Great Leap Forward

by David Benson, Educational Technology Consultant ()

We are taking a leap. A leap into the new millennium and -- quite possibly -- a leap of faith. After many years of publishing our newsletter in print form, we have decided to take a chance and do entirely electronic.

Granted, we are not the first to do this and, rest assured, we won't be the last but for us, this is indeed a big leap. Breaking from an institutional norm is always difficult, we become very comfortable with the ways that are most familiar to us -- sometimes too comfortable.

So now seems to be a good time to shake things up a bit. After all, we are an institution that espouses the ideals of taking technological leaps of faith, and incorporating those leaps in the classroom. It only seems natural that we would be one of the first to take a leap like this, and do it without any trepidation.

But the truth is, we were not sure that this was the right thing to do. This wasn't a decision we made without agonizing over the implications but many factors went into this decision, not the least of which is budget. With ever tightening budgets we had to look at what it is we do and what it is we are expected to do and then prioritize so that we could continue to bring to our educators the service they expect from us.

In the past, many of our educators have expressed how they enjoy sitting around reading our newsletter, or the many times they happen upon a copy in the teachers lounge (or other areas) and read something they find interesting, or they find a workshop that is just what they were looking for to help them in their classroom. Well, that won't be as easy anymore but as anyone will tell you, change never is easy.

So, take this leap of faith with us. Bear with us as we try on this change and let us know what you think. After reading the new newsletter drop us an e-mail, make a phone call, or a regular letter by mail and let us know what you think.