Goal of Education

Cool quote:

The principal goal of education is to create men who are capable of doing new things, not simply of repeating what other generations have done.

Jean Piaget (1896-1980) Swiss cognitive psychologist.

A somewhat skeptical view of technology in the classroom

Oppenheimer, in an interview about his book, The Flickering Mind: The False Promise of Technology in the Classroom and how learning can be saved, brings up several thoughtful points about technology in the classroom. He is by no means, anti-technology, but he does identify some of the drawbacks especially when it comes to funding new technologies and continuing to maintain current ones.

A few of my favorite quotes (you'll see how they relate to a librarian's point of view):

"What should matter is how students think about information, not the quantity of information sources. And one good book or article that stimulates a good discussion will teach a lot more about quality of thought than 20 Internet sites that no one, especially the teacher, has time to analyze."

"The scattered, superficial approach to research and analysis that I described previously is increasingly becoming the norm."

Just yesterday I heard several professors complaining that their students will not read an entire article, in fact they will not even scroll down a webpage to read beyond the first few paragraphs. Is this really progress? Is it moving education and our society forward?

Lest you think the author is completely anti-Internet, read the following quote: "And obviously, the Internet offers valuable resources for research projects. The key is to use computers as a supplement in each of those areas, not as a replacement for traditional studies."
A supplement... I like that. I have to remember that the technology is a means and not an end. Interview with Oppenheimer

Brief overview and history of instructional technology

I really liked this article by Robert Whelan, "Instructional Technology & Theory
A Look at Past, Present & Future Trends." It gave a brief summary of the three major learning styles: behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism, which was a good review for me. I agreed with what he said regarding new infrastructures: “These emerging infrastructures are, however, useless without content, and trends in content development are characterized by the most interesting innovations.” This is what my library is grappling with, as we determine where and how our electronic services should be delivered.
Whelans' article