Are There Similar Challenges in Technology Adoption for Schools & Sales ?

One might see many similarities in the challenges that affect formal education as they relate to technology adoption, to the world that I primarily work in - helping sales people excel, often through the use of technology. Not surprising perhaps as learning and technology are both ever-evolving so represent moving targets on both counts.

A number of salient points were raised a little while ago by Larry Cuban (an American teacher and education expert) and Mr. Cuban goes onto describe two divergent views in his post - worth a read if you're as fascinated by how key learnings in one area can apply to another as I am.

The primary issues that Mr. Cuban highlights through a reference to another expert are technocentrism and pedagogical dogmatism.

Technocentrists ... seek “educational uses for particular technologies.” Instead, “educators must focus upon how best to assist students’ learning.” to quote his post. While pedegogical dogmatism is to put it in a dull fashion - "my way or the highway" - an educator with an unbending view of the way things should be done. This lack of a flexible view combined with singular focus on the way to embrace technical change is problematic - image that!

This issue isn't unique to schools, it runs rampant in the sales training world as well I'll suggest. I see it in the lack of depth of offering at 99% of the providers in the space, and the eyes of customers who have experienced one too many poor executions of sales methodologies captured in software of some sort.

Granted this is a difficult nut to crack, but first a few needed assumptions have to be to acknowledged :

• Not everyone optimally learns the same way
• Some people are "computer impaired", some are "process challenged" and a few are both
• Learning is about the student, not the teacher and that's as true in the meeting room as it is in the classroom

Luckily for us and our children some companies and teachers "get it" and they embrace a toolset - where it makes sense, and can help accelerate the desired change, and not just simply because it's there.