The Moss-Free Stone

David is beginning the session by stating that it is not about technology–it is about information. In fact, his goal is not to say “technology” at all during the presentation.

David describes the new world wide web as a “conversation“. Previously, it would have been best described as a library.

The Information Age Workplace

We are just now coming to grips with the way new technology has changed our lives. He uses the metaphor of grocery shopping–more men do it, now that the cell phone is such a prominent tool, and they can call their wives to check on their lists. The workplace of the future will look vastly different because of technology which will become commonplace. For example:

• No traditional phones/phone lines (Cell phones make them unnecessary and obsolete.)
• No paper (Information is stored and created digitally.)
• No chairs (Meetings will occur virtually.)
• No desks (Our tools will travel with us.)

The point is, our children’s world will be nothing like the world we know. And the implications for educators are massive and urgent. As stated by David:

“For the first time in history, our job as educators is to prepare our students for a future that we can not clearly describe.”

Changing Our Focus

Because of this uncertainty, it is not enough to simply teach kids the old standards. It is not enough to teach them how to look up a topic and write a report or create a Powerpoint. Students need to be more than collectors/regurgitators of information–they need to be critical evaluators, who are able to apply what they find with discernment and for a larger audience. We should also, David asserts, not be spending our time simply “integrating technology.” Rather, we should integrate information literacy.

“Reading text expands into exploring the truth.”

He broke this down further into these skills:

• Find the information
• Decode the information
• Critically evaluate it
• Organize it into personal digital libraries

“Arithmetic expands into employing information.”

Numbers are more than just statistics–they are a means of creating and applying information. The fact that all of the material on the world wide web, in electronics, etc. consist of numbers necessitate that we ensure that students can make sense of and manipulate larger and larger groups of numbers. Arithmetic is a literacy skill–processing information.

Another new focus needs to be on teaching kids how to be effective producers of information.

“Writing expands into expressing ideas compellingly.”

The types of media and the ability to disseminate information globally makes it more important than ever that they learn how to be eloquent and thoughful communicators. Their is more opportunity than ever for impact, and with that comes a greater ability to spread misinformation and to share poorly constructed products.

Going hand in hand with this, ethics must be an explicit part of any conversation about literacy, as well.

David hit a personal high note for me in his concluding remarks.

“We will have achieved real education reform, when no teacher believes they can teach the same thing year after year after year.”

Our world is changing, and our methods and goals must, as well. It is not enough to do business as usual, not if our children are to compete and succeed.

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