Illusion of Control

In the last few weeks I have given several workshops to school site administrators on the resources of Web 2.0 and how the Internet is not just an information source, but is evolving into a knowledge source. It is always interesting to see how people deal with new information and change. While most people are very reflective and take in the new information and then need some time to match the new information to their belief system. There are few people who just reject the change. This is really not unusual change in not popular with everyone and many people are just threatened by change. Several went so far as to cross their arms, completely tune out and say out loud that they are not going to allow it.

When you think about the absurdity of this position in educators, it underlies a core belief that any educator can control the information and resources that learners use. That a site administrator can somehow determine how students learn in the vast information landscape that exists today, or how learners interact to form their belief and value systems. I call this the illusion of control that persists in education. When faced with change that they are not prepared to deal with, they retreat into the administrative control mode. The scary idea that the world is under our control.