These days when everything is about technology it is good to be reminded that it is the tool and not the solution in and of itself. I wish some of the educators I have come across who are still waiting for technology to be the silver bullet that will solve all of education’s ills before they deign to make use of it in any substantial way would remember that. Like most tools you can read the manual on how to use them but you only really get proficient when you put it to use to solve the problem at hand. I was reminded of this by an excellent article that appeared recently in the New York Times called Achieving Techno-Literacy. Take a look at this list of techno-truths from the article:
• Every new technology will bite back. The more powerful its gifts, the more powerfully it can be abused. Look for its costs.
• Technologies improve so fast you should postpone getting anything you need until the last second. Get comfortable with the fact that anything you buy is already obsolete.
• Before you can master a device, program or invention, it will be superseded; you will always be a beginner. Get good at it.
• Be suspicious of any technology that requires walls. If you can fix it, modify it or hack it yourself, that is a good sign.
• The proper response to a stupid technology is to make a better one, just as the proper response to a stupid idea is not to outlaw it but to replace it with a better idea.
• Every technology is biased by its embedded defaults: what does it assume?
• Nobody has any idea of what a new invention will really be good for. The crucial question is, what happens when everyone has one?
• The older the technology, the more likely it will continue to be useful.
• Find the minimum amount of technology that will maximize your options.
Words to live by.
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