http://www.xplanazine.com/2006/06/has-technology-made-kids-smarter-education-and-the-tech-savvy-child Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:21:42 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 http://www.xplanazine.com/2006/06/has-technology-made-kids-smarter-education-and-the-tech-savvy-child#comment-467 ptech Tue, 08 Aug 2006 15:48:42 +0000 http://www.xplanazine.com/2006/06/has-technology-made-kids-smarter-education-and-the-tech-savvy-child#comment-467 Perhaps we should distinguish between "smart" and "wise". For the purpose of my comment, let's define "smart" as knowledgeable (including knowing how to do things), and "wise" as knowing the importance of knowledge and its effects (maybe even including the morality of Things". For example, a smart person may know the history of the automobile, how an internal combustion engine works, and what new technologies are on the horizon. But a wise person might question whether even new techology will solve our problems. The wise person may hesitate to adopt the new technology and may first ask whether it is our current community design that makes commuting (and therefore personal vehicles) an important part of our lives. A smart kid may multitask with ease, but is multitasking really a skill, or merely a necessity to get or keep a "good job". And what is the level of quality of what is learned or produced? Henry David Thoreau said, "It is not enough that we are busy; but what are we busy about?" I'm not against technology or the human drive to know more and create interesting things. I'm against pursuing/doing/having without thinking deeply about how it affects our lives and our society. Perhaps we should distinguish between “smart” and “wise”. For the purpose of my comment, let’s define “smart” as knowledgeable (including knowing how to do things), and “wise” as knowing the importance of knowledge and its effects (maybe even including the morality of Things”. For example, a smart person may know the history of the automobile, how an internal combustion engine works, and what new technologies are on the horizon. But a wise person might question whether even new techology will solve our problems. The wise person may hesitate to adopt the new technology and may first ask whether it is our current community design that makes commuting (and therefore personal vehicles) an important part of our lives. A smart kid may multitask with ease, but is multitasking really a skill, or merely a necessity to get or keep a “good job”. And what is the level of quality of what is learned or produced? Henry David Thoreau said, “It is not enough that we are busy; but what are we busy about?” I’m not against technology or the human drive to know more and create interesting things. I’m against pursuing/doing/having without thinking deeply about how it affects our lives and our society.

]]> http://www.xplanazine.com/2006/06/has-technology-made-kids-smarter-education-and-the-tech-savvy-child#comment-466 linksforlearning Fri, 21 Jul 2006 19:49:39 +0000 http://www.xplanazine.com/2006/06/has-technology-made-kids-smarter-education-and-the-tech-savvy-child#comment-466 I own an online tutoring site for K-12th grade called Links for Learning. I just wrote a really good article about this that you can find at www.link-for-learning.com/blog I own an online tutoring site for K-12th grade called Links for Learning. I just wrote a really good article about this that you can find at www.link-for-learning.com/blog

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