Week 3 - Anything about Technology

Author Peter Senge, Director of the MIT Sloan School of Managment, once wrote “organizations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to learn together will maintain a sustainable competitive advantage."

Learning is important. Business places an emphasis on continually learning (Library Learning 2.0). Our school systems are designed to maximize the ability to teach children the concepts necessary to become a contributing member of society. Technology is their "new" tool.

The subject of technolgy and computers in the classroom is an interesting topic. At what age should a child be introduced to technology? When are you too young to use the Internet? Should children be required to have their own computer, and at what grade level should they be proficient at accessing information using technology?

I was in fourth grade when I was introduced to the computer, an Apple IIe installed in my classroom. It was like a new toy and during free time, we were allowed to play games which were mostly history and math based. I don't remember using a computer or technology ever feeling foreign or difficult. My parents purchased our first home computer in the next year and I spent a great deal of time "playing" with it.

I now have two kids and the oldest is 4 years old. She loves the computer. We have a laptop on which she has her own login and links to approved websites that help her with the alphabet, counting, and beginning reading. She seems very comfortable using technology and the self-paced lessons keep her attention with the sounds and graphics explaining the concepts being presented. So this leads me to wonder, is there an age at which children should be introduced to technology that will promote a future comfort level and begin to develop a understanding of how technolgy can help?

I am fortunate in that I am comfortable with technology and have the means and desire to accept technology and continue to "play" with it when new technologies are introduced. Technology, however, is expensive and not all families can afford to provide access to technology at home. Schools are requesting more computer work be done at home. By middle school some students are expected to have computers of their own so they can finish assignments.

Technolgoy as a learning tool is still a fairly new concept. School systems are still learning how technology can be applied and in some cases it replaces the teacher in the classroom. If this trend increases, what happens to children and adults who have not been exposed to technology and do not have a working understanding of how to use it? With the emphasis placed on lifelong learning and the coupling of this with technology to deliver this product, will this create an increasingly large gap between those who are proficient in the use of technology and those who never created that relationship?