Reflection on an Implementation Theory

I chose Activity Theory as my implementation theory. I knew only what was introduced in the lecture beforehand, and I made the assumption that it would be predicated on “learning by doing.” I’m a believer in that philosophy, but my assumption was off; Activity Theory, at this point in its evolution, would be more accurately described as Interactivity Theory. I’ve been expecting to see a mention of the Butterfly Effect, but so far, none of the scholarly articles have delivered that. Nonetheless, the association stands, if in no other way than as a helpful bridge for understanding the theory. 

Activity Theory provides a good framework for qualitative research, which is my comfort zone. As I read about it, my ongoing response is, “This is just common sense.” But if I’ve learned anything in my year as a Learning Technologies Ph.D student, it’s that theories are just clearly articulated ways of thinking, and each one is an option for how a human might approach life. Theories isolate and name thought processes that normal people like me take for granted as universal. The assumption I made at the outset of this assignment is a basic example. (I would have argued that all people learn best by just jumping in and doing the thing, but that’s MY way, not THE way.) Larger and more dangerous examples are found in love, politics, and (the monster of them all) religion.

I have one implementation experience, which happened twice, one year apart, over my two years as a high school English teacher in Dallas ISD. Students were assigned laptops one month to six weeks after the first day of classes. Until that point, they worked on paper. Once students had laptops, they were told to bring them to school every day. They didn’t, and they won’t. If, by some miracle, the assigned laptop was brought to class, said laptop was not charged. Last year, the district ran out of chargers, so many laptops were issued with no way of charging them. My school started fixing laptop problems during Thursday lunches only. At the start of second semester, each classroom was issued one (ONE!) laptop to remain in that room. My room was issued a charger as well, but it did not work. Also, students were issued all different kinds of laptops, so troubleshooting became an improvisational dance moving in a bewilderment of slow motion and failed effort. At my school, one assistant principal had working knowledge for solving technology problems. Everyone else passed the buck to that guy. I am confident that no one involved in the planning of Sunset High laptop implementation was familiar with Activity Theory.