The Role Of Technology In Education
For my fifth reading log, I will be addressing how the statement made in the reading “Our Future Selves” by Schmidt and Cohen can be problematic. The statement is as follows: “The most important pillar behind innovation and opportunity - education - will see tremendous positive change in the coming decade as rising connectivity reshapes traditional routines and offers new paths for learning” (Schmidt and Cohen 226). I believe this statement is implying that technology would play a key role in education. This new approach presents problems discussed from class. The first problem is that this new way of learning would have a mechanical way of teaching. Both Schmidt and Cohen say: “With hundreds of millions and of views on the Khan Academy’s YouTube channel already, educators are increasingly adopting its materials and integrating modular learning tailored to a student’s needs” (227).
I have used Khan Academy before and, from my own experiences, it is very mechanical: a student would just have to follow instructions and do their best to get the right answer. If a student doesn’t get the right answer, the system would give it to them but not explain it. This is what both Schmidt and Cohen are referring in the statement above. This way of teaching is called the working-class school: in the reading “From Social Class and The Hidden Curriculum of Work”, the author Jean Anyon defines this way of teaching as “… usually mechanical, involving rote behavior and very little decision making or choice” (140). This shows how useless this way of teaching is and how it does not improve upon the student. The second problem would be that this technology-based teaching would limit a student’s social interaction. This statement talks of offering new ways of learning. Not only would students rely on technology to learn, this new way of learning prevents them from any socialization.
The reading says: " kids with access to mobile devices and the Internet will be able to experience school physically and virtually, even if the latter is informal and on their own time” (Schmidt and Cohen 227). This implies that students would not be able to interact with other students since this “new of learning” does not require them to physically attend school so often. In the reading “Essentials of a Good Education”, the author Diane Ravitch states that: “One of the reasons that online schools do not succeed is that children need social interactions to develop soft skills that are needed in life and work” (112). This shows that students need social interactions and the importance of it. If we were to adapt this new of learning, we cannot believe that technology would help students in their social interaction. The third problem with this new way of learning is its over-reliance on technology. Schmidt and Cohen state: “A child will have a lifeline to the world of learning if she has access to a mobile phone” (227). This way of learning highlights the importance of having technology instead of having your brain.
In Thursday’s class, we briefly discussed how media and technology are not neutral but are created by people to be an essential part of our lives when it is not. I feel that technology should not be the only way for students to learn. These are the three reasons as to why the statement if problematic because it refers to technology being an essential part to a student’s learning.
