Visioning about Technology & Learning

I came to FSU over 21 years ago to do technology. I have been stunned at the number of barriers and efforts that have been exerted to keep me from doing technology. At this point I do not wish to dwell on the numerous frustrations that I have experienced during these 21 years, but rather I have decided to talk about learning. Technology can be used to control education or to release it and let it happen!

Recently I saw Casey's Home Page on the World Wide Web. In Casey's Home Page I saw the potential of the future, as I have in many other students' works. Casey is a third grader in a class with which I have visited several times in conjunction with some work I am doing with her teacher. Casey has a very nice Home Page that is (and will continue to be) in construction. One of the options that Casey gave (and I chose to follow) was what led to an alternate view of her Home Page written in French! Another option she gave was to view her brother's Home Page (which I also chose to follow), only to discover that her brother was in Kindergarten. Did he write his own page?

Should we require Casey to be able to conjugate her verbs in French in past, present, and future tenses in both active and passive voice before we allow Casey to write a Home Page in French? Should we insist that Casey's brother be a fluent reader and writer before he can have a Home Page? Perhaps we should take Casey and her brother through a rigorous computer literacy course (which I am still trying to figure out whatever that is, and whether I am literate--and should it be the 1980 version or the 2010 version).

What are effective uses of technology? Do we do the same old thing in a newer fancier manner? For example I just saw a very fancy algebra program with lots of really nice graphics and sound--but the bottom line was it was the same old algebra we have done for years, and the graphics and sound did nothing to enhance the understanding of the algebra. Are we trying to use technology as space shuttles to move our horse and buggies from one planet to another? Does the very presence of the technology provide a vehicle to reexamine the whole process of education? Casey, currently age 9--nearly 10 she says, will be nearly 25 in the year 2010. What world will Casey be in 2010? We might look backwards 15 years to 1980 and think about where we were in technology at that time.

How do we know what Casey or her brother needs? We could make Casey to believe only what others tell her, or we can help Casey develop the tools to gather her own information and make intelligent decisions? How will we be sure that Casey will learn the right stuff? But who is to decide what is the right stuff? Perhaps if Casey learns how to think and reason, and with plenty of resources, Casey will be able to decide what is the right stuff for her?

I have been happy to become involved with a study group in Leon County consisting of classroom teachers, curriculum resource people, and evaluation people. Our task has been to identify fifth grade Internet skills. (During the 1980's I was involved in working with some children and computers. I found the process quite exciting and said that it was an exciting time to do before the powers-to-be figured out what curriculum to hold them down to. Thus being involved from the beginning of this Leon County study group has been intriguing to me, in the hopes that we can move to opening doors of education rather than limiting views of education.) There was immediate consensus that the focus should be student-centered learning. Also the group has initially identified four areas that will continue to be developed, which include: (1) navigation, (2) communication forum, (3) information gathering, and (4) publication. Hmm!

A number of years ago, I watched a colleague reading a manual for a word processor in depth prior to actually using the word processor. He was getting very frustrated. Finally several of us, who had been involved in the technology world for some time, tried to tell him..."No! No! Manuals were not intended to be read. What you need to do is write something that you want with the word processor, and then if you get hung up, look that specific piece up in the manual."

For the sake of discussion I have characterized two different models of instruction and/or learning. Model A is the model we most frequently identify with schools. Model B, on the other hand, may be the model where more "real" learning occurs. As educators is our goal to teach specific content or is it to help students build a foundation for lifelong learning? As learners ourselves, do we want to always have to wait for someone else to organize our instruction so we can learn, or do we need to develop strategies for learning something new on our own? Can there ever be an interaction of how to use Model A and Model B? In each model how do we know if we have learned? How do we evaluate or assess students' learning in either model? Is an effective way to learn a word processor better through Model A or Model B--that is, do we read the manual page by page which likely is developed using Model A, or do we start writing something we are interested in and go to the manual as needed to learn how to do a specific task? How do we want to use technology, or can technology provide real choices between allowing students to choose which model they want to use?

Model A	Model B
Content is broken into subgoals; content is lined up in a logical ordering; and instruction is delivered in a systematic manner;	Content is accessed through problem-oriented activities that allow students to bring organization to the content themselves;
Learning comes from external sources;	Learning comes from within the student;
Teacher is viewed as an orchestra director, to orchestrate and dispense learning;	Teacher is viewed as a facilitator of learning;
Classes are teacher-centered;	Classes are student-centered;
Students are viewed as receivers of knowledge;	Students are viewed as active constructors of knowledge;
Students are teacher-dependent learners;	Students move towards becoming independent learners;
Learning is externally controlled, such as weekly quizzes and/or frequent tests;	Learning is organized so that students have control over the learning, allows for self-regulation;
Conflict and student errors are kept to a minimum;	Students learn to deal with conflict and learn from their errors; that is, errors are viewed as part of the feedback system;
Learning occurs through feedback of information given;	Learning occurs through reflective abstractions, cognitive reorganization--sometimes with flashes of insight;
Learning is viewed as linear;	Learning is viewed as non-linear;
Evaluation is linear, e.g., give four tests evenly spaced throughout the course and average them;	Evaluation is loaded towards the end to allow for maximum benefits for the student;
No direct accountability of setting standards;	Accountability for setting standards--learners redo until they reach standards;
Does not account for baggage in students' starting place;	Accounts for baggage in students' starting place;
Evaluation of teaching effectiveness is based on teacher's behaviors;	Evaluation of teaching effectiveness is based on students' performance at the end.