In reading these three chapters, I found several similarities among the three different settings (business and industry, P-12, and Higher Education). I actually found it easier to find similarities than differences among them. For example, all three settings found the lack of time and resources to be an issue. In addition, it is noted several places in each of the three chapters that collaboration is key. Collaboration in the business world is key especially between veterans and newbies; collaboration among teachers and businesses in P-12; and collaboration among professors in the same faculty and outside their college or university in higher education.
However, the assignment was to find different themes or differences among the three, so this is what I have come up with. I see the three settings working together. I see businesses creating products and evaluations. I then see higher education taking those products, researching, assessing and sharing uses for the products in different settings. P-12 then takes the products and uses them in order to meet state and national standards and objectives, especially those mandated by NCLB.
All three areas face constraints. In the business world they listed several constraints, but one large constraint was lack of time and resources. As for higher education, while they have a similar constraint of lack of time, they also face the constraint of faculty being trained more in content and not in pedagogy. Therefore, they may not use best practices when sharing the great products they research and evaluate, and thus, may not express their true value (this is simply an opinion based on my reading). Finally, along with lack of time and resources, P-12 faces the constraint of teacher resistance and availability and access. Many teachers feel that things are thrown at them without proper discussions and then are less motivated to see the positive in the technology. Being given an order versus a choice doesn’t always sit well with everyone. Plus, in many cases schools do not have the money or means to make technology completely accessible to all students.
Here is where I see a difference between P-12 and both higher education and business ID. P-12 is mandated to use technology while the others are choices. People choose to go into ID in business and higher education. Another difference between P-12 and both higher education and business is in the make-up of the system. It seems as if both higher education and business ID have teams of people that work together to make and end result. In addition, they both have opportunities for advancement in their field. In the P-12 world, yes, there are other teachers to talk to and work with but it seems a little different than the teams of business and higher education. Plus, teachers do not have opportunities for advancement in their field. Yes, they can advance in pay through more degrees, and yes, they can advance in the sense of moving to administration, but administration is not for everyone and that is a very different career than a teacher. Whereas, advancement in higher education and business ID does not seem like such a drastic change. However, I am not in the business or higher education field, so maybe my perception is off.
Until now, I never realized how broad ID is. It has so many different pieces and is involved in so many different places.
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