November 2003 — Making Life Easier
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Achieving Education's 'Tipping Point'
- Identifying what the true "killer application" is, if one actually exists, which causes a mad dash to technology (e.g., management learning programs and systems that are continually evolving);
- Fully realizing how technology is a real time-saver (e.g., workable essay evaluation programs that help to determine the quality and relevance of a student's essay);
- Easily creating individualized programs to meet a student's interests and needs (e.g., assistive technology tools for helping disabled students create individualized learning programs and devices to learn with);
- Getting people who are decision-makers to admit they don't really know about the basics of technology and helping them understand those basics (e.g., having state legislators only vote on technology-related education issues after they have passed a preliminary qualification test to determine their understanding of technology - a truly imaginative, though highly unreal, concept);
- The implementation of a yet to be developed or finalized hardware technology solution (e.g., Nicholas Negroponte, founding chairman of the MIT Media Lab, has discussed a concept for creating very inexpensive computers for as little as a few dollars);
- Using students as a resource to help educators implement technology (e.g., Generation Y is an innovative teacher education program where trained students mentor their teachers to effectively infuse technology into the curriculum); or
- Technology used to create truly independent learners (e.g., self-paced learning programs where the student learns while teaching other students).
Bernard Percy (former editor-in-chief of Converge magazine) is a noted educator, author, producer and Senior Fellow at the Center for Digital Education. Contact him at bcpercy@sbcglobal.net.
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Bernard Percy, "Achieving Education's 'Tipping Point'," T.H.E. Journal, 11/1/2003, http://www.thejournal.com/articles/16542
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