Technology in Education

I'd like to start with a quick video to open a dialog with you. I'd like to bring you closer to the question: "Why are we Using Technology in Education?"

After watching this video I was puzzled by the prediction made at the beginning that "mental health is going to be the number one health challenge in the future". Are Web 2.0 Tools Dumbing Us Down? The author of this post, Paul Barsch, starts it with a question?

"Neoroscientists have shown in study after study, that multi-tasking isn’t helping us be more productive, but in fact, is making us dumber. Are some Web 2.0 tools, with their promise of instant
connectivity, notification, and collaboration adding fuel to the fire?"

In his post, Paul pointed out to the statement from the article titled,"The Autumn of the Multi-Taskers" and published in The Atlantic magazine:

“Certain studies find that multi-tasking boosts the level of stress related hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline and wears down our systems through biochemical friction—prematurely aging us. In the short term, the confusion, fatigue and chaos merely hamper our ability to focus and analyze, but in the long term they cause (our brain) to atrophy.”

It is hard to do a professional judgement of these studies, but I must agree with Paul Barsch that as "we’re staying more connected with our communities and world, we are seems to forget more and more the stuff (perhaps purposefully) pushed to us via these technologies". What I find worrying is the words in brackets: "perhaps purposefully".

Another post, Is web 2.0 dumbing us down? raises even more intriguing question:

"If we allow ourselves to be exposed only to those views and people that we have sympathy with, something the web increasingly allows us to do, are we really depriving ourselves of the tools for
a balanced and effective mental development?"

René Meijer, the manager of the Educational Development Unit at the University of Derby and the author of this post, shares his insights on Republic 2.0, presentation by Mr. Sunstein explaining the risks of web 2.0 to democracy.

"While the increased access to the expression and consumption of information and opinion seems like a wonderful thing, there are downsides to how we engage with blogs, wiki's and social networks. Due to the vast amount of information out there, but also because of the nature of these new social artifacts, we tend to expose ourselves only to information and opinions from those that we are close to (ideologically or otherwise). Research has shown that in homogeneous groups like these, polarization takes place: views and opinions become more singular and extreme."

Until now, I was engaged into discussions posted by other people in the same fashion. I see similar trend in the way people reply to my own posts. As I see students in our school become socially engage more and more through technology, I wonder, what views and whose opinions they would be exposed to. Should I purposefully pushed them into the social roller coaster ride or let them think for themselves.

I want you to watch a series of video presentations, titled "Outcome Based Education or Social Engineering".

Click To Play

After watching this discussion it became clear to me that technology can be a powerful social engineering tool in the hand of the teacher and before I start incorcopate technology to my instructions I'd better understand why I want to use it. I admit that technology can boost emotianal and social learning, but I'd like to see my students as a creative and reflective thinkers.

So, what is the right way of using Technology in Education? I believe, teachers have to decide it for themselves. They need to trust their own feelings and not to follow any guidelines that they feel is just wouldn't work in the classroom. The school should have a vision supported by its learning community. In my school, it seems, we do not see the potential of technology in our school setting, but here is an example of what can be done in my school and who knows, maybe in your as well.

Click to play