Role of technology in the classroom

It has taken a while, but I think I have finally come up with a single, comprehensive and actionable statement of the role of technology in the classroom. This is crucial, because many educators are becoming confused and frustrated by the myriad approaches and ways of talking about technology’s role. Although much in twenty-first century education still needs to be figured out, such as creating a generally-agreed-upon twenty-first century curriculum, one goal is, I think, now clear – the pedagogy with which our kids should be taught. 

Although it can be stated in many ways, the basic direction is away from the “old” pedagogy of teachers “telling” (or talking, or lecturing, or being the “Sage on the Stage”) to the “new” pedagogy of kids teaching themselves with teacher’s guidance (a combination of “student-centered learning,” “problem-based learning,” “case-based learning,” and the teacher’s being the “Guide on the Side.”) Of course this pedagogy is not really new, except, at the moment, to many of our teachers. Every teacher and administrator is, currently, somewhere on a continuum between the old and the new paradigms. Our herculean task is to move all of them, around the world, to the new pedagogy as quickly as possible.

Today’s technology, though, offers students all kinds of new, highly effective tools they can use to learn on their own – from the Internet with almost all the information, to search and research tools to sort out what is true and relevant, to analysis tools to help make sense of it, to creation tools to present one’s findings in a variety of media, to social tools to network and collaborate with people around the world. And while the teacher can and should be a guide, most of these tools are best used by students, not teachers.

Students around the world are resisting the old “telling” paradigm with all their might. When their teachers lecture they just put their heads down, text their friends, and, in general, stop listening. But these same students are eager to use class time to teach themselves, just as they do after school when they go out and use their technology to learn, on their own, about whatever interests them. Students tell us, successful schools (mostly charters) tell us, and even our most successful teachers tell us: the new pedagogy works. So before we can successfully introduce technology into our schools, we have to take a prior step.

 We must get our teachers – hard as it may be in some cases – to stop lecturing, and start allowing the kids to learn by themselves. Instead of coming in with lesson plans that begin “Here are the three causes of [whatever], please take notes,” they need to say “There are three main causes of [whatever it is]. You have 15 minutes to use your technology to find them, and then we’ll discuss what you’ve found.”

Akib Sultan
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