Teachers Want to Inspire, Say Executives

Blame it on the politically charged climate I find myself in at the moment as a Florida resident gearing up for November presidential elections, but doesn't it always seem like the suits are out there telling us what we want and need without actually ever asking us? 

A recent article by Joel Klein at TechCrunch reflected on a a panel of educational leaders discussing "the future of education: and I found the list of invitees most interesting.  In the mix was Khan Academy founder Sal Khan, former Chancellor of New York Public Schools and a current executive at News Corp., as well as Udacity co-founder Sebastian Thrun.  Were any of those folks ever a teacher?  Any of them even have kids in public schools?  While inquiring minds would like to know, the article does not provide us with that particular piece of information. The article does, however, share the following gem:

"Teachers want to be empowered: That is their motivator. They want to be more effective and excited about the process. So, when it comes to the intersection of education and technology, simply putting a computer in front of a student, of a child, doesn’t make their lives any easier, or education any better."

What do you think of their grand conclusion?

This brings me back to my earlier point.  Don't you wish sometimes that the news media, legislators and even maybe the administrators would stop speaking on behalf of the folks doing the educating and actually ask the teachers what they need? 

Thankfully, and contrarily, this recent survey from the Leading Education by Advancing Digital Commission did ask the teachers, and parents to boot, their thoughts.  Turns out, both parties overwhelming believe that greater emphasis on technology will produce results in learning and that ed tech will become much more important in the next 10 years than it currently is.  Thanks Arne Duncan for actually asking the teachers what they think will be helpful.  Let's see what you do with the data.

What I found most interesting in comparing these two articles is that both suggest that a computer alone won't affect change, that creating an engaging environment through technology is key.  Interestingly, while Khan Academy has certainly become a mainstay for many struggling students, I would argue that Khan Academy is pretty much exactly sticking a child in front of a computer and does not generally engage the student with a new modality for learning.  It is still listening and watching for comprehension, which as many educators know, is the most basic of learning formats.

Did you really want me to pull out the old stand-by Edgar Dale diagram?  Alright, here you are:

So what is actually being done to investigate how education and technology can blend to improve student learning and not just create a new environment in which students will be bored in new and exciting ways (the ultimate challenge, right?!)?  Right here at UCF, amazing work in this area is being discovered every day at the Center for Emerging Media.  I hope to write more on this amazing department soon but if you have a chance to check their site out on your own, please do.  These guys really do seem to aim to inspire, so maybe the executives don't have it completely wrong.

What do you think?