Listening is important. I have only been married four years, but I know that closing the laptop and listening makes or breaks a conversation with my wife. The same is true at school, especially in my job as a technology coordinator, where I regularly listen to teachers talk about their classes and the lessons they would like to add technology into.
I think listening is most important because it honors the image of God in the person you are talking to. There is something of God that is revealed in each of us, and truly listening to another person can uncover that nugget of God you would have otherwise missed.
As I thought about this during a class this summer I reinvented my workspace to reflect the importance of listening. The pictures are before and after pictures of my desk. Screens no longer get in the way of my view of the other technology coordinator, with whom I plan all sorts of different events, lessons and technology implementations. I also removed the screen that was in the way of me actually using the conference end of our desks, I will be able to stay at my desk and join a conversation on the semicircle without distraction. I am using both inputs on the monitor still on my desk to use my desktop and add to my laptop if needed.
I also adressed some issues of equity related to those I am listening to. There is now gigabit ethernet for them to connect their laptops to. There are more comfortable chairs on wheels for guests. There is a power adapter for a teacher or student to charge their laptop while at a meeting.
I am hoping that these changes make listening physically easier, and thereby will increase my effectiveness in helping teachers and students be creative technology users. By allowing them greater creativity I will be allowing them to reflect the image of God better in themselves.
