Start with the Outcome, Not the Tool

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A better question is what are we trying to accomplish?
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Randy Black. Randy Black. Randy Black. Randy Black. Randy Black.
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Randy Black. Randy Black. Randy Black. He's a troublemaker.
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Welcome back to Randy Unscripted. I'm Randy Black, and this is the podcast where,
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I talk about things that just happen to come across my mind whenever they happen to come across it.
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And every once in a while, I find myself scrolling back through the thousands
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or hundreds or however many photos there are that I've saved on my iPhone.
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Most of them are family pictures, there's some screenshots, and there's things
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that I've saved there that I wanted to remember at the time,
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but completely forgot they were there later.
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A few days ago, I was doing exactly that when I stumbled across an image that
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I had saved more than a decade ago.
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I originally found it on Twitter back when Twitter was still,
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well, was still Twitter.
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And at the time, it resonated with me. In fact, I liked it so much that I reached
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out to the creator, got permission to use it, and I actually printed it on the
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back of my business cards.
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That's how much I believed in the message.
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So when I found it again this week, I smiled.
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Not because it brought back memories, but because it reminded me how much had changed.
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The graphic was all about educational technology and the left side listed tools
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that were popular at the time.
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Prezi, Edmodo, Animoto, classroom blogs, interactive whiteboards,
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and several other things.
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Now, looking at that list today, it's almost like opening a time capsule.
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Some of those tools, they still exist, but some have disappeared entirely.
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Others have been replaced by things we couldn't have imagined 10 years ago.
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And as I look at it, my first thought in my head was, wow, this graphic really shows its age.
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And then I kept reading. And that's when I realized I had completely missed the point.
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Or maybe I understood it back then.
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I just understand it better now.
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Because the outdated part was not the message. It was the examples.
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The technology had changed. The principle had not.
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The left side of the graphic listed technology. The right side listed outcomes.
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Things like raise awareness, start conversations, find answers,
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make a difference, drive change.
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And the more that I looked at it, the more I realized that those outcomes, they hadn't aged at all.
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They were just as relevant today as they were the first time that I saved that image.
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That realization had been rattling around in my head ever since.
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Not because it reminded me of where educational technology used to be,
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but because it made me wonder if we're still making that same mistake today.
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Maybe we're spending so much time talking about the latest tools that we've
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forgotten to ask why we're using them in the first place.
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And I don't think that's just an education problem. I think it's a people problem.
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Whether we're talking about schools or businesses or churches or families or
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even this podcast, we're often fascinated by the tools.
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But we don't spend nearly enough time talking about the outcome.
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So today I'd like to explore an idea that's been challenging my own thinking over the last few weeks.
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What if we've been starting with the wrong question?
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The longer that I've watched technology evolve, the more I've realized something.
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Think back over the last 20 years.
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There was a time when an overhead projector represented innovation.
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Then came smart boards, document cameras, student response clickers,
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iPads, Chromebooks, cloud computing, coding initiatives, virtual reality,
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artificial intelligence.
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Each one arrived with tremendous excitement. it.
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Each one promised to reshape education.
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Some truly changed the way that we teach and that students learn.
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Others, they quietly disappeared.
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But here's the interesting part. That's exactly what technology is supposed to do.
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Technology evolves, evolves through time. It improves. It gets replaced.
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And there's nothing wrong with that.
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The problem isn't that the tools
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change. The problem is when our purpose changes every time the tools do.
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If our educational philosophy depends on a particular platform or app or device,
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then our philosophy has an expiration date.
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But if our purpose is to help students to think critically, to communicate clearly,
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to solve meaningful problems, and to become people of character,
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then every new technology simply becomes another tool to help us pursue that purpose.
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That's why that old graphic still matters. Not because of the tools on the left
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side, but because of the outcomes on the right. The names have changed.
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The conversation hasn't.
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Maybe that's our first clue. Maybe the most important question was never what's
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the newest tool, maybe the better question is what are we trying to accomplish?
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I think the reason this old graphic still speaks to me is because it exposes
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a habit that all of us have.
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When something new comes along, our first instinct is to ask about the tool.
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Should we buy it? Should we use it? How quickly can we implement it?
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What training do we need? Can we afford not to have it?
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And none of those are bad questions. They're just not the first questions.
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The first question should always be, what are we trying to accomplish?
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Because until we answer that, we really have no way of knowing whether the technology
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is helping us or simply distracting us.
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And I've noticed something over the years. Tools are exciting because they're tangible.
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You can hold them, buy them, install them, demonstrate them.
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You can put them on a brochure, show them off at a conference,
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or feature them in a keynote presentation.
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Outcomes, they're not like that. You can't always measure curiosity.
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You can't easily quantify wisdom.
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Character doesn't fit neatly into a spreadsheet. Critical thinking doesn't always
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show up in a product demonstration.
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But those are the things that actually matter.
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Maybe that's why we spend so much time talking about technology. It's easier.
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It's easier to buy a new tool than it is to build a culture.
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It's easier to purchase software than it is to inspire people.
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It's easier to measure implementation rather than transformation.
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And that's true whether you're talking about a school, a business,
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a church, or even your own home.
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That's why I think this old graphic has stayed with me all these years.
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It quietly reminds us to reverse the order.
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Start with the outcome not the tool when you do that something interesting happens,
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the conversation changes,
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instead of asking what should we buy you start asking what problem are we trying to solve,
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instead of asking what platform is best you start asking what kind of people
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are we trying to develop and those man they're entirely different conversations.
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Take artificial intelligence. Right now, it's the technology that everybody's talking about.
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Some people think it's going to completely transform education,
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and others think it threatens education.
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Personally, I think both sides are asking the wrong first question.
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The question isn't, should students use AI? The better question is,
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what outcomes are we hoping to achieve?
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If AI helps a struggling student receive better feedback, man,
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that's a wonderful outcome.
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If it gives a teacher more time to spend building relationships instead of completing
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paperwork, that's a wonderful outcome.
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If it helps students explore ideas more deeply and learn to ask better questions,
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again, that's a wonderful outcome.
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But if it replaces thinking, if it replaces curiosity, if it replaces genuine
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learning, then we've confused the tool for the outcome.
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The same technology can either strengthen learning or it can weaken it.
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The difference isn't the technology. It's the purpose behind using it.
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I think that's true of every innovation we've ever adopted. The tool simply
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reveals what it is we're trying to accomplish all along.
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Which brings me to three questions I've been asking myself lately.
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Not just about technology, but about almost everything.
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What am I trying to accomplish? Who am I trying to become? And who am I trying to serve?
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We're going to get back to those questions before we finish today,
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because I think they might be one of the simplest ways to decide whether a new
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tool belongs in our lives or not.
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So let's go back to that graphic for a minute. If someone created it today,
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instead of 10 or 15 years ago, the left side would look completely different. Prezi?
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Maybe Canva. Edmodo? Probably Google Classroom or Canvas or Microsoft Teams.
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Animoto? Maybe CapCut or Adobe Express.
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Classroom blogs? Perhaps podcasts or digital portfolios or even student-created websites.
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And instead of telling students to quote-unquote Google it, many of them would
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probably begin with ChatGPT or Gemini, Claude or Perplexity, maybe even Copilot.
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The names have changed. The capabilities have grown.
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But here's what really struck me. If someone listens to this episode 10 years
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from now, they will probably laugh at our list too.
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Some of today's tools, they'll still be around. Others, they won't.
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Some of it will be replaced by technologies we haven't even imagined yet. And that's okay.
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That's exactly what technology is supposed to do. Which is why I don't think
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the left side of this graphic is the most important part anymore.
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I think the right side, you know, it deserves an update too.
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The original graphic talked about things like raising awareness,
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starting conversations, finding answers, making a difference, and driving change.
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And those are still great outcomes.
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But if we're redesigning it today, I think I'd expand that list.
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Technology should help students to think critically, to communicate clearly,
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to ask better questions, evaluate information wisely, solve authentic problems,
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collaborate effectively, create meaningful work, adapt to change,
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serve others, make a positive impact.
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Notice what's missing there?
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There's no mention of any specific app.
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No mention of a particular device, no software platforms, no artificial intelligence,
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because those aren't technological outcomes.
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They're human outcomes. And I think that's where education is at its best.
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Not when students master a particular application, but when they develop skills
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and character that they'll carry with them for long after today's technology
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has become tomorrow's nostalgia.
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I've talked to people over the years who could barely remember what software
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they used in school, but they could tell you about the teacher who challenged them.
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The project that changed the way they thought. The assignment that gave them
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confidence. The mentor man who believed in them. That's what lasts.
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Students won't be remembered for the apps they learned.
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They'll be remembered for the problems they solved, the people they served,
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and the character that they developed along the way.
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Maybe that's the point this old graphic was trying to make all along.
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Technology has never been the destination.
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It's simply one of the vehicles that helps get us there.
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As I've thought about that old graphic over the last few weeks,
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I've realized something.
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This really isn't an episode for Randy Unscripted about educational technology.
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It's an episode about making better decisions.
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Technology just happens to be the lens we're looking through today.
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Because the truth is, every one of us is going to face another next big thing.
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There will be another app, another platform, another device,
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another trend, another innovation that promises to change everything.
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And when that day comes, I hope we resist the temptation to ask the first question
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that usually comes to mind.
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Instead, I'd encourage you to ask three different questions.
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The first one, what am I trying to accomplish?
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What's the real outcome? Not the feature, not the technology,
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not the excitement. What's the purpose?
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Second question, who am I trying to become? because every decision we make is shaping us.
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The tools we choose, the habits we build, the way we spend our time,
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they're all moving us toward becoming someone.
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The question is, is that someone we're intentionally choosing to become?
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And finally, who am I trying to serve? I think this may be the most important
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question of them all because when our focus shifts away from ourselves and towards
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serving others, the right tools often become much easier for us to recognize.
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Technology isn't valuable because it's impressive. It's valuable because of
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what it enables us to do for other people.
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And sometimes the best tool isn't technology at all.
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Sometimes it's your time.
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Sometimes it's your attention. Sometimes it's a conversation.
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Sometimes it's simply showing up.
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You know, the more I've worked on this episode, the more I've realized that,
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this principle shows up everywhere.
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Businesses buy software hoping it'll fix poor communication.
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Churches invest in production hoping it'll create discipleship.
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Parents search for the best educational app when their child may really need,
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something as simple as an uninterrupted conversation.
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Even in podcasting, it's easy to believe that the next microphone,
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camera, or editing tool will somehow make the message more meaningful.
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And trust me, I love good gear, but I've learned something over the years.
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People don't come back because of the microphone.
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They come back because they connected with the message.
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The tools simply help deliver it. That's true in podcasting. It's true in education.
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And honestly, I think it's true in life.
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You know, when I first came across that image again while scrolling through
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my Photos app, I almost deleted it.
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After all, the technology on the left side looked hopelessly outdated.
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Prezi, Edmodo, Animoto, tools that once felt revolutionary, had become little
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more than snapshots from another era.
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At first, I thought the graphic had simply outlived its usefulness.
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But the longer I looked at it, the more I realized it hadn't aged nearly as
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much as I thought. The tools had.
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The principal hadn't. And maybe that's the lesson that I'll carry with me from now on.
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One day, someone is going to look back at today's AI tools the same way that
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we look back at those names on that graphic. They'll smile.
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They'll remember the excitement. They'll wonder why we spent so much time debating
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those particular technologies.
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Because by then, something newer will have come along. It always does.
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Technology keeps moving forward. and that's a good thing.
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But as we continue chasing what's next, I hope we don't lose sight of what's
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always mattered the most.
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20 years from now, the student whose life was changed because a teacher believed
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in them will still matter.
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The parent who chose presence over distraction will still matter.
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The leader who invested in another person will still matter.
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The pastor who faithfully discipled someone will still matter.
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The friend who took the time to listen will still matter.
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Those are the outcomes that last.
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So before you adopt the next step, before you buy the next device,
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before you jump onto the next trend, pause for a moment and ask yourself those
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three simple questions.
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What am I trying to accomplish?
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Who am I trying to become? And who am I trying to serve?
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If you can answer those questions honestly, the right tool usually becomes obvious.
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Because in the end, technology isn't the point. People are.
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So start with the outcome, not the tool.
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Thanks for listening. Until next time, I'm Randy, and this has been Randy Unscripted.