What the Future of Education Depends On

Cross posted on Edtech Digest| by Greg Limperis

So here it is. I sit here tonight typing this blog post on my new iPad 2 plus 3G. I’ve downloaded the “Pages” app that I am using to type this. I love this tablet! It allows me to do many of the things I could have been doing on my desktop or laptop, but now I can do these things just about anywhere at any time in a very portable format. The real future, though, isn’t in this device itself.

You see, this device was bought for me but it really isn’t mine. It’s become my kids favorite tool. Forget the netbook I bought my daughter—she hates it.

Yeah, they’ll still use my desktop with its large-screen monitor, or my wife’s nice laptop—but this tablet wins out every time. It can do pretty much anything they want it to.

Ours is loaded with apps and games either I or they have downloaded. They love using them, but their favorite is an app that came with it: FaceTime. Their friend who lives up the street came over a few weeks ago with her iPod touch.

On her iPod was the app, one my kids had never seen before. I knew of it but hadn’t had a chance to use it yet. After a little arm twisting by them and an uncertain feeling in me, I helped them set up their FaceTime using my email and their friend’s parent’s email so they could talk with each other.

Now, thanks to the WiFi on this tablet, my girls are facetiming with their friend up the street all the time.

Just last weekend, my youngest daughter was facetiming with this friend, basically live video conferencing with her, all the way to our destination while she rode in the car. She was holding the camera out to the road and showing her friend where she was and where she was going. She was recording messages and pictures when they could not talk live and they were sharing them with each other when they could be on.

There were a few days where they actually just played with their dolls as the FaceTime ran, keeping them connected live, even though hundreds of miles separated them.

They’re growing up with this technology and know no other life then one with technology in it. They aren’t amazed at what they can do with it. Instead, they just think they should be able to do these things. My youngest son, 5, is learning how to use it, too. They fight over the device and I can hardly ever get my hands on it.

Are they learning something from using it? Sure.

Will it help them score better on a standardized test? Maybe.

The real questions are:

-Will the person using it with them know how best to integrate this technology in order to maximize its potential and help them to reach their educational goals?

-Will educators know how best to integrate this technology regardless of the form factor, to best prepare them for a future that is both unclear and uncertain?

There will always be a new latest and greatest gadget. There will always be some piece of software that will allow them to connect and learn from others in ways we have never though about before.

Problem is, how do we get educators to be ahead of the curve? How do we get them to know more about these devices and how best to use them than the kids who are growing up with them in their daily lives?

Too often in my teaching career I’ve seen some latest and greatest piece of technology bought for teachers, yet they were never properly shown how to use it or how to maximize its potential. Inevitably and unfortunately—due to fear and or uncertainty of how to use the device properly or insufficient time to work it into their lesson—the device is thrown in a corner and seldom used.

Many of them will simply use only the equipment that is safe and comfortable for them and try to figure out the rest if there is time and someone around willing to muddle through it with them. Often, they’ll be years behind their students who use this equipment at home and who know no other world then the one that uses these devices to collaborate and learn from each other, yet they will come to school and have educators who will have no idea how best to maximize its potential.

I ask you, what kind of education do you wish for your children?

Do you want them to be able to collaborate in this ever shrinking global market? Or, do you want them to continue to do work in this ever change world they way we did it when we grew up? How much are we willing to transform their education and prepare them for the 21st century? Will we have the knowledge and skills to give them the support they need?

I argue you this point: it will not matter what tools we put in their hands.

Yes, they will need tools—but what those tools might be will not matter as much as will the teachers who are trained to use these tools.

Mark my words: we will be debating the next best technological tool for education for years to come, but the only true impact will come by those who invest in getting our teachers and students the trained educators who can help them to find things they can use, and know how to use those things so that our teachers can best teach our students 21st-century skills through the use of whatever equipment they might have.

The real thing that we need to invest in as leaders is not iPads, iPods, laptops, IWBs or any other form of equipment. The real next big thing will be learning centers that can produce tech-savvy leaders who can in turn go out and train our teachers and students in the best ways to use these tools—ways that are both effective and inexpensive.

The human support will be what matters most.

Teachers need to know they have someone readily available who can help them and who can answer their questions and needs in a timely manner, especially in these days, where time is a commodity that most do not have.

They will not have the ability to always get help from their peers.

They’ll need someone who can give them both online and personal training as needed.

I challenge you to invest what you planned to invest in technology, but instead of that investment being all on the equipment itself, cut that number in half. Invest that other half on the training, support and time for the teacher.

In other words, invest in the human factor and you will see true transformative change.

The best tools are ones we know how to use.

Tags: conferencing, education, facetime, funding, ipad, teachers, training, video

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Comment by Denise Schiavo on December 3, 2011 at 9:59am: Greg,

As a first year teacher I am surrounded by technology that for the most part is under utilized. My students (special education) become energized whenever they have the opportunity to work with computers or when I use technology as a teaching tool. Certainly they are attracted by the bells and whistles, but also the technology helps them overcome some of the barriers they face.

Education as we practice it will never keep up with technology and with our students' use of it. They enter our classrooms often as experts while we, the "teachers" fail to meet their interests,expectations,and abilities. If we are to compete globally we have to communicate globally by using technology to tear down our classroom walls and allow our students to interact with their peers across the globe.

It is not about the hardware as much as the mindset. Our teachers must see technology simply as a tool to assist our students in overcoming cultural as well as physical barriers. It is incredibly important that our teachers and parents be knowledgeable in the breadth of assistive technology available for students' use. Armed with this knowledge the adults can help "level the playing field" for our students.

In my field, technology can be as simple as a graphic organizer or a pencil grip and as exotic as eye gaze technology and word prediction software. Some of this technology requires extensive training while others are intuitive in use. Many teachers simply do not know the technological choices which are available and therefore do not use or suggest them. I have created an introductory assistive technology powerpoint for my parents' use so that they can have some idea of the technology that will help their children. Mine is not the training that you envision, but it is a start. Armed with the right questions, teahcers and parents can seek the correct answers.

IDEA guarantees students an adequate education, including Assistive Technology, and it is our legal and moral obligation to provide it.

Assistive Technology PPT

Featured Blogger Comment by Greg Limperis on December 3, 2011 at 1:00am: @coachchalfin, I will try. It is my only day off this week so I can not make any promises.

Featured Blogger Comment by Greg Limperis on December 3, 2011 at 12:59am: @Christopher, that is so funny. I have heard so much talk lately about how scary and uncomfortable change is. For some reason I embrace change and see it as a way to learn something new. I agree, we do not always have to throw money at the problem but if we are, why waste it.

Featured Blogger Comment by Greg Limperis on December 3, 2011 at 12:56am: Kerry,

I agree. Collaboration can still bring about competition but with a focus only on competition, I can assure you very little collaboration will result. In an ever shrinking world in which we live in, our students will need the skills of being able to work together collaboratively in order to solve major economic and resource based problems.

Comment by Kerry Boyde on December 2, 2011 at 7:50pm: Hi Greg, I couldn't agree more. Here in New Zealand the government is currently rolling out Ultra-Fast Broadband to all our schools which will give us speeds of 100 Mbps and uplink speeds of at least 50 Mbps. There is a lively discussion going on regarding what little impact this initiative will have if our teachers don't get the support to use it.

In reply to you Prathap I think collaboration is more important than competition. There was a video I came across sometime back but I can't think who it was by (Margaret ?) who said we were moving away from individuals being recognised as 'hero's and the new 'hero's will be groups of people working together.

Comment by Christopher Smeaton on December 2, 2011 at 3:08pm: I agree that we need to invest in human support without question. However, we also have to be ready to jump in without the possibility of more resources. Change of practice requires a personal commitment. Change is not easy and it is often uncomfortable. Too often we use the money issue as an excuse not to try something different. We need both!

Comment by Barry W. Dennis on December 2, 2011 at 12:29pm: Excellent!

Educators, like many in the community at large are "behind the curve" not only in adopting technology for personal use (which inevitable helps in integrating and maximizing technology in the Edu community) but in understanding just how technology can help those who are commited to the very best educator standards and achievement.

Failure to learn (heard that before?) while not capable of being laid at the feet solely of educators, may, in fact, make them victims in the sense that not being able to use technology to the fullest lessens the respect they get from their students, a completely negative outcome if there is ever to be hope of getting ahead of the endemic problems in the system.

Another note: In my experience a "learner's" curiosity in one area can be leveraged to achieve greater success in other areas, given a common set of support goals within the educational leader community. We need to give students responsibility for their own education by becoming "Socratesian" in attitude and practice, allowing learners to lead the way, and at a pace which will always exceed expectations, given the support needed.

I look forward to an educational environment in which the joy is "leading from the rear" because the students insist on getting so far ahead. Humility is a good thing, an epiphany when realizeing that, as Socrates himself noted (paraphrasing) , "there is as much to be learned for me, from my students, as I may be able to offer."

Comment by Amy McCammon on December 2, 2011 at 10:05am: Your blog got me thinking about Sugata Mitra TED talk about, How kids teach Themselves, and the H*** in the Wall work. http://www.h***-in-the-wall.com/

http://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_shows_how_kids_teach_themselv...

I'm an advocate of putting the technology in the hands of the students, and teachers motivating students to explore, create and question.

Comment by Kirti Tripathi on December 2, 2011 at 8:29am: very nice post , well the administration still does not understand fully the role of technology in teaching learning , and they land up buying new equipment when it comes to technology integration and forget making investment in training.

Comment by coachchalfin on December 2, 2011 at 6:42am: Hi Greg,

I really like this post. I am going to use it with my EdMedia Masters Class this Sunday. If you are around can you punch in on Skype? I also have a Ning Site dedicated to iPads. It is tinyurl.com/ercsdtech there we have evaluations of Apps, the +'s and minuses. So you can get a good feel for Apps in regard to education. Thanks for sharing! Keep fighting the tech fight!