One of the factors that we talked about at length was the notion that the institution of education in North America has ceased to be nimble enough to anticipate the next wave of technological advancements. Instead it seems that the focus has been on reactive strategies to the manage the exponential growth in tech advancements and their effects on our lives. It seems like if the classroom focus in on managing existing technology- we will inevitably remain mired in the irksome position of either endorsers of technology or resistive luddite hold-outs against the inevitable advancement. If the questions you are asking are about whether to ban these things or not – you are asking the wrong question. If the only thing you are interested in is incorporating the latest tech option – guess what you will never catch up.
If on the other hand we can begin to proactively affect the climate of the as yet un seen NEXT product (that we won’t be able to live without!) then we are at least heading in the right direction. This does not mean we Nostradamus this thing through some logarithmical formula or other equally dubious prediction. Instead we begin to teach the values and principles that OUGHT to guide which technologies will survive as vital in our future world. When the developers of the next greatest thing come calling on educators – not to endorse their products through clever classroom application (**cough—SMARTBOARD—cough**) – but as consultants on were development ought to go in the future then perhaps we might begin to have a more healthy position toward technology in the classroom than we currently do.
Understanding the latest tech stuff is fine. Being the agents of change for future tech is what we ought to be aiming for. I think that perspective ought to guide…
And now for something totally different and hopefully a little humorous…
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