I stumbled across this infographic showing the evolution of classroom technologies, and it made me start thinking about the lifespan of our gadgets and software.
In the 1990s when I was in elementary school and middle school, we still used many of the “older” technologies included here. It seems to me that these devices had a rather long lifespan. For example, the overhead projector, film strip projector, and TV were introduced in classrooms in the 30s, which would mean they had lasted at least 60 years. Headphones, whiteboards, and calculators had been around for 30-40 years at that point. Though some of these tools are no longer used in classrooms, they had a rather long lifespan. I wonder if our more recent technology will last as long, especially software. Look at Myspace. It was around for only about five years before it was supplanted by Facebook. While Facebook is still popular, other networks are gaining ground with younger demographics. So, what does this mean for the modern teacher? If these technologies don’t have staying power, should we be so quick to adopt them? On a related note, why do some technologies (like the TV) stand the test of time while others fizzle out? Does hardware last longer than software? Can we somehow predict which technologies will last?
English/SLAT 589: ITL2TL Spring 2015 
Why should we abandon old technologies if they work? I would hope that the affordances of the new outweigh those of the old, but I’m not sure that’s always the case. Anyway, Rachel, you’ve made a good argument for a literacies-based approach, rather than one focused on technological skills. The idea is that literacies transfer and adapt much better than skills do.
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