RA #1: Education Needs a Digital-Age Upgrade

January 18th, 2012

Quote:

"According to Cathy N. Davidson, co-director of the annual MacArthur Foundation Digital Media and Learning Competitions, fully 65 percent of today’s grade-school kids may end up doing work that hasn’t been invented yet." (Virginia Heffernan 2011)


Reaction:
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, there was a major problem facing major cities in the United States, horse manure.  By 1880, there were at least a hundred and fifty thousand horses living in New York, and probably a great many more.  The problem kept piling up, and it seemed almost insurmountable.  One commentator predicted that by 1930, horse manure would reach the third story windows of Manhattan's buildings. (Eric Morris 2007)  Then, almost overnight, the problem passed.  It didn't pass due do extensive planning and research on how do remove the excessive waste.  Rather, it was through something that most at the time ever could have predicted or imagined: the need for horses passed.  New technology and innovation had created an automobile, and horses were no longer needed for transportation. When planning for the future, we tend to only plan using what we know.  However, it is difficult to plan ahead for a world that doesn't yet exist.  We can plan for our near future, but it is extremely difficult and often unwise to try to plan for future generations.  However, we can look at the direction technology is going and understand that the future world will follow along it's path.  Work 100 years from now will probably be completely different than work as we know it today.  Therefore, we must embrace new technology in education, knowing that it will play a role in the future of the job marketplace.

Reference:

Heffernan, Virginia, (2011)   Education Needs a Digital-Age Upgrade
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/07/education-needs-a-digital-age-upgrade/?hp

Morris, Eric, (2007) From Horse Power to Horsepower
http://www.uctc.net/access/30/Access%2030%20-%2002%20-%20Horse%20Power.pdf