The matter of pedagogy is continued in an
important essay written by Larry Cuban in 1993 titled, "Computers
Meet Classroom: Classroom Wins." In this essay, Cuban provided
three scenarios (technophile, preservationist, and cautious
optimist) of how computers would proceed into the next century.
(Cuban, 1993) His arguments were
logical and well founded at the
time. However, the times have changed. It is interesting to note,
however, in a recent Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll "Of the
Public's Attitudes Toward the Public School" 71% of those
responding believed that reform should come through the existing
system, which supports Cuban's preservationist scenario. (Rose,
1997) In his summary, Cuban explains his projections because we
do not have a national agenda and because we do not have the
teachers, support, or infrastructure to include computers in our
instruction. Well now in 1998, we have a national agenda and we
have programs which are training teachers, providing the
infrastructure and Netdays to do the wiring. At this point Cuban
could write another essay titled, "Computers Meet Classroom:
Students Win."
Pedagogy changes for Paul Starr who
presents a different picture from the one Cuban paints. He
contends that classes are more student centered and project
oriented with the teacher serving as a guide. It is even
suggested by Alan Collins, head of educational technology at BBN
Corporation, an Internet services company for businesses, that we
are moving in the direction of progressivism. Supporting this
argument he cites a "shift from whole-class to small-group
instruction" and "from lecture and recitation to coaching."
Computers put the students at the center of learning. Further
research of the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow found that
teacher-led activities dropped from 70 percent in classes without
computers to less than 10 percent in classes with computers, and
that activities facilitated by teachers, rather than directed by
them, increased from about 20 percent to 50 percent of class
time. Other trends, according to Collins, include shifts "toward
more engaged students," "from a competitive to a cooperative
social structure," "from all students learning the same things to
different students learning different things," and "from the
primacy of verbal thinking to the integration of visual and
verbal thinking." (Starr, 1996,
p57) The fears of Cuban are
certainly availed here.
Moving beyond Cuban's scenarios and into
more constructive possibilities of implementing the national
agenda, one need look no further than Veenema & Gardner,
Turkle,
Starr. With these researchers dealing with pedagogy we get
discussions about multiple intelligences, simulations, and
two-way communications, as methods to realize the new national
agenda.
Within the Kickstart report, the reference
to multiple intelligences is clear. They recognized early that
the computer and Internet connection would allow the teacher to
bring in outside sources to help a student understand a point or
to experience different points of view, not available in the
immediate community. Taking the idea of multiple intelligences
further we need to consult Veenema and Gardner. They concluded
their essay by saying that "technology in itself cannot alter our
scholastic trade deficit. But by reorienting our educational
mission and judiciously designing and using technology that
meshes with that mission, the United States -and other nations-
can achieve far more success with much larger numbers of
students. "Technology that meshes with that mission" is a very
key phrase and concept which will be used later." (Veenema, 1996,
p 75) The premise of the work with multiple intelligences, or as
some say: "modules of mind" or "society of mind," is that
individuals have numerous mental representations and intellectual
languages for taking in information, retaining it, manipulating
it, and demonstrating mastery of it. (p 70) They argue that over
time each of us constructs our own amalgam of intelligence. One
teacher cannot present the various multiple intelligences needed
in one class. Knowing this then a one-size fits all education is
senseless. We should try to find ways to let all the students
reach their potential contend these two. So the solution becomes
the task of the community. Students who become dependent on the
teacher and single answers. They become flustered when confronted
with choices and different points of view. In fact there are many
answers to single questions, depending upon perspective. Multiple
intelligences allows for various interpretations. Students need
to weigh evidence, evaluate sources, and come up with
interpretations and justifications. (p 72) Telementoring will
provide for those multiple intelligences to be manifest. Through
telementoring the learner will be introduced to many different
people and cultures and will be provided with a variety of lenses
to view a problem or situation.
Sherry Turkle's work with the computer and
with the user, especially in her The Second Self and
Life on the Screen, provides a great segue into her essay
on the use of simulation to coax out understanding from the
learner. Simulations allow the learner to approach a situation
from many vantages. It allows the learner to try one thing, fail
and try it again. Astronauts use this method ad nauseam until
they go into space. Simulations also allow teachers to provide
material heretofore unaffordable. As Turkle says, "Today, the
debate about computers in education centers around the place of
educational software and simulations in the curriculum." (Turkle,
1997, p80) Simulations borrow from Dewey's concept of "learning
by doing" as illustrated in this example:
Tim's approach to SimLife is highly
functional. He says he learned his style of play from video
games: "Even though SimLife's not a video game, you can play it
like one." By this he means that in SimLife, like video games,
one learns from the process of play. You do not first read a rule
book or get your terms straight. Tim is able to act on an
intuitive sense of what will work without understanding the rules
that underlie the game's behavior. His response to
SimLife—comfort at play, without much understanding of the model
that underlies the game—is precisely why educators worry that
students may not be learning much when they use learning
software. (Turkle, 1997, p81)
This country has thrived on using the "on
the job" training method especially in education. The power of
simulation is that it can involve many other students and
teachers. On the Internet learners can access the skills of many
minds to assist in the construction of solutions to problems.
Simulation also taps into the concept of multiple intelligences.
The next step for simulations is to actually allow the user to
challenge the assumptions of the simulation. This idea becomes
very stimulating as one considers it in education. Coupling
simulation with telementoring opens up grand possibilities for
all learners. It connects people who might never be connected and
allows for collaboration which could benefit mankind.
Starr introduces an idea of equity and
access especially for lower-income learners. He compares today's
technology availability with yesterday's technology and predicts
universality. The idea of telementoring immediately as one
considers the value of computer communications to schools.
Teachers are able to reach more of the parents of their students
and more students can use the systems from home. (Starr, 1996,
p59)
In his Fifth Annual State of American
Education Speech, Riley challenged the colleges to make their
graduates more teacher ready.
Our colleges of education cannot continue
to be the "forgotten step children" of American higher education.
We need more rigor, more practice, and a much greater attention
to grounding of new teachers in the pedagogy of their chosen
profession. Teaching teachers really has to be the mission of the
entire university. (Riley,
1998)
But, of course, none of this will answer
the truly important questions about learning. Here Postman and
the other skeptics are right. Ultimately, the qualities of
education that we care most about are not technological; they are
matters of educational philosophy and practice and in turn depend
on broader moral and political judgments. In thinking about
education, we ought not to be preoccupied with computers at all,
and if the technological transition is successful, we will not
be. Because of all they make possible, we must make computers
part of education. Then they should "disappear." (Starr, 1996,
p60) Education is clearly a job for the
community and the question is how do we involve the community. My
suggestion is telementoring.
My research
bears out much of what Turkle,
Starr, and Veenema and Gardner discuss.
