Tech Training, What's Really the Point ?

At the starts and ends of school years, administrators call on ed tech specialists to train faculty.  And so ed-tech folks like myself dutifully prepare workshops and lessons for teachers. This model, at least where I work, is moderately effective at best.

Ed-Tech should support a school's vision and mission. Teaching tech tips and tricks separate from broader curricular discussions is not going to do much to inform or change teaching practices. We can put the best technology in the world into a classroom and it won't change much at all unless society/ schools/ teachers/ and students rethink what is important in the classroom. Witness the iPad fiasco. 

We have all the knowledge in the world at our fingertips. We have tech tools that can do amazing things. The tech support team with which I work is truly expert. (A new teacher who has worked at Columbia University and Haverford College told me our tech support team is the best she's ever seen. kudos to +FCIT Help ) It matters little as long as the "remember and regurgitate" (R and R model) of education still holds sway. Want proof that is true? AP tests. And yes, I can show people Kahoot and Socrative and other tools to support this R and R model. Kahoot?  Yeah, it's fun. But it changes very little in the end.

However..... if we really want our students to think critically and work creatively and in collaboration....  my goodness, then we could really help.