Ever since we learned how to control fire, and probably before, we’ve known that all technologies are double-edged. We can keep the house warm or burn it down. We can split the atom to generate electricity for our coffee makers or threaten all of humanity. We can build an interstate highway system that both connects and isolates us. We invent the plow and develop farming practices that produce high yields, but in the process deplete the topsoil, pollute the land and water. We can design cellphones that allow easy connectivity just about anywhere, but also put us at risk of cancer and make us less aware of the people around us.
Email was intended to make our work lives easier, but just about everyone I know complains about email overload and of the expectation that we’ll respond immediately. A recent report notes that the average worker is interrupted by one technology or other every three minutes. How can this be good for productivity? Some companies now require device-free meetings so people actually look each other in the eye and concentrate on the issue at hand.
The American Psychiatric Association has recently added “Internet Addiction Disorder” to its list of bona fide illnesses. Digital detox retreats are increasingly popular. Among the young, Internet addiction (hours and hours of thumbing one’s way through life) has led to another disorder: Nature Deficit Disorder — essentially, a damaging physical and psychological disconnect from the natural world.
Of course, our hope is that our inventiveness ultimately leads not to a dystopia and addiction and illness, but to better living, a strong economy, and healthier ecosystems everywhere. Otherwise, what’s the point?
In schools, technology is greeted with mixed feelings. Certainly, the hope of schools is that an investment in technology will improve the quality of teaching and learning as well as basic school operations. My sense is that you can find people who will argue any point, any position.
At the moment, however, the march of educational technology seems strong, perhaps inevitable. We are using more technology today than yesterday. Many schools are embracing laptops, tablets, and ereaders. Virtual schools and courses increase yearly. Families more or less expect schools to incorporate a fairly high level of technology. And now whole schools are founded on technology’s promise of deep learning and global connection. We’ll no doubt use more technology tomorrow.
Do I have a strong opinion on the matter? I still get most of my information from printed books and magazines. All things being equal, I lean toward simplicity, toward a reduction of energy use. I admire the recent investments in alternative energy in schools, the urge for more green technologies. But I’m writing this note on a MacBook Pro. I carry an iPhone in my pocket most days. And sometimes I turn on the GPS to keep from getting “lost.” Maybe it’s best to say, I’m impressed with educators who have found inventive ways of folding technology into teaching — with the aim of deeper learning and human connection. I’m not convinced that we need to hitch our wagons to digital technology, but I see its place. I just hope we don’t burn down the house in our excitement.
Michael Brosnan
Editor