I wish I could say that I have never had to convince a colleague or student that the use of technology is enhancing the educational experience, but I seem to do it weekly if not daily with the general public or even people at our school. As I reach into my toolbox of arguments that help others understand why I choose to do what I do and why I see it as successful, two or three arguments jump out at me. As I perused some readings for this week, I came across a quote that I had to include, “ one [argument] is that the world is changing and we will need to adapt schooling to prepare students for the changing world they are entering. The other is that technology gives us enhanced capabilities for educating learners, and that schools should embrace these capabilities to reshape education.” (Collins & Halverson, 2009, p. 9)
“Trying to prepare students for the 21st century with nineteenth-century technology is like teaching people to fly a rocket ship by having them ride bicycles” (Collins & Halverson, 2009, p. 10) Wasn't it Einstein who defined insanity as continuing to do the same thing and expecting a different result? Wasn't John F. Kennedy looking to enhance education in the United States so that we would be more educated than generations previous? Why do people feel that we can educate students the same way that we always have, but have students reach new levels of education and conquer new things? It is obvious that our students are very different than students were decades ago. They have higher standards, seek out college degrees, spend more time in school or in school activities and have desires to work jobs that do not even exist yet. If we do not equip them with the best resources for growth, learning and understanding, how can we expect them to reach new levels of progress? As students are immersed in a life where technology, information, and knowledge surrounds them, how can we ignore these things and not bring them into the classroom? How can schools be the only place where students unplug? Shouldn’t it be the opposite?
“To prepare students to communicate in the emerging world requires not simply the traditional reading and writing, but learning how to communicate using different media with people who do not share the same assumptions” (Collins & Halverson, 2009, p. 13). Is technology scary to bring into the classroom? Yes. Do parents and outsiders fear that their kids become iPad zombies who can’t communicate, look beyond a screen, or become addicted to technology? Yes. Just because we are scared of what may happen, does that mean that we should keep students from taking advantage of using technology correctly because it may be distracting, scary, or costly? Let me give you an analogy to you answer that question.
When cars were invented, they were scary. They were unsafe, reckless, expensive, and new. Did we keep kids away from them, reserving them for just adults and then thrust them into a driver’s seat one day? I hope not. We put kids in the back seat, showing them how the technology can be used for good, how to treat it, and let them understand that it could be dangerous. When ready and trained, we let them take the wheel and hope that they continue to use it in good ways, but allowing them the opportunity to make mistakes and find value on their own. Without cars, they would never leave the house, meet new people and develop connections with a greater world. So why is driving a car allowed, but not driving their own education?
Great teachers take time to train students before putting them into the driver’s seat. They let them take the back seat and push buttons, laugh, play and see value. Eventually, you let them touch the radio, have the front passenger seat and include their friends. One day you are going to hand the keys over, though, and do you want your kids to be dropped into a world where they never learned digital citizenship, the power of search, and how to collaborate? Then they are expected to do it as an engineer, doctor, marketer, or educator? We must prepare them for a world that is dynamic, not static. My students do this by building websites, completing group assignments from home, checking into their personal SEO, and creating content for the world to see. They play the stock market when learning it, they budget their life at 23 to see what an actual budget looks like, they blog to take on the role of a journalist, and they build business websites just like entrepreneurs do so that when they walk out my door, they don’t know simply how to read, write, and listen, but rather how to adapt, create, debate, and live.
Great teachers take time to train students before putting them into the driver’s seat. They let them take the back seat and push buttons, laugh, play and see value. Eventually, you let them touch the radio, have the front passenger seat and include their friends. One day you are going to hand the keys over, though, and do you want your kids to be dropped into a world where they never learned digital citizenship, the power of search, and how to collaborate? Then they are expected to do it as an engineer, doctor, marketer, or educator? We must prepare them for a world that is dynamic, not static. My students do this by building websites, completing group assignments from home, checking into their personal SEO, and creating content for the world to see. They play the stock market when learning it, they budget their life at 23 to see what an actual budget looks like, they blog to take on the role of a journalist, and they build business websites just like entrepreneurs do so that when they walk out my door, they don’t know simply how to read, write, and listen, but rather how to adapt, create, debate, and live.
“Educational technology can be considered as a design science and as such, it has developed some specific research methodology like ‘Design-based research’. However, since it addresses also all fundamental issues of learning, teaching and social organization, educational technology makes use of the full range of modern social science and life sciences methodology. Globally speaking, research methodology for educational technology relies on general research methodology, in particular on approaches of the social sciences” (Schneider, 2010). As I make my final plea, think about how our world is shifting. Do we ignore it and move forward doing what we have always done hoping that what we are doing will be enough? Do we limit our students to the knowledge of a textbook and a teacher? Or, do we remove the limitations of the classroom and show that learning is a lifelong process that students can drive while a teacher facilitates. I no longer use a textbook in my class and it is rare that I lecture. Students are taking on real-world tasks and then have Q&A and research days to bring information to the table. If I am the only one who teaches them, then what will they do when they venture through life without me? Instead, I want to inspire them to be their own motivation, teacher and their own biggest fan. As they work with using technology to do things they never thought they were capable of in the past, I want to make sure that they get the credit, not me. As I shift to a facilitator, that is when the real learning happens because now my students are equipped to learn, collaborate, build, dream and create 24-7 instead of during a 50 minute class period. My students will be raised to be entrepreneurs, why not yours?
Collins, A., & Halverson, R. (2009). Rethinking education in the age of technology. New York: Teachers College Press
Schneider, D. (2010). Educational technology. Edutech Wiki. Retrieved 21 March, 2016 from http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/Educational_technology
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