Teaching Students HOW to Learn Technology

All week I've been at the TESOL International Convention right up the road in Baltimore. While I was in a session, something a presenter said stuck out to me....

Technology changes rapidly; we need to teach students how to learn new technology rather than teaching them specific technologies. #TESOL16

— The ESOL Odyssey (@ESOL_Odyssey) April 7, 2016

All night, I've been processing this. I'm a big believer in technology as a learning tool, and I wholeheartedly agree with this comment. As someone who leads a lot of technology trainings (I even led a hands-on tech workshop at TESOL), I meet a lot of people who fall into both camps. Some are self-motivated tech learners- you show them a new app or website and by the next day they're doing stuff with it in the classroom. Others really need hand holding to learn it themselves, and then struggle when teaching it to students. I believe students are the much the same.

What we need to do- with both teachers and students- is teach the learner HOW to learn technology. The biggest question in my head right now is- HOW do we do this? It's much easier to teach someone a specific technology and how to use it, than it is to teach them how to learn technology in general, but I believe it can be done.

What are your thoughts on this? How do we accomplish this lofty goal?