What is the purpose of education? Traditionally, schools have taught the knowledge of the elders. It has been the primary concern of education to make sure that the next generation had the same knowledge. The experiences of each generation were the focus to guide the experiences of their children. The only way to learn was to go to the experts and learn at their feet. Even my education was focused on gathering the knowledge that I could from my teachers.
With the introduction of the internet, and especially Web 2.0, the goal of education must change. No longer do we need to teach our students all of what is known. Instead, we must teach them how to gather the knowledge that is available, how to interpret the information that they find, and how to think for themselves. My goal with this blog is to show how our education system can be improved with technology and why we must make these changes now.
I agree with your thoughts on teaching students to gather knowledge, interpret it, and think for themselves. With that I feel comes the responsibility of accurate and thoughtful ways on using these new powerful forms of media. I also think there is definitely something to still be learned from educators, elders, and people in general- and that is making personable social connections, and learning how to be productive members of society. These things sometimes need to be seen modeled not read about.
ReplyDeleteMichelle Epstein :)