Techno-Free Zone

I really enjoyed presenting today at the Indy conference. What was interesting to me in the session and afterward at lunch was that so many of the comments related to a couple of ideas that I did that involved no technology. And I was glad to meet an art teacher from Indianapolis who was in my session who talked about how the arts are often neglected at new literacies conferences, perhaps ones that come at this more from a technological determinist standpoint. (Some of my presentation focused on the arts.) As one woman at my table said, "You could spend a half day session learning about some new toy, and by the time you walk out the door, it's outdated!" What will never be outdated is the kind of energy I felt from teachers I met today who are beyond ready to "do" English (and other subjects) in a completely new way. How can these kinds of teachers be best supported? Yes, they can use help in getting hardware they need, but what can we who are more on the sidelines of the K-12 classroom do to help them with the more fundamental process of revolutionizing the way we do school?