How has the internet changed the way we view and
access information?
The short answer to this
question is the Internet has changed everything. It has completed upended the way we organize,
search, read, and interact with information, both formally and informally. The logical follow-up question is: Is that a
good thing? Anytime you increase the access to information, it can be a good
thing. Giving people access and control of information leads to a more informed
and potentially more capable populace.
To me, the real question is what are we doing with this access? Just because information is there doesn’t
mean we are using it or using it well.
There are plenty of warnings and blog entries already written about how
to do a Google search and to be wary of ad-sponsored sites and unreliable
information (including projects and reflections from this semester). I am more concerned with how this new access
is affecting education, both inside and outside the classroom.
Creation vs. Consumption
Anyone who pays attention to
politics knows that education has been front and center in many debates at both
the state and federal level over the past 10 years. Much of the rhetoric has produced an accepted
narrative that our schools are broken.
While I don’t agree with this narrative, much of the hype around the use
of technology operates from this paradigm.
From Khan Academy to the flipped classroom there is a plethora of
solutions to fix what is wrong. Many of
these answers offer quick solutions to really complex problems. Herein lies the problem. Learning
is messy and complex. It is
troublesome that there are those with little to no understanding of learning
theory or education who are offering solutions to such a complex problem. Essentially they are creating more engaging
ways of consuming information, but not spending much time on content creation.
One area where commercial
interests are at the heart of reform is in textbook adoption. Publishers and politicians recognize that to
ignore the Internet would only spell doom for their future. Several states, including California and
Florida have already passed legislation to allow, and in some cases require,
textbook money to be spent on electronic media.
As the shift progresses, textbook publishers are looking for ways to
harness the power of e-books while simultaneously protecting their copyrights
and offering services beyond simply providing text on an e-device. McGraw-Hill is even offering to pepper their
e-books with short quizzes and homework assignments that the platform will
grade so the teacher doesn’t have to (Young, 2009). According to the publisher, this is not
designed to replace the teacher, going so far as to say, “the professor will
always be a core part of the learning process,” (para. 14) Despite this assertion by McGraw-Hill,
websites such as education-portal.com completely replace the professor with
10-minute videos and five-question quizzes.
According to their website,
taking their free courses will help you earn college credit. They are careful to say that the college
credit isn’t free as it requires payment to take a CLEP test or similar to earn
the credit. But the purpose of the
website is to increase access to
college by doing exactly what McGraw-Hill says won't happen: remove the
professor from the learning process. Not
only does it remove the teacher, it also reduces the course to passing a simple
multiple-choice CLEP test with no requirement for problem-solving,
collaboration, or communication (either written or oral); all of which are
recognized as critical to success in our increasingly global society (Wagner,
2008). If we are willing to say that
videos and short quizzes are enough to show competency, how long before we are
willing to say that teachers are simply a commodity we don’t need any longer?
Another big push is 1:1
computers and iPads in the classroom. While
there are thousands of apps for iPads and many tremendous uses, much of the
press is given to situations where they are using these devices to simply do
something electronically that we are already doing on paper. For example, here is a video of a teacher
using iPads in an elementary school classroom:
While this teacher has a
comfortable classroom with extensive use of alternative seating and spaces,
well over 90% of the apps shown are kids either consuming information or producing low-level responses (such as
writing spelling words along with the teacher).
While “going green” in this way is admirable, there is nothing happening
here that couldn’t happen without the iPad.
To truly progress in
education we have to fight back against these forces that are making the job
simply about better and more engaging consumption. To be truly literate in a digital world
requires more than mere access, it requires learning how to truly re-imagine,
re-form, and re-create content.
References
Crouch, E. (2013, January 31).
iPads in the classroom. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzSNdxsfk0Q
Rethinking learning: The 21st
century learner. (2010). Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0xa98cy-Rw
Wagner, T. (2008). The global achievement gap: Why even our
best schools don’t teach the new survival skills our children need – and what
we can do about it. New York, NY: Basic Books.
What is Education Portal?
(2013, February 5). Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em7zFZKhwvo
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