Yes, even in the barren pinelands of New Brunswick, 'edutech' is poking through (and out)

Without a doubt, the way our students (and ourselves) learn and how they should learn is changing dramatically. Not only are the methods of instruction changing by necessity, but what is learned is changing as well. Most would agree that teachers, administrators, policy makers and parents need to adapt to learning as it is and will be in the 21st century.

Most school districts and their administrative bodies are cognizant of this and have prepared their classrooms for the future. How have they done this? Aside from incorporating new technology like smartboards, laptops, and other physical technological tools into the classroom, they have also started to educate students on how to use new technologies through curriculum. Tech and computer-based skills are necessary to be successful in the current and future job markets. It’s difficult to picture an employee in almost any field who is not well-versed in the use of technology, not just in IT jobs, but in other vocations in economics or business fields and even environmental and education-oriented jobs.


The video below, from the Ministry of Education of New Brunswick, Canada shows that preparing students
for the 21st century classroom is not a cottage industry of Silicon Valley school boards. Educational systems (with the financial means) around the world are taking notice (and action).



The video is intended as a public service ad of sorts that explains to the public the importance of adapting to the fast-paced, techonologically-tuned version of learning that dominates the present and future. However, one could argue that it seems more like an advertisement marketing a product, or maybe an idea or philosophy in this case. So if the future of technology's role in education is so obvious, is there a justified need to convince us of this fact?


It depends on how you pose the question. The question is, how far can or should we stray from traditional learning goals? Can we really abandon traditional content? And is state of the art technology a suitable replacement for skilled instructors and tried and true educational methods? Even if we don’t intend to make this substitution, it is not a stretch to think that the inundation of new technology, which is constantly changing and growing, distracts students, teachers and the public from necessary content.


Some would suggest that maybe the content needs to change and we no longer need to teach our students the same subjects we learned, such as history, literature, geography, earth science and so on. But how do we know what our primary school students should learn when we don’t know what their future goals will be in regards to careers? Yes, a future history teacher or geologist or writer will need to be adept at using current technology. But they will also need a well-rounded knowledge base in their field. Students need to be able to practice critical thinking and analytic skills. The ability to look up all kinds of necessary information and facts on their smartphone or computer at the drop of a hat does not demonstrate a real knowledge of these topics.

Further, by being too absorbed into technology in the classroom, will students suffer in areas like social skills that are in fact maybe more important in primary and secondary school than even the content learned. It is true today and the trend continues to be that a college education is necessary for becoming marketable to employers. My only fear is that if we become too dazzled by the benefits of technology in education, we transform primary and secondary education into a premature vocational training experience that replaces the real and necessary roles it has in personal and interpersonal development. And when it’s all said and done, these students will be no more prepared for the job market until they get a Master’s degree anyway. Meanwhile, nearly all that they have learned about technology and how to use it in their earlier years will be obsolete.

This article from the New York Times points out that the future of learning, at least as some have defined it, does not present such a bright and clear future as the producers of this video might want to claim or hope for. While administrators and districts are becoming quick to throw millions of dollars at unproven methods of instruction (in a time when budgets, at least in developed countries, are as strapped as ever), the results are not justifying the expense, effort, or time involved. This does not mean that all
of the initial points made about the benefits of technology are fallacies, but only that we should be more hesitant to jump head-first into a territory we are no very familiar with.

So while we jump on the information highway 21st century-style, where it pervades our educational system and every facet of life, it’s important that we remain critical and fairly skeptical of how these technologies and new approaches really impact our students and the age at which it is necessary to incorporate this in their classrooms. Technology provides great new opportunities and means with which to learn, but not so much in how we develop into healthy adults. Let us not disregard the value of traditional education that falls outside of what any internet tool (or textbook for that matter) can teach.