Education is critical. Full stop. Frankly, I feel like I could end the post there to make the point, but since the whole point of the blog is about technology, let’s dig a little deeper, shall we? The thing about education is that we have always utilized the tools available to us to ensure that teaching is effective. I was one of those kids whose teachers had one of those light projectors where they would draw on something and it would project on the screen (SUUPER old school). I love watching my kids go through school and seeing the technology they use. Dropping off assignments in a shared cloud drive is incredibly convenient for me. It did get me thinking (now that we are within a couple of weeks of the kids going back to school), what is the difference between when I was going to school and now?
- When I was in University – I have very clear memories of when I was in University. I would attend class, take notes, study, and complete the projects they assigned me (yes, my Mom reads my blog…). Anyway, I also remember that some of the classes my then-girlfriend would take offered the option for people to watch pre-recorded versions of the class. At the time, they were on VHS (Jason shows his age), and she would, on occasion, instead of going to class, go to the office where they had the recordings and pick up a bunch at a time and binge them. This seemed to work for her, and that’s fine, but I recall thinking at the time that it would be really cool if they had all those classes online one day. They very likely do now.
- The Pandemic changed everything. Going through the Pandemic was hard on everyone, but it was particularly straining for parents of young kids in school. I was one of those parents. My Wife and I set up a schoolhouse-style arrangement in our dining room, with one child at a desk on either side of our dining room table and either their mother or me in between, ensuring that they were actually paying attention in class. At the same time, I was taking a Course in Cyber Security from Harvard University. It was so cool that even in the midst of a global pandemic, I would be able to take a course from such a prestigious institution and not have to leave my own home.
- Digital school now – With everything settled down for a couple of years as of this post, my kids are (physically) back in school, and everything is back to the way it was, sort of. So, while people are back in school buildings and learning in much the same way they were before, Digital learning is here to stay. I have taken a few different online courses that I would have had to attend in a classroom before. I firmly believe that digital learning will be the way of the future and will become increasingly prevalent. While I still believe that there will always be a place for in-person learning, I think that at higher levels, there will be more and more use for off-site digital learning options.
I LOVE that technology has become such a big part of the educational system. Because it’s such a significant part of everyone’s day-to-day life, the use and understanding of technology should be an integral part of our educational system. It’s wild to me to think of people who would intentionally deny access to technology and then expect people to function in a modern technological world. This is different from the “Screen time” debate, which is different for me. I think that educating our youth in how to use technology, and how to use it safely, will set them up for a successful life in the working world. Technology isn’t going anywhere, so trying to educate people like it’s still the 1950’s is setting people up for failure.
How do you use technology in your education?