Reading Licklider’s Man-Computer Symbiosis, I’m struck by the fact that technological changes are going to force long-needed changes in teaching, assessment, and testing. They may not be here as quickly as Licklider predicted, but they are coming, and coming soon.
The idea that we can make classrooms technology-free zones, and require that mobile devices be not just out of sight but turned off is ludicrous now, and will become more so in light of current developments: with the ever-increasing power of smart phones and the development of opto-electronic contact lens displays, we will essentially have wearable computers. There’s no way we’ll be able to play Wyatt Earp and confiscate technology at the classroom door like so many Colt .45′s at Tombstone city limits.
Even if we wanted to continue to require students to memorize facts and give them back to us unassisted in the form of multiple choice answers filled in on a form, technology will make cheating essentially undetectable and unstoppable. Rather than engage in the fruitless battle against technology (“no contact lenses in class”?; Faraday-caged classrooms?) we need to turn to the real work: engaging with students to prepare them to use the tools at their disposal rather than continue to train them to be 19th century factory workers.
In the face of these coming changes, however, I feel surrounded by resistance. The sign above appeared in both of the classrooms I teach in, and it is a clear indication that someone is doing something horribly wrong. If someone feels compelled to post such signs, the problem is not the students, it is the teacher. My wife has a colleague (teaching in a doctoral program!) who forbids the use of laptops in class, and has even scolded a student for looking something up to contribute to discussion.
What is to be done?
Tags: baylor_nms_s10, learning, Licklider, talking texting, teaching, technology