Piaget and B.F. Skinner Tweets

Malbert Smith III, in an Education Week Commentary, wonders what would have happened if great thinkers in education had digital communication available to them. Would they have been able to spread their research and ideas or would modern ways of communication have limited their time to think deeply and engage in continuing observations? Although, Smith says that “our digital toolkits allow us to analyze and publish data faster, connect immediately to scholars about the globe, and disseminate findings instantly”, he suggests, when considering the time we and our students spend engaging in digital communication, that we have become “prisoners” of our devices. If Jean Piaget had tweeted about his children, Smith says, they “would have rebelled with tweets, blogs, and the ultimate rejection: Facebook unfriending.”