Revolutions Reconsidered: Technology and Learning for a New Century

1. Revolutions Reconsidered: Technology and Learning for a New Century Len Simutis, Director Eisenhower National Clearinghouse

2. “Revolutions” in Historical Context • progress usually described (reconstructed) as linear, iterative, sequential • progress is non-linear, with infrequent breakthroughs, competing schools of thought • we make linear extrapolations into the future because we see progress as linear--adaptations, “applications;” but transformations are occurring

3. Technology and Social Change • while major impacts of technological innovations are clearly economic, the unintended consequences have been profound social changes • we are trying to manage the computer revolution to buffer inequities • computing changes (almost) everything, especially connections to/for people

4. Technology and Organizational Change • technological innovation is fundamentally a threat to the status quo • existing organizations are reluctant to adopt new technologies • initially justified for efficiency, but rationalized as largely irrelevant to core business • profound economic dislocations--competitive advantage

5. The Railroad and Automobile as Examples • rail--standardization (infrastructure, time-keeping, communication), regulation (ICC) • impact on settlement patterns--competitive advantages gained and lost • autos--(infrastructure, manufacturing, communication, architecture, social behavior) • the horseless carriage syndrome--implications for schools

6. Computing Technology Waves • the mainframe computer • the personal computer • the networked computer • powerful, portable handheld computers • embedded, pervasive computing

7. Beyond PCs: the Next Era • portable hardware, powerful software--(CDMA), flash memory, battery life • cost/performance driven by video, audio, communication • integrated into other networks like cable, ISPs • examples--bill paying, shopping, learning geology

8. Assumptions, Beliefs about Schooling • people learn best in school • school is preparation for work in the real world • teachers transmit, learners receive • learning is sequential, hierarchical • facts are more important than skills • schooling is essential for socialization

9. Modes of Intelligence • language • mathematical-logical analysis • spatial representation • musical thinking • using the body to make things • understanding other individuals, ourselves

10. Information Storage through the Centuries • oral traditions--speaking and listening and remembering • writing • printing • electronic media

11. Deconstructing Schools--Why? • Teacher numbers, knowledge and skill shortages • alternative approaches to school funding • retrofitting 19th century schools with 21st century technology won’t work • changing nature and roles of family, work • issues of safety, access, role in socialization

12. Reconstructing Learning • content standards and equivalencies (ILC), new Carnegie units • just-in-time instruction adopted to individual learning styles, repurposed materials • a new economy for learning--pervasive, on demand, transactional (national parks) • not from traditional providers (publishers, universities, state or local ed depts.)

13. The 21st Century Revolution in Teaching and Learning • convergence of economic, social, organizational and technological reasons for change • ultimately transformational, not sequential and cumulative • advantages for some, dislocations for others • standards, new organizational structures, new economic and social roles

14. People Like You • willingness to adopt and extend less familiar technology (mobile, video) • willlingness to work in less traditional instructional settings • willingness to work with less traditional instructional providers • work towards the transformation • 10/50/40 rule

15. Shameless Plugs • latest issue of Focus: Teacher Change www.enc.org/focus • mathematics metadata www.mathmetadata.org