Revisiting Technology & Education

I read a column in the Sunday Philadelphia Inquirer by a fellow educator and felt it was worth a response.

Hysterical claims sometime obfuscate legitimate beliefs. In the column, Grant Calder pokes fun at the people who exaggerate the importance of the present, and rightly calls into question whether "we live at the most important juncture not just in the four-billion-year history of the planet, but in the history of the cosmos". That is surely an unprovable claim, and deserves to be called out as hyperbole.

But if we put aside the loftiness of the "most important juncture . . . in the history of the cosmos" statement to look at what those claims are based on, there is plenty to suggest that the digitalization of information does have us in a the midst of a sea change in educational objectives and practices. This is a reality that the educational world is grappling with, and the potential outcomes are myriad.

As Grant points out (he also teaches at a Friends' school so I'm sure he is used to being called by his first name), the mere development of new technology is not likely to create a new type of human existence. Analog-era skills like communication and personal responsibility are no less important today than they were in past generations.

Bottom line - there may be drum-beaters who carry their beliefs too far, but let's not miss the accurate notes they strike.

Still Learning Online

One of the criticisms that I have heard about online learning is that it is impersonal and does not provide a community in which one can learn through interactions with others. Perhaps that is true in some models, but it has not been my experience.

There is a robust sense of community that continues to develop as we approach the midway point of the online study group I am facilitating. These are all busy people, juggling a full-time teaching job and managing the courseload in addition to whatever home commitments they have. Yet, through a discussion board, they interact regularly.

I have never met these folks face-to-face (at least that I am aware of), yet I am getting a sense of their personalities, their humor, and their challenges. It is different than the communication you find in traditional professional development settings, but it is still a vibrant learning community.

I suspect that the criticism of online learning is little different from that levied by those who believed that texting, cell phones, e-mail, mp3 players, and even the telephone were going to cripple personal communication as we knew it. Communication methods evolve, but it is hard to imagine a world where communication is not still vital - we might as well embrace the possibilities as new trends emerge.

Learning Online

A generation ago, distance learning conjured up images of remote locales, with stray learners here and there tuning in to a lecture. Now, though, online learning is increasing in popularity everywhere - the city, the burbs, and outlier areas.

Convenience is a big factor. Much online learning is asynchronous, so people can log in and crank out assignments whenever they wish. For people with busy schedules or odd hours, this may be the difference between furthering one's education or not. In many cases, the price is lower than traditional schooling - another powerful factor.

Recent experience has shown me that it is not only about convenience though - an online course may provide students with a better timetable for learning. Instead of spending a finite, predetermined amount of time on a topic, as one would in a live class, online students can accelerate or decelerate their pace, depending on various factors - complexity of the material, background knowledge, interest level.

In the last year, I have taken an online course and am currently facilitating a graduate course for educators online. These courses have been driven by content rather than technology, and the content has been relevant and comprehensive. I can't say these courses are better or worse than a live version would be, only that they are different. Overall, pursuing this line of learning has been a positive, and I am glad I was open to it.

Glogging

That's not a misspelling.

Thanks to one of my Cabrini students this summer, I became acquainted with the Glogster Education site. This is a place where students create online posters that can include text, graphics, photos, animation and embedded video. It's a great, free site that sets up perfectly for teachers - secure accounts for up to 200 students and easy-to-use controls for the budding website designer.

Initially I will be offering it as an elective choice for 5th - 8th graders. As the year progresses, I hope to incorporate Glogster into an option for classroom projects.

A Virtual Revolution

Well, it may not yet qualify as a revolution, but virtual learning is an increasing part of the educational landscape.

A Reuters article from last month describes the efforts of an urban middle school in Boston that has implemented a digital curriculum. Students no longer have textbooks, but use electronic materials, maintain blogs, and submit assignments using laptops that are checked out each morning and returned at the end of the day.

There is, naturally, a large start-up cost involved in an endeavor like this. Over time though, it seems like it may be more economical to maintain.

What I find most interesting is that the article provides a glimpse of the possibilities available when we combine digital, online learning with the social and activity-related benefits associated with a bricks-and-mortar school. Critics may say that moving to an online educational model would isolate students, though, in fact, it may be exactly the opposite. By having students work at an appropriately productive pace, they may have more opportunities for collaboration with peers and teachers. Engagement could increase because the pacing would be matched to the needs of each student, and students might feel a greater sense of autonomy and ownership.

There will certainly be bumps in the road, but online learning is a 21st century skill that will become increasingly prevalent. Why not have students begin to acquire this literacy while in school?