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April 5, 2007
Talkin' tech (take 2)This is the second in a three-part series covering BoardBuzz's conversation with David Warlick. You can read yesterday's portion of the interview here.
In a perfect world, how would you like to see learning taking place in schools?
Warlick: First of all, our goals have not changed. Our task is to prepare our children for their future. This means that we must help them to become literate and to use these learning literacies to gain a context for their experience, through math, history, science, health, physical education, and occupational skills.
What has happened, I’m afraid, is that because of the way NCLB has been implemented, we have turned our students into mirrors. What I mean is that the teacher’s job is to teach the content and skills, and the students’ job is to reflect that image back to the test. Instead of mirrors, I think that learners should become information amplifiers, taking what is observed and then building on it – taking from the teacher, books, research, each other, and engaging in conversations with each other, constructing knowledge rather than just reflecting facts. Blogging, wikis and social networking offer a unique opportunity to transform classrooms. Many of our children are already skilled with these technologies, but some school boards, school administrators, and teachers are focused on the potential dangers and not opening up to the fact that these applications have enormous value as learning tools when properly used.
I want to see students working within contemporary information landscapes, not 15th century technologies. Information today is digital, networked, and overwhelming, and this is the environment they should be learning from. I also want to see students actively working with what they are learning, not just passively collecting it. Today’s students do not need grades, they need portfolios and resumes.
Check back in with BoardBuzz tomorrow for the final part.
Posted April 5, 2007 3:30 PM | Education Technology
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