Why the negative feelings towards technology...?

5B. exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others

In sharing some of my technology thoughts with other educators, I was totally taken back by the negative comments and feelings towards using technology in the classroom.  I addressed a few fellow educators in the Health/P.E. department along with other teachers on the floor I teach on and the amount of people that felt technology and education are not meant to be mixed together was not what I was prepared for.

I simply brought up the ideas of introducing technology on a larger spectrum and made a point that if we all were on the same page and using similar technology along with pushing the importance of it for their futures, it would make the learning experience that much better for the students.  To be truly accurate, it seemed to me that some of the older, more experienced educators are against technology while the younger teachers welcome this shift in the classroom.  I think the teacher that has been around for 15-20 years is set in their ways and potentially afraid to learn new technology (outside of a projector and DVD player).   Younger educators that I work with seem to already implement the technology they have access to.

This was something I was not really expecting to encounter and at this point am somewhat unsure of how to go about encouraging technology use and trying to show other educators how powerful and important it is to our students' future.  I requested a quick meeting with the principal to discuss this issue.  I have no problem taking the lead in technology and attempting to show others some of the new applications out there for educators (for example, only a few teachers I work with have even heard of "voice thread"...).

Has anyone experienced this?  If so, how have you handled it? What steps did you take in trying to explain to other educators the importance of technology in the classroom?

-Ken