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It’s important to recognize access to information does not equate to education. No matter what sophisticated tools you have at your disposal, you still need an

It’s important to recognize access to information does not equate to education. No matter what sophisticated tools you have at your disposal, you still need an educator to do the job of teaching, to separate the wheat from the chaff, and to craft some kind of coherent picture that synthesizes connections between what’s being learned. Niel Postman’s Technopoly puts forward a pretty good argument for why we can’t simply replace teachers with sophisticated tools and hope the information sticks. Technology is a great boon and enabler in the field of education, but’s it no replacement for teachers or communities, which remain integral to the pedagogical process. The same logic, at its extreme would suggest you could replace parents with sophisticated tooling and come out with children that are just as well developed and ready to contribute to society in meaningful ways.

duxup 8y ago
Having someone to bounce ideas off of, ask questions, is just so much more efficient and helpful when it comes to understanding. Granted that also requires a good teacher but the payoff is so high compared to just having text or video in front of you. Standing at a whiteboard thinking out loud with an instructor or peer has always lead to my deepest understanding / biggest breakthroughs as far as understanding a concept goes. Humans are social animals and we learn really well that way.
yters 8y ago
And then we could replace the children with tools and no humans are needed for education!
- FiveSquared 8y ago
  /s
Kalium 8y ago
> Niel Postman’s Technopoly puts forward a pretty good argument for why we can’t simply replace teachers with sophisticated tools and hope the information sticks. This is absolutely correct! Information technology is in no way, shape, form, or manner an adequate replacement for a skilled, educated, professional, and engaged teacher and a supportive community. It may be worth considering that tools can provide some value when teachers have no idea what they're supposed to be teaching... or even are entirely absent! It's important to recognize that using technology to aid in the educational process does not have to mean handing kids iPads and hoping for the best. While by no means a substitute for a teacher performing to reasonable standards, tools can be a wonderful investment in situations where the education system cannot meet those standards.

duxup 8y ago

Having someone to bounce ideas off of, ask questions, is just so much more efficient and helpful when it comes to understanding. Granted that also requires a good teacher but the payoff is so high compared to just having text or video in front of you. Standing at a whiteboard thinking out loud with an instructor or peer has always lead to my deepest understanding / biggest breakthroughs as far as understanding a concept goes. Humans are social animals and we learn really well that way.

yters 8y ago

And then we could replace the children with tools and no humans are needed for education!

FiveSquared 8y ago
/s

Kalium 8y ago

> Niel Postman’s Technopoly puts forward a pretty good argument for why we can’t simply replace teachers with sophisticated tools and hope the information sticks. This is absolutely correct! Information technology is in no way, shape, form, or manner an adequate replacement for a skilled, educated, professional, and engaged teacher and a supportive community. It may be worth considering that tools can provide some value when teachers have no idea what they're supposed to be teaching... or even are entirely absent! It's important to recognize that using technology to aid in the educational process does not have to mean handing kids iPads and hoping for the best. While by no means a substitute for a teacher performing to reasonable standards, tools can be a wonderful investment in situations where the education system cannot meet those standards.