Social Media and the future of Education #pcb4

Welcome to the thinking man’s morning session from Day 2 of Podcamp Boston 4…  Presented by someone eight years younger than me – Kabren Levinson (k@kabrenlevinson.com).  This bothers me…

Notes:

• Education is slow, while technology is fast.  At the rate that technology changes, education struggles to catch up.  Teachers don’t have the time to learn the newest technology to keep up with educating their students – students are often self-taught on the newest technologies.
• Technology is not the problem – the fundamental ideas behind “traditional” education are.
• Just “using” technology in a discussion will not work.  Anything can be bought an installed, but if not implemented correctly – teaching the teachers how to use it – ultimately it will go to waste.  “If you don’t think about how technology can be used, it will not be taken advantage of and can be dangerous.”
• “The best uses of technology inside a classroom are actually outside the classroom”.  The transparency of relationships in social media, allowing people to communicate outside the classroom, allows for more learning and more discourse of ideas.
• IT is not the same as EduTech (Educational Technology).  Finding people who know how to teach using the technology is more important that people who know how to use technology and try to teach.  Technology in the classroom is more about education and less about technology.
• Social media can be used inthe classroom as well as at home.  Wikis, Google Docs, etc. allow students and teachers to collaborate on projects from anywhere.
• Publishing online and “living in public”: Teaches students how to take risks and how to receive and understand feedback from both peers and teachers
• New media & Technology teach the concept of “UNDO”.  Something written in pen seems permanent – Photoshop and Microsoft Word allow for changes and fixes to make the final product better.
• “Progressive Education”: Fewer Standards, Smaller Classes, More Collaboration, Stronger Student/Teacher Relationships
• The Schools that really use technology well are the ones that have first thought about the education.  Think about Education with technology, not Technology in education.
• In order for Education with technology to really work, both students and teachers must be willing to learn, trust and take risks.