Jettison the Jargon: Buzzwords 2.0
A few weeks ago, while working on our academic technology plan, I came across the Educational Jargon Generator. This delightful little tool, adapted from Dack.com’s Web Economy BS Generator, “was designed to assist in the writing of reports, grant applications, and other documents related to public schools.” Although I work in an independent school, I found many of its javascript-generated phrases quite apropos:
- streamline technology-enhanced methodologies
- facilitate cross-curricular units
- target visionary technologies
- exploit efficient curriculum integration
- and the list goes on…
While the Jargon Generator provided a nice distraction from the arduous task of strategic planning, it also gave me pause to reflect on the prevalence/overabundance of buzzwords in the world of instructional technology. In addition to timeless standbys such as paradigm, authentic, and best practice, we have made 21st century the prefix de facto of this decade, and 2.0 can seemingly be appended to any type of noun. This marriage of farcical numeracy and argot root words has created an entirely new lexicon de jure.
Lest I sound an aloof linguistic curmudgeon or dictator of diction, I readily admit my occasional use/overuse of these popular words and phrases. Every profession has distinctive vocabulary that its practitioners must employ and I am no exception. Education, however, and especially technology education, has raised the buzzword bar to the height of nonsensical.
Common language ideally leads to shared understanding, but there is considerable disparity in how we have come to understand and define catchphrases like 21st century learning or School 2.0. This collective lack of clarity is not due to the subjective art of teaching but rather our indiscriminate use of labels. In our heedless rush to modernize education, we have deemed anything technology-related to be 21st century and/or 2.0 in nature.
Somewhere Noah Webster is spinning in his grave; perhaps it’s time to start bringing some meaning to the jargon.
N.B. If you feel so inclined, you can add your favorite bit of education lingo to this form and see all the results here.
