The term fanboy is used to describe an avid enthusiast, one with blind loyalty too his or her chosen subject. In the field of technology, this term is often associated with early adopters, those who are quick to acquire and embrace the latest technology. It can be used pejoratively in a “boys with toys” sense, though many early adopters proudly claim the title.
I suppose that it’s no secret that I am intrigued by new technologies. I enjoy reading about new gadgets and new software, and I get a charge out of learning all the capabilities of a new machine . Many of you have experienced my annoying insistence on showing everyone whom I can find the latest piece of equipment or software. I appreciate how polite you are, smiling and saying, “That’s great,” probably also thinking, “Humor him, and he’ll go away.”
I struggle myself sometimes trying to determine what is a spirit of innovation and what is geeky admiration for all things shiny. I am very aware of the suspicion with which some view enthusiasm for technology, and I understand it. There have been many mistakes and misjudgments along the path of educational technology, and much of what passes itself off as educational software is little more than games in school clothes. It is much safer to maintain an ironic disdain for technology because most things will not succeed.
However, not succeeding is an important evolutionary step. The first projection cart I ever made carried a desktop projector and monitor, and overhead projector, and an overlay that allowed the computer image to faintly be seen on a screen. It weighed over a hundred pounds and was a monster to move from room to room. I was very disappointed, but that cart taught me things that I used in the first rolling projector carts and the eventual classroom AV systems that we have today.
As we contemplate radical change like integrating laptops or other computing platforms into our academic programs, I think we all have a healthy fear of failure. The stakes are very high. The last thing I want is a bunch of expensive white elephants cluttering student backpacks and lockers. I’m not suggesting that we plan for failure of course, but we have to be willing on at least a small scale to experiment with the untried.
So I think we need to continue to be fanboys and fangirls. Personally I prefer the label avant garde. It sounds much artsier and it captures better what we are trying to do. Avant garde artists push the envelope of what is acceptable. Many times they go down wrong alleys and dead ends, But other times they discover the tools and ideas that shape the future.
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