Rethink education for our future generations..

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/technology/technology-in-schools-faces-questions-on-value.html?pagewanted=all


This is a very interesting article as it covers a lot of ground on the practical issues and consequences of introducing technology in a real-world classroom. It is true that some school districts spends/gets millions of dollars to update their technology division but unfortunately for some, the test results are not soaring as high as their enthusiasm with technology. I think we have to work and rethink the curriculum also. Technology is not supposed to be a silver bullet and neither can it deliver results as fast as people expect them to, particularly in the field of school education. The focus should be to incorporate the technological tools to evolve education to a process that fosters enthusiasm in learning and to address some of the issues that the educators have identified with the conventional methods. Also, the expectations should be grounded to reality as any change of this scale takes much longer to come to fruition.


When given an opportunity to reform the curriculum for Lower/Middle schools for any school district, we tech savvy teacher should seriously accept the challenge and try to make a difference in the field of education to make it more meaningful.

Digital - Natives vs Immigrants

After reading Prensky’s ‘Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants’ , I have the feeling that I was probably born in the wrong time or was ahead of my time in terms of school education. Like today’s digital natives, I always wondered during my school days that why can’t they make all the subjects and reading materials into something similar to a movie. I sincerely longed for a better visual illustration of the subject but always ended up with a somewhat intimidating fat book. That was the de-facto medium of instruction during those days and other sources like broadcasting or television didn’t have serious educational content. As a result, there was always someone to knock on my head and say “Stop day-dreaming and get back to study”. Well, in just a decade the dream has turned into reality. Before, learning or education was never supposed to be a fun and exciting exercise and it mostly came with serious pressure and tons of reading to excel in exams and to keep up with grades. I think digital natives are fortunate in that way because education have been presented to them in a refreshing manner where they get to use their common toys (digital tools) to gain knowledge, to complete classroom works and to pursue more serious projects. So when it comes to disciplined paperback classroom education, they naturally refrain from that environment since it is way out of their comfort zone.


We can’t hinder the growth which already happened in today’s generation but we should try to find a balance between the two where legacy form of education can co-mingle with the future education. Yes, it is not easy to make this happen in a day but everything takes time and change at this level is something similar to a revolution which will happen after much debate and deliberation. I think Monkey Wrench is a great example where we can see the clash between old school and new age geeks and how finally they invented something brilliant which is used popularly as a learning software. This shows that we need to accept and create new methodologies focused on digital natives and the transition is not going to be an easy one. So sooner we accept and adapt ourselves to the new ways, the more productive it will be for us and our future generations.

Information Age

“Information Age” has a profound meaning to our world as it evolved over the last few decades. The advent of technology not only changed our economy but also shaped our society in ways that even its pioneers couldn’t have imagined. To begin with, the barriers of information have been destroyed gradually, which have created a more equitable environment that fosters growth across our societies. In the past, “information” was held only by certain privileged sections that monopolized businesses and governments. Dictators and totalitarian regimes survived through centuries by spreading misinformation among masses and thrived by physically blocking sources of news and other modes of communication. However, in this age most of these empires disappeared as the people were enlightened by easy access to authentic information. Information age gives voice to people through blogs and online forums and helps them to unite over meaningful causes. The liberating power of technology came into its own in this age and we can all experience its impact over societies across the globe.

On a more practical note, our daily lives have become more efficient in the “Information Age”. Multiple services are offered online and could be accessed from the comfort of our homes. Online banking, investing, travel reservations, tax preparation, entertainment are just a few technology offerings that allow us to plan our time more efficiently and focus on our primary goals. Driving with GPS systems have freed us from the struggle to make an appointment in time. Fast networks have allowed us to work remotely and balance between a career and a family life. Higher education through long-distance programs has opened up opportunities that were unknown to our previous generation. Technology is introduced gradually in our classrooms and slowly but surely it will revolutionize the way we experience learning.

In summary, the “Information Age” is evolving and we are still finding unique ways in which it is touching people’s lives across the world. It is probably too early to predict how it will shape up our future but it undoubtedly has left an indelible mark across the global community.

Search Engines - Threat?

Are search engines a threat to democracy? A few issues that Halavais brings up definitely make us to reflect on the impact of search engines on our collective thought process. Today, we extensively use search engine for information gathering and it is easy to imagine that public opinion could be cleverly manipulated by groups manipulating the search algorithms. This might be done systemically over a period of time to an extent where the democratic system could be influenced or even challenged by a small group of vested interests. The problem is real and we have ample examples in the history (think how Hitler toppled democracy and held on absolute power with threat and propaganda). However, I believe that such concerns are not material for a few critical reasons.


Firstly, search engines are an extension of the technology environment that has enlightened our society in the last decade. People using Internet in general and search engines in particular is inquisitive people with a desire to stay intellectually well-informed. Manipulating search engines might shape some opinions but in the longer term people will recognize these attempts to influence and will discard them in the same way as they pass over propaganda columns. Freedom of speech and expression is an essential element of democracy and Internet provides a perfect platform for people to present their viewpoint. As a result, no attempt to control or influence opinion that can threaten democracy by search engines or other forums will be sustainable.


Secondly, with all its criticisms on ‘aggregating’ or ‘trivializing’ important issues, Internet forums always strive to bring out the truth. It is not the benefit of having a forum but it is our own inquisitive nature and passion for facts that is brought to fruition by the social forums. I agree that the noise levels are sometime annoying but at least there is a way now to voice your opinion and find like minded people who otherwise would be silent or diffident in a public forum.


Finally, on the point of homogenizing content, I still think that the benefits of the online tools far outweigh the pitfalls. It’s true that online interaction promotes homogenizing or aggregation but that is true even for offline collaboration. It’s hard to “design by committee” and there’s often an obstacle to a coherent and unifying thought process when multiple groups are involved and that’s not something particularly specific about how we use Internet as a community.


In summary, I believe there are bigger threats to democracy than search engines. Democracy is not perfect and there are countries with democracy that display a rising gap between haves and have-nots. Poverty, lack of education, regional conflicts, corruption, nepotism are a just a few elements that are an obstacle to the idea of an ideal democratic system. Search engines have the potential to influence naïve populace and even opinionate a large group but in the final analysis such concerns may be overcome by the human intellect which has proven to rise above such attempts of subversion.