Welcome to the Deep Dive. Today, we're tackling
something pretty fundamental, actually. When
new tech pops up, what choices do we really have?
Right. It often feels like we just have to keep
up, but there's more to it. Exactly. And we're
digging into this using an article from hackscience
.education by Gary Ackerman called Three Choices
When Faced with Technology. Yeah, it lays out
three main pathways. Adopt. adapt and exact.
So that's what we're going to unpack today. How
we can, you know, thoughtfully engage with this
stuff instead of feeling overwhelmed. And it's
not just for educators, even though that's the
focus of the article. It's relevant for, well,
pretty much everyone. Absolutely. It's about
having some agency, right? Not just being passive.
That's the core idea. Yeah. Recognizing we can
choose how we interact. OK, so let's dive into
that first choice. Adopt. What are we talking
about here? Adopt is basically the simplest one.
It just means using a technology for what it
was originally designed to do. It's intended
purpose. Like the example in the article online
testing. How does that fit? Well, think about
regular tests, right? They check what students
know. Online testing platforms, they do the same
thing. It's online. Exactly. The goal assessing
understanding hasn't changed. It just... uses
a digital tool, maybe makes scoring easier, submission
simpler. So the big win there is efficiency.
Definitely. That's usually the main driver for
simple adoption, streamlining things. So maybe
for you listening, think about tech you just
use. Straight up. As intended. What efficiencies
have you gained? Like video calls instead of
traveling. That's a perfect example. Video conferencing
its purpose is connecting people across distance.
And it saves a ton of time and travel hassle.
Precisely. You're adopting it for its core function
and getting that efficiency benefit. Simple.
OK. Makes total sense. But then there's the second
choice. Adapt. Sounds like things get a bit more
involved here. They do. Adapting means we start
changing our goals or our methods because of
what the technology can do. We're not just using
it, we're adjusting to it. The technology's capabilities
start shaping how we work. Yeah, exactly. We
see a feature and like, OK, how can we leverage
that? The article brings up wikis in education.
How's that an example of adapting? Okay, so traditionally
maybe a student writes something just for the
teacher, right? Standard, I'd say, yeah. But
a wiki lets lots of people edit together. So
an educator might adapt the assignment, have
students build something collaboratively on the
wiki. Now they're writing for their peers, for
a real audience. Ah, so the purpose of the writing
shifts. It's not just assessment anymore. Right.
It becomes about building knowledge together,
maybe a shared resource. The technology enables
a different kind of learning task, deeper engagement
often. That's a significant change, not just
a tech swap. It really alters the process. Can
you think of other ways we adapt, where we tweak
our approach for a tech feature? Sure. Think
about shared digital whiteboards in meetings.
The old way might be one person at the front
with a marker. Adapting means maybe everyone
contributes ideas simultaneously on the digital
board wherever they are. Oh, right. So you get
more input, maybe faster brainstorming. Yeah.
Potentially a much more dynamic session than
the old way allowed. You've adapted the brainstorming
process to fit the tool. Cool. OK, that brings
us to number three. Exapt. This one sounds interesting.
Comes from biology. It does. In biology, exaptation
is like feathers. Maybe they were first for warmth,
but then they became useful for flight, a totally
different purpose. OK, so in tech. It means using
a tool for something it really wasn't designed
for at all, finding a completely unintended application.
The article says these examples are harder to
find. And there's this idea that exaptation might
even come before adaptation sometimes. What's
that about? It kind of suggests that sometimes
the really creative, unexpected uses just happen.
Someone tries something weird with a tool. Like
a happy accident. Sort of, yeah. And maybe only
later does that use get refined or become more
common, which then looks more like adaptation.
It's a bit fuzzy. OK, so what's the example given?
Social media, like Twitter, used by educators.
How's that adaptation? Well, Twitter, Facebook.
They were built for broad social chat, sharing
news, personal updates, right? General communication,
yeah. But when a teacher uses Twitter to, say,
post homework reminders specifically for their
class or share links to study resources or even
showcase great student work. They're repurposing
it. Exactly. They're taking this broad communication
tool and using its features like quick updates,
links, reach for a very narrow, specific educational
goal that wasn't part of the original design.
That makes sense. You're leveraging the platform's
mechanics for something else entirely that it
feels like where real innovation could spark.
It often is, yeah. Finding those unexpected angles.
Can you think of other examples where we repurpose
tech like that? Hmm, maybe like using online
survey tools. They're designed for market research,
right? Data gathering. Yeah, forms and stuff.
But people use them to create fun quizzes or
maybe small learning checks within an online
community. The goal isn't data for the tool creator.
It's engagement or informal assessment using
the survey features. Oh, OK. Taking the mechanics
and applying them elsewhere. Got it. Adopt, adapt,
accept. Those are the three choices. But Ackerman
makes a really strong point about a fourth option.
or rather a non -option. Right. He argues that
simply ignoring technology isn't really sustainable.
Especially for educators. Why does he say that?
His point is, you might think you're just sticking
to the old ways, like say, insisting on handwriting
everything. But even if the core task seems the
same, the whole context is changing. The way
society shares information, collaborates, solves
problems, it's all being shaped by tech. So trying
to ignore it is like pretending the world isn't
changing around you. Pretty much. He warns that
if educators, for example, don't engage, they
risk becoming, well, his word is irrelevant,
being ignored themselves because they're disconnected
from how students and the world operate. That's
quite blunt. Yeah. But you can see the logic.
If the tools everyone else uses to think and
work of all... And you don't. You get left behind.
Your ability to connect, to be efficient, to
innovate, it all diminishes relative to others.
It applies way beyond education, too, in almost
any field. Yeah, you can definitely see how sticking
your head in the sand could lead to problems
down the line. It's a tough reality, but an important
one to face. OK, so wrapping this part up, we've
got adopt for efficiency. using tech as intended.
Adapt, where we change our methods to leverage
tech features for new possibilities. And exact
the creative repurposing for unintended, sometimes
innovative uses. And the crucial takeaway is
that these aren't just things that happen to
us. We have an active role. We make choices.
It puts the power back in our hands, in a way,
to be intentional about it. Exactly. It's about
making conscious decisions, not just reacting.
Understanding these modes helps you be more strategic.
This has been really useful, actually. Just having
that framework adopt, adapt, exapt helps make
sense of how we can approach all the tech coming
at us. And remembering Ackerman's point about
why just ignoring it isn't really a long -term
plan. Definitely. And it's not like you have
to pick just one mode. Bro, absolutely not. You
might adopt email for basic communication, adapt
your project management around a specific piece
of software, and maybe find some clever, exapted
use for a tool you already have. It's a mix -and
-match situation. Completely. It's about having
these different tools in your thinking toolkit
when you encounter something new. Okay, so as
we finish this deep dive, here's a final thought
for you to mull over. Yeah. Considering these
three choices, adopt, adapt, exempt. Think about
one piece of technology in your own life or maybe
in your work. Is there a way you could consciously
shift how you engage with it? Hmm. Like, could
you lean more into adoption for pure efficiency?
Or could you adapt how you use it, really leverage
its unique features in a new way? Or maybe. Is
there a completely different accepted use hiding
there that could unlock something unexpected?
Just something to reflect on your own relationship
with technology and how you might consciously
choose your approach next time something new
comes along.