When I think about what schools looked like 25 years ago the above question gives reason to fear inside me. So much change. 25 years ago there were no websites, no SMARTboards, no prezies. The feared "printed word" was heavily controlled by publishers and administrators. Parents and teachers alike could simply rely on those published curriculums to be the final "say" in what truth was brought into the classroom. Today the canvas looks quite different. While we do still have curriculum, more and more of the information load is stemming from online resources; wikis, unconfirmed sources, rantings of anyone who can set up a blog :) etc. The printed word is no longer printed, and that might be even more frightening than the printing press! With no publishers to verify and often no real measure of legitimacy, Truth now has many sources, and those sources are at everyone's fingertips to both find and create. Our access to information electronically only magnifies what Thamus dubbed "The conceit of wisdom." (17) We have more knowledge than ever before, but do we have more wisdom? How will our students distinguish real truth?
At the same time, I would argue against the claim that technology (the personal computer) always weakens the communal spirit of the classroom as described on page 17. For instance, with two little boys and a busy summer I would have missed out on learning from Dr. Mulder and with many of you were it not for this little machine on my lap. Is it possible that orality isn't needed for group learning, cooperation, and social responsibility as Thamus credits for proper instruction? Look back at those three characteristics: group learning, cooperation, and social responsibility... the class you and I are taking without speaking a word to one another requires all three! And thanks to the written word and the personal computer it is possible for us to accomplish this.
So with both frightening and impressive capabilities, how do we as teachers "admit technology with eyes wide open" as Postman describes on page 7? Is it possible to go back to a cultural norm when "theological assumptions served as a controlling ideology" (page 26) as they appeared to during the Renaissance? Or has our culture steered so far away from truth that we can no longer recognize it's value? Can we go back to the late sixteenth century and seek truth rather than power?
Furthermore, what will truth look like in my little boys' classrooms of the future? Will technology help them find truth or make it progressively relative?
Thanks for your post Julie. It was right on. Being truth-seekers isn't easy in a culture like ours. I guess it becomes our responsibility as teachers and as parents to seek truth and teach our children to seek and value truth. It is sometimes easier to just believe everything that comes on the screen but there is such value in doing the research to make sure our information or approach is accurate.
ReplyDeleteJulie--
ReplyDeleteYou have great perspective here! I agree that the classroom looks vastly different now than it did 25 years ago, and I cannot even fathom what it might look like in another 25 years! Will classrooms even exist? Or will technology have taken over? I also agree with you about technology tearing down community... I think when used appropriately, it does in fact build community!
-Kelsie
I love that you shared the story of your boys to reel us in here, Julie. I often think the same thing for my own kids, who are in elementary school now. With the pace of change in educational technology, what will school be like by the time they are in high school? Scary.
ReplyDeleteIt's scary when I think of how much the profession has been shaped by technology in the 15 years I have been teaching. When I started teaching middle school math in 1998, I had a chalkboard (CHALK!!) and an overhead projector. No computer in the classroom. We had one dial-up internet connection for the WHOLE SCHOOL.
It makes me wonder if I could still teach in that classroom today, since I've been so shaped by online resources, web 2.0 technologies, streaming video, and the wide access to mobile devices like laptops and tablets. I'd like to think I could still teach just as effectively without technology tools as with them, but I really wonder...
Great entry Julie. Thanks for sharing. I think you are right on. I don't think it is possible to ever go "back" however, it is a beautiful, and at times overwhelming challenge to keep truth always in front of us and to teach our children to value truth.
ReplyDeleteCute pic of your boys! Sidewalk chalk is a great invention:)
ReplyDeleteGreat questions too, Julie!
I think that truth is truth. It transcends above technology, above the written word, above the spoken word. God is truth and he is able to communicate truth however he wishes to.
Even though I did not "embrace" technology from the start, I have been enriched by it and God has used it to speak truth to me. Bible gateway has been an amazing blessing when I teach and lead Bible studies or just want to find a specific passage. Christian music videos have provided powerful testimonies to myself and my students. These are just 2 of many ways technology has helped me as I search for truth.
God ordains all that is created here on earth and he knew that technology would be here today. I am trusting that he is working through technology, but sin is also ever present and will taint this part of created order, as well. We certainly can't see the future with technology but God is already there.