Emerging Technologies for Learning

"It is dangerous to assume that we understand students simply because we were once in the same shoes."

Were we in the same shoes? Perhaps we were with respect to impatience ("I want it now!"), immaturity of thought, and a preference for socializing over "studying." Unless you were born into the Internet Age, however, you were never in those same shoes---your shoes are hand-me-downs from an earlier age of technology. (This is literally true; if you doubt that, Google "shoe + technology".) Yet, if you are able to Google, to Wiki, to Blog, to Text, or to IM, you may share those new shoes.

The emergent technologies mentioned by the author are a wide-ranging mixture of old concepts bundled into new forms---and thus it's not surprising that some of the skills deemed critical decades ago are still so today. While remote instrumentation may be new to some, Nikola Tesla created the first wirelessly operated (remote controlled) model boat in the 1920s; conceptually they share a lot in common. The same may be said of virtual worlds; in the dark ages of education I remember our class dressing up like the Pilgrims and Native Americans to act out the first Thanksgiving. Data visualization began (perhaps) with the creation of the Cartesian Plane by Descartes in the 17th Century. Augmented reality might just be considered another version of a tourist's handbook; the author's description of visiting the Empire State Building (pg. 17) replicates my experience circa 1958, albeit my "augmented reality" was in paper form. So what then has changed?

These older concepts have been repackaged---streamlined into digital format, made available 24/7 and accessible from a variety of ubiquitous digital devices. Information or interaction---lots of it---is available everywhere, anytime. Overload can be the result. What do I do with all this information? Who needs or wants 1,243,576 "hits" on a search, especially when the first few pages are filled with paid advertisements and searches in general have a less than 50% success rate. What do we do with all those Blogs and Wikis and Forums? Aggregate them? We did that with our Blogs, and now with our Wikis---it does not summarize them for us or in any way sort them for relevance. Sometimes we can rely on friends---friends on a social network perhaps---to recommend a Blog, Forum, or Wiki for its relevance. Technology has yet to replace the human experience. As the author emphasizes, critical thinking skills are vital skills to survive this technological age.

Appropriately, the author emphasizes: judgement, synthesis, research, practice, and negotiation. The author asks about programs to teach these skills; it seems to me self-evident that learning these skills comes from practice with guidance from someone who possesses the skills. Technology is not smart enough to "think." Most people are. That being said...

Critique of Flat World Project

Instructional Objectives

The objectives were fairly straightforward: The production of a digital story on an assigned topic using one of Daniel Pink's "six senses" as a guide for the substance and tone of the completed work; collaboration with another student in another location for the creation of a portion of the video content is mandatory.

Technology Utilized by Students to Create/How Technology was Used

At one point or another during the course of their work, the students used two general types of technologies, Web-based and Digital. Web-based included: Wiki, Ning, a search engine, a browser, and a video hosting service (uTube). Non-Web, digital tools included a video camera with synch sound, video editing software, music recording/transfer and editing software, graphic design software, and presumably word-processing software.

All the technology employed was creation-oriented. Wikis gave access to instructions and allowed collaboration. Ning allowed social-networking for the purposes of trading information and asking questions. Search engines collect and display information on the topic---and on the use of the technology. The video hosting service provides samples of digital stories as well as a place to upload the completed project. Digital tools allowed the creation of the completed video.

Put Yourself in the Student's Place...

As one of the students, I would have learned to create and to inform. I would have learned to research, analyze, reflect, collaborate and evaluate---not necessarily in that order, as the creative process is a loop not a straight line.