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Jerry Jennings's Blog

DRAFT Audio Education Online Blog Probe

Audio Education Online Blog Probe
Submitted by Jerry Jennings

April 26, 2010

Technology and Thinking: Two Absolutes for Education?

Ian Jukes, Lee Crocket and Andrew Churches are the authors of: the Digital Diet - Today's Digital Tools in Small Bytes, published by Corwin Press. Ian and Lee were interviewed for this edition of the Audio Journal.

This interview is likely to capture your interest. Ian Jukes makes the point that if a state-of-the-art piece of technology was put on the desk of every student, teacher, administrator, in every single school around the world and if that's all that is done, the only thing that would change is that the electric power bills would increase. Jukes goes on to make the point that the most powerful technology in the classroom was, is - and remains a classroom teacher! But, it's not just any classroom teacher: It's got to be a classroom teacher with the love of learning and appreciation of the esthetic, the esoteric, the ethical, the moral, who understands De Bono, who understands Howard Gardner, who understands Bloom, who understands how different learners learn at different times.

Probes will follow as you read - respond to as many as you wish. The first probe is:

What is your reaction to this claim from Jukes? Is the teacher's role alongside technology all that crucial? Please explain your thinking. If it is crucial in your mind, then what should be being done for our teachers so they can maximize the potential value of technology?

Jukes goes on to say that the real issue related to Twenty-First Century Skills has very little to do with technology and has everything to do with helping students develop related to critical thinking, problem solving, decision making, being able to work collaboratively, being able to work in teams, being able to learn in teams, and being able to be independent learners. He states that these are not hardware issues, they are not software issues: they are headwear issues.

Does he have a point? How might technology be an asset to teachers who foster critical thinking, problem solving, thoughtful decision making, collaborative study, and independence in their students?

In their book, the author's focus on the three stages of technology growth for adults in schools. The very first thing they ask people to do is to learn the stuff for themselves.

Write about how this concept of 'leaning the stuff for themselves' makes sense or does not make sense to you as a school leader. Should you be becoming more technologically capable as an individual? If so: why? If not: why not? And does what applies to you also apply to teachers and students?

The second thing the authors do is ask educators; "How would they use this in a particular classroom?"

Should schools look to the issue of relevance related to technology advancement or should they let the relevance develop as the opportunities become available? Where does relevance fit into the concept of school districts increasing their expenditures on technology?

The third thing the authors ask is; "How do we address these tools within the context of 21st Century fluencies: the solution fluencies, the information fluencies, the collaboration fluencies, the creativity fluencies, the media fluencies?"

What is your reaction to the concept that technology tools should be thought about in relation to the issue of fluencies?

Ian Jukes in one of his answers during the interview quoted an old saying: "When the going gets tough, the tough get traditional."

In light of the future, as you perceive it, what practical reaction do you have to this quote? Is it a time in education to lean on tradition or are other behaviors called for?

Lee Crocket listed the following technology 'tools': advanced searching in Google, collaborative editing using Adobe Buzzwords, VoIP, Skype, Twitter, Facebook, and VoiceThread.

As an educational leader, what is your reaction to this list or any list that contains current or new technology tools?

And to bring us back to the title of this series of probes.

Technology and Thinking: Two Absolutes for Education? What is your reaction? Are they both absolutes?