The Tale of Antman

Walking around MassCue last November, I couldn't help but feel a little bit like a celebrity - and not just because of my movie star looks and rock star swagger (part Lovitz, part Popper). And, it wasn't because two of my middle school teachers from nearly thirty years ago were there. In fact it had everything to do with the plastic name badge draped around my neck. You see, my name just happens to be my father's name as well, and in MassCue land, Steve Olivo is a somebody.

My dad has been affiliated with MassCue for close to a decade now. Early on he was a teacher trying to learn something new, but more recently, since his retirement, he's been working with their On Cue publication and helping out with the Pathfinders Awards. At the conference he seemed to be everywhere. In one moment he might have been the one handing Marcia Grant one of her two door prizes, and in another moment he might have been introducing two educators "that really need to meet." I'm pretty sure he tracked down everyone who made it in from Reading, and he certainly made sure to point me out to everyone he knew (‘cause that's what dads do, I guess).

You might say that he was one of the innovators that was there at the beginning. When email was just becoming popular in the late 1990s, my dad, who was near the end of his teaching career at Chicopee High School, started getting involved in something called Learning Circles. Back then they were pen pal projects with overseas schools, but instead of mailing the work through the post office, they used email. As a writing teacher, he loved that the feedback was nearly instantaneous and the audiences were authentic, and learning circles soon became a focus for his class. Today learning circles are one of the more popular projects found at iEARN (the International Education and Resource Network).

Later, as my dad became more interested in using technology for teaching writing, he learned about VHS, the Virtual High School, and soon after wrote and developed his own course (using Lotus, no less). There he expanded his student clients to all over the United States, and expanded his learning circle partners to all over the world. Literally, he was doing the things we're all talking about right now in our little class.

Now here's the greatest part of this story. My father, Steve Olivo, knows nothing about technology. He is one of those heavy typers who often has trouble moving the cursor on the screen because he's run out of space on the table to move his mouse. He had a cell phone for six years before he figured out how to pick up his voice mail. He still has not figured out how to program in phone numbers. To him a bookmark is something that goes in a book, and a favorite is either something good on TV or something yummy to eat. He makes fun of George Bush for saying "the Google," but I'm not so sure he wasn't guilty of it until someone on FOX pointed it out as a faux pas.

And that brings me to the moral of this story. There is no reason for any of us not to be innovative in this 21st Century environment, and a lack of technology proficiency should never be used for an excuse to say, "I can't." There are enough people around who can help implement any idea you can dream up. All you have to do is commit to doing it because a good idea will always work.

And if you still don't believe me after hearing the tale of the real Steve Olivo, let me introduce you to Dave Williams, who this year has at least four students who are the children of former students. Mr. Williams will be the first to tell you that he doesn't know a lot about technology, but just today he gave an amazing presentation on blogging, something he's done for almost a year now. Check it out, and then repeat after me. "If it's not happening, it's because you're not doing it."