Why Educational Technology?
Doug Belshaw:
Every generation needs to ask questions and tell its own story. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been done with education for at least a couple of generations. So as many commentators put it, we’re in the situation where students ‘power down’ when they come to school. They’re using the tools of previous generations. It’s at best anachronistic, and at worst dangerous to the intellectual health of the western world.
He ends with the point that it’s not actually technology that we should be defending. Rather, it’s good pedagogy that can be supported and extended with the use of technology as a tool.
I’ve made this point (not quite as well) a number of times over the past few months while discussing technology proposals with colleagues. You can’t win the argument that you need new technology (especially in times of economic trouble) if you don’t state, quite explicitly, what need exists that the new technology will fill.
For example, you can’t argue for document cameras and projectors in your classroom just because they are the next new thing. At five times the cost of overhead projectors, what new ways of teaching and learning will this technology help you to employ?
Instruction should always drive technology. I have been successful in obtaining technology from the BOE because I go to them telling them what our students are going to be able to do and learn with these new tools. That is the only way it works. Good post!
[...] Why Educational Technology? [...]
Patrick, I’ve decided that it all comes down to heuristics. I wrote a short blog post about that here: http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2009/07/23/the-importance-of-heuristics-in-educational-technology-and-elearning/