Technology and education

Neil Postman draws support for his views on re-valuing education from Theodore Roszak who advances the idea that the educator's love of technology is in essence the undermining of the institution s/he wishes to strengthen. By exploring the folklore of computers, that is to say, "the images of power, the illusions of well-being, the fantasies and wishful thinking that have grown up around the machine" (Roszak, p9). His attention is directed to the fact that the Information Age has "now entered the educational curriculum in an aggressive and particularly insidious way which could distort the meaning of thought itself" (p10). He goes on to say, "The burden of my argument is to insist there is a vital distinction between what machines do when they process information and what minds do when they think' (p11). In fact, "If educators are finally swept into the cult [of information], we may see the rising of a generation of students seriously hampered in its capacity to think through the social and ethical questions that confront us as we pass through the latest stage of the ongoing industrial revolution" (p12).

Whereas the push of computers into the classroom was in the ethereal and evasive notion of "computer literacy", we have since then come to be convinced to a large extent that there now exists a generation of 'digital natives' (Prensky, 2001a, 2001b) who, having grown up with digital technology, now show a natural affinity for it, an affinity that is not shared (and sometimes implied not developable) in those born prior to 1990 or so. While there is little evidence to support Prensky's claim, there is a growing body of evidence that this generation does not exist, at least not in the form Prensky envisions it (see Kennedy, et al., 2007 among others). Nevertheless, it remains one of the most widespread and insistent notions circulating in educational circles.

It remains to be seen just what the computer in the classroom is good for. Experiments with programmed instruction, drill and repetition and the like have not brought the results originally promised by their creators. In fact, Roszak argues convincingly that the oft touted simulation, considered one of the more recent and even more powerful e-learning possibilities, may in fact do more harm than good by depriving the learner of the experience of both failure and the complexity of interaction with the real world. He is realist enough to know that the vast majority of education-leavers will not be entering the highly paid, exclusive segments of society, rather they will, like their forebears, be forced into marginal employment and socio-economic status. He insightfully points out:

"One might almost conclude from this fact that what the young most need to defend their interests in life is an education which will equip them to ask hard, critical questions about that uninviting prospect. Why is the world like that? Who made it that way? How else might it be? There are subjects that, when properly taught, help people answer those questions. They are called social science, history, philosophy. And all of these are grounded in the sort of plain, old-fashioned literacy that gives inquiring minds access to books, to ideas, to ethical insights, and social vision." (p72)

We have some serious re-thinking to do.

References
Kennedy, G., et al. (2007) "The net generation are not big users of Web 2.0 technologies: preliminary findings", ICT: Providing Choices for Learners and Learning [online], Proceedings ascilite Singapore 2007, http://routes.open.ac.uk/ ixbin/ hixclient.exe?_IXDB_=routes &_IXSPFX_=g&submit-button=summary&%24+with+res_id+is+res19981 (accessed 2 February 2010).

Postman, N. (1996) The End of Education, New York, Vintage Books.

Roszak, T. (1986) The Cult of Information: The Folklore of Computers and the True Art of Thinking, London, Paladin Graftin Books.

Prensky, M. (2001) "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants", On the Horizon, MCB University Press, vol.9, no.5; also available online at http://www.marcprensky. com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants %20-%20Part1.pdf (accessed12 January 2009).

Prensky, M. (2001b) "Digital natives, digital immigrants, Part II: Do they really think differently?", On the Horizon, NCB University Press, vol.9, no.6; also available online at http://www.acpinternational-dc.org/articles/digitalnatives2.pdf (accessed 13 February 2009).