journey I was about to embark on.  This journey has lead me through adventures in Learning at Scale, the occasional jaunt through aspects of Mobile Learning and, more recently, meandering through the alleyways of Sociology, Identity and Agency.

("Journey - First Step" by Melody Campbell is licensed under CC BY 2.0)

But the ongoing pandemic has really intensified the journey in so many ways, not least because everything I'm reading about and learning is unfolding right before my eyes.  Moreover, the way in which I'm developing as a professional is clearly changing the way I'm perceived by others.  That fact hasn't always been pleasant or easy to accept, but there it is.

I at the start of the pandemic I was aware of the fact that I perhaps had something of an advantage over my colleagues in so far I was trained and capable of making the transition to online very quickly and easily.  But in offering my help to others, I didn't expect to be branded an Evangelist. Yeah that was the word that was used, not just an enthusiast, but an evangelist.  

Now this stuck out in my mind and reading this week's #H818 reading material has made me think about what it means.  

It was quite an odd experience because, yes, I had always been a proactive user of Moodle (our workplace Virtual Learning Environment, VLE) and always in a critical way, looking at the tools available and how I could use them with my students, or not, whatever the case may be.  So I had never been particularly evangelical, unless I found a tool, strategy or technique that had been particularly useful for my learners and then I would share when I thought it could be of use to others.  But most of the time I would simply offer help or advice to those who approached me.  

However as we approached lockdown in March, I was perhaps more proactive than normal creating a social media group for my colleagues and sharing resources, hints and tips more proactively than usual.

So, what had changed?  

I was no longer part of the collective identity!  While my colleagues may have been shouting about how they hated online learning, how it was causing so many injustices, how it was nowhere near as good a learning experience to offer the students, in contrast there's me saying to people, "well if you try this, consider that, think about...  [blah, blah, blah]... maybe you could make it work, maybe I could help you get through this difficult time."  Or at least thats the message I thought I was sharing.  Apparently not!

("Ostracised" by zaza_bj is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

The question I have to ask is, did I single myself out by doing that or, as Becker (1963, as cited by Hall, 2018) might have put it, was I ostracised for deviant behaviour?  I don't think I would have minded if some of the comments hadn't felt quite so personal.

As a man, to be informed that my inability to find a partner and have children of my own somehow rendered me incapable of understand the worries and concerns of parents, was quite sobering.  I didn't expect fellow academics to be as sexist as to equate childlessness with inferior.  While as a man I might have remained quite in the manner that is predictably masculine, I did wonder whether the same comments might have been made if they were addressing a woman?  And, regardless of gender, how does one go from colleague to evangelist to childless and inferior for offering to help people with their EdTech issues.  Quite incredible!!

My point is that the conditions of the pandemic seem to have, at least in my view, brought about a survival mentality that has to some degree brought out the worst in people.  Right at the time when teachers need to be supporting each other, we're having a go at each other.  Alienating those we we need the most simply because they aren't agreeing completely with our own values.  This pandemic isn't an us or them situation.  It isn't survival of the fittest.  Its a long slow climb up a seeming impassable mountain.  We need to embody that community spirit that we espouse so readily to our students.  We need to be kind to each other.

When people are stressed, we find it difficult to take on board new information.  The ability to recognise any way of working other than your own is almost impossible at times.  But the truth is that we are all just doing our best to get through this pandemic.  Gallo (2020) makes a number of interesting points in regard to conflict with our co-workers amid the current pandemic.  The article linked below in the references is really insightful.  One point she makes that really got me thinking was that, in our current situation our co-workers home lives are now relevant to our working relationships.  We are all working with different stresses and pressures at home and, though they are not our responsibility, our colleagues home-working context will have an impact on your relationship.  Yes, I may not have children, but at the time when this was happenning I was a full time lecturer who was also an unpaid carer for a seriously ill relative who has since passed away.  I'm not unique in that and I recognise that other people will have their own pressures to deal with too.  

("A little kindness goes a long way" by Ed Yourdon is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

So, next time you feel like having a go at your co-workers, stop and be kind.  

"Be generous in your interpretations of other people."

References

Hall, D.  (2018)  Classic Texts:  Howard Becker, "Outsiders", 1963 [Online].  Available at:  https://www.tutor2u.net/sociology/reference/classic-texts-howard-becker-outsiders-1963 (Accessed 20th November 2020).

Gallo, A. (2020) What Your Coworkers Need Right Now Is Compassion [Online].  Available at:  https://www.google.com/amp/s/hbr.org/amp/2020/03/what-your-coworkers-need-right-now-is-compassion  (Accessed 20th November 2020).