Computers
September 9th, 2009From Throughlines:
A group of teachers was discussing Daniel Pink’s TED Talk on motivation, in which he argues that the key factors in motivation are autonomy, mastery, and purpose. It occurred to me as we were talking that the laptops that our students carry around with them are uniquely powerful devices for encouraging and facilitating exactly these three inclinations, if only we could learn, or re-learn, to see them this way. The problem is that the students have grown up with the technology and take it for granted, using it primarily as an entertainment center and portal for everyday communication. They don’t see it as transformative, they don’t see it as a wonderful gift, they see it as a given, which is to say they don’t see it at all. Even digital immigrants like myself have lost the ability to fully appreciate the nearly miraculous power now at our fingertips.
It’s certainly tragic that most often we use computers for nothing more than glorified phones or TVs. What’s even worse is that my students without computers, and without access to the internet, are as cut off from the rest of the culture—and they’re peers—as someone without a phone.
Usually with disastrous results for that kid. I’m going to argue that we haven’t even begun to know how to really use computers in schools—and probably won’t for another generation or two. It’s changing too fast, and we don’t know what skills are needed.
Hmm.
