Week 1: Thinking about Technology - Future Tense Podcast

In a Future Tense Podcast on 21st Century Education, Anthony Funnell gathered opinions from several contributors at the Victorian Information Technology Teachers Association conference. They each made some highly through provoking comments. 

​I was ready to go to battle when Greg Whitby began by describing a focus on technology as a waste of time, further saying that "if you focus on the technology, you ignore the central problem and the central issue." Indeed, my personal opinion on the matter is that ignoring technology is a central issue in education right now. But as Greg Whitby expanded, I found myself agreeing with his points. Greg explained that focusing on technology is missing the main game. The focus should be on the quality of teaching and learning. When we consider technology we must be considering how we are going to leverage its capability as enablers of good teaching and learning. I think a lot of people focus on technology because they believe it to be the silver bullet that will fix the issues in the classroom and wider education system. It is also, as Anthony states in the podcast, easy to be seduced by the glitter of the gadget. With the educational technology market being flooded by products, it is little wonder teachers are feeling lost about what to do. 

Image Source: www.abc.net.au

Anthony Funnell (Source: www.abc.net.au)

Phillip Callill, President of the Victorian IT Teachers Association, explained how we are in the pioneering stage of technology in education. We are only starting to learn and teach in a very different way. It is a continuum of increasing capability, informed by successes and failures. To teach with technology well, is about the pedagogy driving the experience. This comes back to teacher training. It is about more than just developing skills. ​Anthony Funnell summed it up nicely right at the beginning of the podcast in saying:

Technology doesn't educate people. PEOPLE educate people.​

At the end of the day, it wont be technology that transforms education. It will be teachers, and how they leverage technology alongside many other considerations to maximise and contemporise learning opportunities for their students. There needs to be an equal amount of scepticism and belief about what technology can achieve. Equally so, the understanding that technology will not have any substantial impact unless it is implemented well and with purpose.