- Or, for a lot of people – technoskepticism.
Trust me – I question it all the time, too.
But I’ll repeat what Jack said on day one – “It comes in the innovation piece of Science and Technology.”
For what better reason do humans have to innovate than to better society? And not just for other humans, but for all living creatures?
It reminds me that “technology” isn’t just limited to screens and coding, but to other aspects of humanity’s extensions, too. If we define “ tools” and “technology” as “ways to extend human ability”, it opens up a lot more opportunities for learning. We’re not just limiting ourselves to screens or digital technologies, but all those great life skills that used to be emphasized, too. Being able to patch your own pants, or build your own desks, or chop your own firewood (I’ve never gone camping before, so I can only assume this is what it entails).
And when we look at a history of technology, I’m reminded of all the cool things that humans have done and created – computers and nuclear energy, yes, but also: figuring out how to raise a wooden house post so many more kilograms heavier than you. Creating the tools necessary to carve that house post. And creating paints and dyes out of plants and rocks.
Now, I don’t necessarily prescribe to everything Freire discusses in The Pedagogy of the Oppressed. But I do think there is value behind his ideas that education is – in part – meant to “humanize” the learners – but I prefer the term “story” (Roberts, 2024; Varna and Adams, 2024). Personally, there is a fear of students and young people forgetting how to interact with others. Ideologies aside, it’s scary to see young people with the ability to attack someone they can’t see. It’s scary to introduce parts of history without faces attached to the stories. And it’s hard to do this all now more than ever.
Technology isn’t bad. But technology needs to be storied – especially in learning. Especially with computers. We need to ask our kiddos to question what the point of improving processors and word calculators is. It shouldn’t just be to show off, “Look what I can do!” – but to benefit someone or something.
