As I stated in my first post (see The First Step), I have mixed feelings about technology that allows people to communicate their every thought to the whole world in an instant. On the one hand, it's a fun way to share with people you know, and possibly get to know people you wouldn't otherwise connect with. On the other hand, it's fraught with danger - real dangers for young people who think they are savvy, but really aren't practiced in the ways of the bad guys - and self-made dangers - embarrassing oneself by saying something that's not well thought out and being unable to hide the evidence or pretend you didn't really say it. Especially in front of your colleagues, or worse yet, your boss!
In a larger sense, I don't think I want to be as connected to the whole world as technology causes us to be. I like to go home from work and step back into my life - the life where work and the troubles of the world shouldn't intrude. I enjoy my job, and I like the people I work with, but I love my extended family and still don't want to live with them 24 hours a day. (A perfect example of a comment I may live to regret.)
Reading the article by David Warlick just adds to my personal tug of war. It's great to have all these new ways to share ideas and information. I'd like to try videocasting or gaming to teach research skills to students. Similar technological methods have proven to be effective ways to impart this type of information to students, and students prefer to have access 24/7, from wherever they are. However, despite the fact that technology is supposed to make our lives easier and get our work done faster, that doesn't seem to be the case. On the contrary, it can make our work day longer (I'm extending my work day as I write this); allow us to check in and "just take care of one little thing" while on vacation; keep us from ever disconnecting to truly relax. You sit down at the computer to do one thing and the next thing you know you've frittered away three hours.
As for the video "Pay Attention", I agree with some of it and disagree with other parts of it. Technology can be a wonderful tool to engage students and give them new opportunities to learn and create, but it can also be a beast that takes over and distracts from the ability to educate. I use Google often and do wonder how we lived BG, but keep in mind that most people don't go beyond the first page of results, and many people have no idea how to (or care to) evaluate a web site and therefore may not be getting reliable information?
Are we educating children just so they can get a job or to feed their imaginations and souls; open their eyes to worlds they could never know from the past and present; give them a breadth of knowledge on which to build? Perhaps 61% of graduating seniors are right in thinking that their school work will not have a bearing on their success later in life - I guess it depends on how you define success. It's also possible that some of what they are learning will not have a direct bearing on their success, but may give their life "richness" (to quote Bill Gates).
I'm all for new technologies and using them to engage and educate children (and adults), but education should drive the use of technology, the use of technology should not drive education.
MHO
The Yin and Yang you express about technology is shared by many others as they are beginning this project. Your last paragraph (IMHO as well), however, is really the bottom line. Looking forward to hear more of what you think as your move through the project.
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