Chapter 10! Rethinking Education in a Technological World

This chapter was a recap of the previous chapters. It also brought all of the main points together, leaving the reader with a powerful message that technology is where this world is going, and we need to do whatever we can to make sure we prepare our students for this new society. There were many things that really stood out to me in this chapter. First of all the fact that we were all raised to believe that all learning takes place in school. We are all so used to the idea that school is where all of our learning occurs, and our teachers are the sole source for information. Now with technology involved, learning is more a lifelong endeavour. Individuals can now take learning into their own hands, and learn more about what they want to know more about. Thing such as technical schools and homeschooling are giving people the chance to start doing this. When someone is able to learn a deeper understanding of something they are really passionate about, they are more likely to gain more knowledge and retain the information better. This chapter also discussed student motivation toward education. Students will once again be more apt to learn the material if it is something they really enjoy. This way they will be more motivated to learn, which is so important to gathering and retaining any type of knowledge. Something that also caught my attention is the fact that what is important to learn is changing. Instead of students focusing on memorization of facts, they should have the knowledge to be able to go out and find the information that they need. This makes students more accountable for their learning. It is also evident that many of us will be switching careers throughout out lifetime. This means that people of all ages should be comfortable and willing to go back to school, and do something new that they are interested in. Once again, making learning a lifelong endeavour. It was also discussed how leadership and the government support of technology in education need to change. We need someone that is willing to take this inevitable change, and make it reality. Someone like Horace Mann who did everything he could to change education into what he thought was the best for students to learn. The government also needs to step in and make technology in all school equal, giving all students a chance to succeed on an even playing field.
All in all, this book really taught me a lot about being a future educator. I now realize the supreme importance of incorporating technology into my classroom, as well as giving my students academic choice.With all of my students most likely going in to different work areas when they are older, I don't think they all need the same exact information. This book really showed me a different way to view technology in the classroom, and I plan on using the information to make these visions a reality for my students!