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That is a problem! But it can be solved by developing better tools and teaching kids to use em. We have access to magical oracles and immense problem solving ca

That is a problem! But it can be solved by developing better tools and teaching kids to use em. We have access to magical oracles and immense problem solving capabilities right in our pockets, but it gets wasted and used for doomscrolling. Is it really the kid's fault if nobody in their lives is teaching them how to use these tools more effectively though? We should be developing problem solving toolboxes and teaching kids how to use them effectively. When I was in school we had multiple seminars on how to navigate library systems and research data. Because it's not obvious to kids what capabilities are available from existing systems unless someone teaches them. The problem with banning smartphones is that it will limit development of problem solving capabilities to the same tier as prior generations and fail to teach students how to maximally leverage the tools to which they have access. Educational systems must adapt and evolve. The older generation is responsible for developing new tools and getting children acquainted with their usage.

kjkjadksj 3y ago
The thing is, most academic work up to perhaps your upperclassman work in college is very much not about going off into the woods and coming back with knowledge from far off. Its about being on topic with whats actually being covered in class, and merely paying attention should be sufficient. I have graded student essays in this internet era, and you can tell when they refer to outside sources. Not a bad thing if its not plagiarized and cited, but its almost like knowledge vomit. I am testing them on X and Y since I talked about X and Y in class, and you get full marks by showing you paid attention to x and y in class and understand them. These knowledge vomit essays, I see they don’t really understand X or Y and desperately try and fill the page with everything from alpha to omega that was linked on the wikipedia article. It probably takes more work, in a panicked state the night before the deadline I imagine, parsing this stuff out gauging validity from various online sources and trying to meet teacher expectations, than just taking notes in class and studying solely from that content. I even offer recordings and slides of my lectures so students are encouraged to study solely that material, and not go down some rabbit hole off topic.

kjkjadksj 3y ago

The thing is, most academic work up to perhaps your upperclassman work in college is very much not about going off into the woods and coming back with knowledge from far off. Its about being on topic with whats actually being covered in class, and merely paying attention should be sufficient. I have graded student essays in this internet era, and you can tell when they refer to outside sources. Not a bad thing if its not plagiarized and cited, but its almost like knowledge vomit. I am testing them on X and Y since I talked about X and Y in class, and you get full marks by showing you paid attention to x and y in class and understand them. These knowledge vomit essays, I see they don’t really understand X or Y and desperately try and fill the page with everything from alpha to omega that was linked on the wikipedia article. It probably takes more work, in a panicked state the night before the deadline I imagine, parsing this stuff out gauging validity from various online sources and trying to meet teacher expectations, than just taking notes in class and studying solely from that content. I even offer recordings and slides of my lectures so students are encouraged to study solely that material, and not go down some rabbit hole off topic.