Why Will Richardson made me think of Bob Dylan

Will Richardson spoke at my school district and because I was part of the support staff I watched from the back of the auditorium. He was talking about Web 2 and generally covering all the things I am interested in so I was surprised when I noticed that the teachers were fidgeting and muttering among themselves. Finally one of them interrupted Will to question whether technology is a good thing in education. (I believe she used the phrase "instrument of the devil"). (Will blogged about the experience).

When I spoke with teachers the next day, many said that they felt so overwhelmed by the requirements from our Education Department that they don't even want to HEAR about anything else. Web 2 was the LAST thing they were interested in hearing about. I understood what they were saying, but the line from Dylan's Ballad of a Thin Man kept going through my head:

...something is happening here
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?

I think you would characterize our school district as progressive, liberal and supportive of technology. The teachers in the room were young. How do other schools get their Mr. Jones excited about this brave new world that our children inhabit?