The Judgement of Thamus

"What happens to us when we become infatuated with and then seduced by them [new technologies]? Do they free us or imprison us? Do they improve or degrade democracy? Do they make our leaders more accountable or less so? Our system more transparent or less so? Do they make us better citizens or better consumers? Are the trade-offs worth it? If they’re not worth it, yet we still can’t stop ourselves from embracing the next new thing because that’s just how we’re wired, then what strategies can we devise to maintain control? Dignity? Meaning?" ~ Andrew Postman , 2005 (son of Dr. Neil Postman)
Speaking to other members of TEAM and with Brenda Dyck on this particular quote from the article The Judgement of Thamus launched a 45-minute discussion on the topic of purpose. Purpose of new technologies- are they beneficial? Do they create a division among educators’ the ‘so called’ winners and losers? This idea of the ‘great divide’ among those who are tech-savvy and those who are ‘not’ made me immediately think about my mom. She has been working as an assistant head nurse at Queens Hospital Center for the last 20 years. However, it has only been in the last 2-3 years that she has come home night after night complaining about work. Complaining about the new technology trainings she has to attend instead of seeing her patients. Complaining about how hard it is to acquire all the new tech information in such a limited amount of time. Complaining about the fact that just when she has a new piece of tech equipment learned, a new one has come to replace it. Complaining about the feeling of inadequacy.
Does this ‘great divide’ happen in education? Absolutely! I’ve spoken to a plethora of teachers who feel that the available technology (ex: SmartBoards, scanners, digital flip cameras) and the Web 2.0 tools that some are using (ex: Animoto, PhotoStory, Skype…) is making them feel very inadequate! The question that then comes to my mind is: Will this gap widen as each school year goes by? How do we close the gap?
In terms of if new technologies alter our understanding of the purpose of education, I’ll have to say yes. This is my 8th year of teaching, and my level of instruction has been enhanced due to the mere placing of a SmartBoard in my classroom. New technologies have helped me focus my teaching, keep me on track, engage my students, and actually ‘slow’ down the learning a bit [that’s a good thing]. Am I always using new technologies to its potential? Probably not, but I’m not using my SmartBoard as only a glorified whiteboard, either.