We started reading a new book for our class titled Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology: The Digital Revolution and Schooling in America. The preface does a good job giving us a teaser of the book's central arguments. The first chapter discussed how education is changing. The big point of the chapter is that people no longer need to visit physical locations such as schools and libraries to learn. With the growing amount of technology we have at our disposal, we literally have the entire universe at our fingertips. However, as teachers we need to restructure the way we teach in order to incorporate the vast array of technology into our classrooms.
Quotes from Preface and Chapter 1:
"If educators cannot successfully integrate new technologies into what it means to be a school, then the long identification of schooling with education, developed over the past 150 years, will dissolve into a world where the students with the means and ability will pursue their learning outside of the public school." Preface pg xv
I found this quote thought-provoking. The quote is worded in a way that I actually had to read it twice to understand it. I completely agree with what it is saying. Our public schools are in desperate need of an update. People are already turning to online schools, and this trend may mean the end of the traditional public school. This is a startling idea for an education major, which is why I chose this quote. I think it's great that we have so much access to the vast pool of information that we have collected as a society, however I'm not ready to see the end of the public school system. Right now it seems that educating oneself with technology and public schooling are two separate entities. We need to update our school system so they can be one and the same.
"Instead of accessing knowledge through visiting physical locations such as schools and libraries, people can find information on practically any topic and communicate with others wherever they are." Chapter 1 pg 4-5
I have always been a lover of books and the written word. In the summers back home, I would spend hours in the local library reading every book I could get my hands on. I find it sad that libraries in the traditional sense aren't as necessary anymore. However, the accessibility of information today is incredible. I love being able to access a wealth of information from not only my laptop, but from the iPad and my cellphone as well. I also remember the days long since past when people actually sent each other letters through the mail. As everything changes, now people can communicate via phone calls, emails, text messaging, and video calls through programs such as Skype. It's amazing to think how far we have come as a society in terms of technology in the past two decades.
"Schools often provide computer labs, tech prep courses, and computer literacy and programming courses to help students learn about technology, but do not try to rethink basic practices of teaching and learning."
This idea has always amused and troubled me. Schools do often spend thousands of dollars on computers and SMART Boards and other fancy new equipment, but teachers don't adapt the way they teach. The worst case scenario is that a lot of teachers get these technologies but then never use them. I remember in high school that one of my teachers got a SMART Board during my senior year. However, all he used it for was Youtube videos and to show Powerpoint presentations. He might as well have been using a projector screen. This seems to reflect the general attitude of teaching with technology in many parts of the United States right now. We have technology, and we can show students how to use the technology, but not how to use technology to enhance learning. I aspire to be part of the generation of teachers that changes this mentality.
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