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12th September 2005

Are we forgetting that schools need to change?

posted in edtech |

Missing from the article “Cool Enough for School” from Friday’s Toronto Sun newspaper was any comment on how many teachers continue to teach they way they always have: assigning similar assignments (particularly research) in an information environment radically different from anything any human alive or dead has ever experienced.

The final paragraph highlighting changes in the environment notes:

Then: A trip to the school and local libraries were needed to complete your science project. Now: Surfing the web brings the latest info to your fingertips, either by phone or computer.

The point of the article is to lament how hard it is to be a parent today, with all the pressure from kids to have the latest electronic gadgets. Is this really that different from kids wanting designer jeans and other brand name clothing?

That may be debatable, but the fundamentally different shape of our information environment is not. That was a primary topic in my podcast last week, “The Digital Face of 21st Century Curriculum.”

I also question the article author’s observations:

Experts caution, however, that having a backpack full of electronics doesn’t allow kids to be kids…Nesker Simmons agrees: “Many of these devices are anti-social. It permits kids to withdraw and does not allow for social interaction.

Certainly some devices may promote antisocial behavior– a student who is listening to his/her iPod 24/7 and never talking to another person would be an extreme case in point. But most of the draw of electronic devices for young people, like cell phones and computers, are their precise ability to HELP them be more socially interactive via instant messaging. Articles like this one may have broad appeal with older generations (likely the main ones reading print versions of newspapers like this) but these authors should not overlook important distinctions between “then” and “now.”

  1. The information environment HAS changed. What teachers and parents expect students to do in the way of homework and research assignments should be changing too.
  2. Kids are social, and they most frequently use technology to be social. Don’t assume that because they are using technology, kids are somehow becoming friendless, geeky automatons incapable of social interaction.

On this day..

This entry was posted on Monday, September 12th, 2005 at 9:01 am and is filed under edtech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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