“This will revolutionize education.”

Note (2018): If my inbox (edumarketing fluff) or the internet (hyperbole) are anything to go by, this video is still as relevant as when Derek posted it 4 years ago. Not a lot more recent, but still memerific, here’s another post on Eric Jensen’s Google quote. 

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Being in a tech-rich school, we have access to a lot of different platforms, tools and ideas. We have a good group of educational technology leaders in the school and a pretty strong focus on putting the learning first when choosing and using educational technologies. Nothing is blocked and teachers are given opportunities learn more about (and try) different platforms, ideas and strategies using technology. Sometimes the best tech is low-tech; other times systems like Hapara help us to differentiate more subtly, give feedback more readily and think more carefully about task design, scaffolding and criteria.

Derek Muller (the awesome @veritasium), released this video and I was reminded of how poor some #EdTech implementation can be. This video gives a brief history of #EdTech hyperbole, from the ‘moving picture’ to the laser-disc, each step along the way seeking to automate the art (and science) of teaching. When the focus is on how teachers can be replaced by tech or simplistic educational inquiry (is X tech better than Y tech to do Z simple transmission process?), then the resources and energy spent on the technological innovation are wasted.

“What limits learning is what happens inside a student’s head. […] What experiences promote the kind of thinking that is required for learning?” 

It has become a cliche in #EdTech now to say “it’s about the learning, not the tech,” and that’s a great thing. The mantra sticks, and hopefully it forces us into careful thought about how we choose and use #EdTech tools. Learning is social, critical and personal; it requires the guidance of an expert, caring teacher and it needs inspiration, motivation and perseverance.

If we think about it this way then, as Derek says, we can evolve education, if not revolutionize it.

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Now if only the companies that keep sending advertisements to my school and i-Biology inboxes for weak platforms (and worse PD) would watch this…