We discussed in one of our classes last week that Socrates believed that writing would cheapen knowledge; that it would defer those utilizing the technology of writing from using and developing original thoughts and ideas. Could Socrates have foreseen the advent of the internet 400 years BC? The written word has changed the way we function as a society in immeasurable ways. Writing has allowed us to share and spread knowledge on a grand scale – allowing individuals from all walks of life to be exposed to information and education that they may never have come across without writing.  

Neil Postman said it right when he wrote that “it is a mistake to suppose that any technological innovation has a one-sided effect. Every technology is both a burden and a blessing; not either-or, but this-and that” (Postman, 1993, p. 5).  

I agree whole heartedly that technology is both a blessing and a curse. Where I can see the benefit of various forms of tech, and of the internet, I also see the zombie that my two, six and eleven year old’s become when they focus their time on mind numbing you-tube videos. Regardless of the content, (which can very quickly go from wholesome and sweet to terribly inappropriate) the constantly changing graphics, bright light, colours and array of sounds have their brains over-stimulated and have programmed them to desire entertainment that maintains the same level of stimulation. The idea of utilizing imaginative play becomes unpleasant to them after the internet has provided instantaneous jolts of satisfaction. I see the shift from technology-based play back to creative play becoming more and more difficult as my children encounter tech both inside and outside of the home. Through experience, I have learned that the ONLY remedy for this tech apocalypse is nature. Luckily, we live next door to an array of easily accessible walking and hiking trails. Yet even with the vast wilderness we are surrounded by in the Yukon, I am always shocked by the number of children who come through our home and tell us that they don’t go for walks outside… My kids are being raised as tree-huggers, as I was, and the fact that my two-year-old can hike just shy of five kilometers before asking to climb onto my shoulders is one of my greatest sources of pride! Seeing as even educational online resources such as ABCmouse.com leave my children starry eyed and void of appreciation for life’s simple pleasures, I am left terrified by technology… But what if we were utilizing the types of technology that stem from or can be used along side nature? What if instead of putting a tablet in their hands we taught them how to build shelter, how to build a fishing spear and how to catch their own food during a day on the land? What if we utilized modern technology, like cameras, to document our learnings and share them on a tech platform? I’d call that a successful, all encompassing, lesson.

I really appreciated a quote we looked at last week by Jean Baudrillard, “We live in a world where there is more and more information, and less and less meaning.” Technology in my classroom won’t be the mindless usage that we see so many kids engaged in now-a-days. It is my duty to teach the children in my life to engage critically with the internet and I intend to utilize tech to guide their learning in healthy and wholesome ways. This is exciting! We do not, after all, want to fulfil Postman’s prediction by becoming obsolete as teachers, like the black smith did with the advent of the automobile.

A few years ago, (while surfing the net) I stumbled across an innovative kindergarten program in Japan. The technology here is in the structure of the building itself! The roof top is an open circular track with rope nets that allow the children to engage with the trees. The classrooms are open to the outdoors, meaning that if the weather is nice, students learn in fresh air the whole day through. The TEDTalk about this outdoor school makes me wish we had something similar in the Yukon.   

Today I came across a really cool augmented reality sandbox, which is yet another example of how technology can be used in the classroom without physically handing a child an iPad or laptop. The opportunities to utilize tech within the classroom are endless. It is a matter of discovering the methods of delivering new technology that work for our students to maximize their learning and joy.

Let him that would move the world, first move himself. – Socrates

References  

Postman, N. (1993). Technopoly. New York, United States of America: Vintage Books, A Division of Random House, Inc.  

TEDTalks. (2014, April 14). The best kindergarten you’ve ever seen | Takaharu Tezuka. Retrieved from  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5jwEyDaR-0  

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Socrates. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socrates  

Wise Channel. (2015, July 4). Better space, better education? Japan’s alternative kindergarten (Learning World: S5E41, 1/3). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VOXb-N2EZ0