Why are we slow to adopt technology for education?

For the past year, I’ve been researching the integration of technology in education, and most recently the use of cell phones, as I mentioned in a recent post. What I have seen is that the use of communication technology in education is more driven by reactionary responses to technology than proactive. There are a number of things that contribute to this tendency; gaps in teacher training, parents’ assumptions about education and technology, students’ assumptions about education and technology (yes, students themselves are often just as skeptical about technology in education as the adults around them), and unclear or misinformed policies. What we end up with are educational systems where the use of technology is always at least one step behind what’s happening outside of the system. My question is, can we formulate policies that accommodate rapid responses to technological changes?
A very good example of technological skepticism in education is the cell phone. Cell phone ownership and cell phone use has spread all over the world at a phenomenal rate. According to a BECTA report from last year, cell phone ownership among 12 year olds in the UK is almost universal and there is little reason to think that other developed countries are any different. One would think that this would be an exciting opportunity for learning, which is essentially a communicative activity. But, no, instead they are most often treated with suspicion and skepticism, labeled distracting, and very often banned. Yet, for students these devices have become one of their primary means of exchange and transfer of knowledge and opinions. The educational system, however, seems determined to encourage the belief that these exchanges using accessible technology are inherently inferior to the exchanges that go on within the classroom and students seem very prepared to accept these beliefs.
An anomaly in all this is that many in development circles have been quick to point out that cell phones may be the transformative technology that will bring education to parts of the world where opportunities for learning have been few. Why this difference in attitudes toward cell phones in developing countries? The only response to that question that I can think of is that it takes a dire situation for cell phones to be seriously considered as a learning technology.
The few and limited experiments that have been carried out using cell phones in education show that educational systems have already missed out on an exciting opportunity and will have a lot of catching up to do. While they are catching up, technology will continue to develop and they will likely fall behind in regards to those as well.
One way that educational policy can perhaps address this issue is by formulating clearer policies regarding the relationship between formal, non-formal and informal learning. Many policies already do address these different arenas of learning but they do so in a manner that keeps each separate, i.e. there’s one policy for formal learning, one for non-formal, etc. What is needed is a more holistic view of learning that incorporates all of these learning arenas into one systemic vision of learning that views the classroom as an open conduite for the flow of information and knowledge from a range of sources. Perhaps the reason that cell phones have received more attention in the context of developing countries is that in many regions traditional classrooms haven’t existed and education is more closely integrated within the community as a whole (I really don’t know – this is pure conjecture). Whether or not this is the case, it might suggest that a more open approach to educational institutions could be helpful.
At this point, it’s probably best I stop with the guesswork and refer back to a previous post on “Opening Up Education”.