- Click sponsor logos for whitepapers, case studies, and best practices.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Digital Communities
Industry Members
Digital Learning
February 13, 2012 By Ulf Wolf
There has always been and always will be a significant, if not vast, difference between the heart of a thing and the appearance of the thing, a lesson we seem to flatly refuse to learn.
The old adage not to judge a book by its cover means just that. Not even the flashiest, most aesthetic cover in the world will transmute a badly written pulp novel into fine literature. The only way to tell the difference is to actually read to book—and I’m not talking about the CliffNotes either. I’m talking actual book, cover to cover.
This lesson came storming back recently as I read through FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s prepared remarks at a Digital Learning Day Town Hall at the Newseum in Washington, DC, on February 1, 2012.
And reading Michael Hiltzik’s comments on this meeting as reported in the Los Angeles Times only served to underscore the lesson; only served to once again separate the flash of it from the substance.
Flash in this case is technology, and substance is teaching and learning.
For once again, in a forum sponsored by technology manufacturers and broadband purveyors, technology is being bandied about as the elixir to solve all manners of teaching and learning problems of this country.
The new approach, and the gist of the FCC Chairman’s prepared remarks, is that digital books will come to the rescue.
Of course, the same was said of computers when they first appeared: one for every student would solve all teaching problems—according to computer manufacturers.
And the same was said of motion pictures just after they were invented, that they would revolutionize teaching—at least according to their inventor (who, naturally, stood to gain financially) Thomas Edison.
Let me first say that in my experience teaching and learning come down to some very simple fundamentals.
A teacher who knows and loves the subject, and who can interest his students in that subject.
A demonstrable and tangible use for the subject (no student really wants to learn something he or she has no need or use for—the application has to be apparent, and not just “in order to pass the class”).
Frank and honest communication between student and teacher to establish whether learning is in fact taking place (no computer, no book—digital or otherwise—can take the place of live communication between student and teacher).
Liberal use of dictionaries so that the students can ensure they understand all the words used—for how on earth are you going to understand a sentence or paragraph littered with unfamiliar terms? Still, and I kid you not, many a teacher tell their students to read on past all manner of mysterious vocabulary and “sort it out by the content.”
A practical way for the students to use the subject in class to demonstrate that they have grasped and can actually work the principles and actions involved.
These are the principles that have worked (and not too badly) for centuries where teaching and learning has actually taken place.
The panacea touted by the FCC Chairman is more technology—and, so the economies of the solution seem to dictate: fewer teachers, for the money has to come from somewhere.
Apparently, a digital book (an iPad in fact) in every student’s hand is the answer. And there we have the flashy cover; one that U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan seems to also endorse.
I urge you to follow the links above for the full texts, but what I take away from this is that plain old commercial interest (manufacturers and broadband providers) is the real target here, masquerading as concern for the learning welfare of our country.
Or as Hiltzik puts it, “The leading promoter of the replacement of paper textbooks by e-books and electronic devices today is Apple, which announced at a media event last month that it dreams of a world in which every pupil reads textbooks on an iPad or a Mac.
“That should tell you that the nirvana sketched out by Duncan and Genachowski at last week's Digital Learning Day town hall was erected upon a sizable foundation of commercially processed claptrap. Not only did Genachowski in his prepared remarks give a special shout out to Apple and the iPad, but the event's roster of co-sponsors included Google, Comcast, AT&T, Intel and other companies hoping to see their investments in Internet or educational technologies pay off.”
And my conviction is that this technologically flashy cover will do little or nothing to improve learning at a higher cost than it would take to hire more teachers who know the subjects and love to teach them.
Latest From Digital Citizen Pulse
Digital Citizen Engagement - or how Government-IT empowers Citizen Participation and Input - is an important aspect of 21st century life given all the challenges communities face. This is a subject very dear to my heart and one I like to keep a constant finger on. This blog shares my findings and impressions with those interested.
RSS
CONTACT
Blog Archives
Featured White Papers & Reports
The Future of the Desktop in GovernmentUntil recently, there was no alternative to the familiar desktop computer, and its expensive upgrades and maintenance requirements. For cash-strapped local governments, the desktop computer is quickly becoming an unsustainable option for future progress. Now, a technology known as virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) offers an alternative. It can be significantly more affordable than buying individual computers for every employee, and it provides similar capability. This paper shows how VDI is the future of the desktop and is a game-changer for local governments.
View Full Library
