The presence of personal electronic devices was a rare occurrence in the classroom a few years ago, but now it is difficult to find a classroom where there are not personal electronic devices. Students of all ages today are familiar with these digital information cornucopias and many schools have gone so far as to adopt BYOD policies. These 21st Century devices, specifically laptops and tablets, have become common sights in the classroom and are capable of causing changes that compare to the likes of Guttenberg’s printing press. As with Guttenberg’s press, laptops and tablets provide the average person with access to immense amounts of information and allows for learning to occur on multiple levels.When technology pairs up with Socratic inquiry, students have an opportunity to start a purposeful conversation—with the world.
While the academic and social benefits that stem from democratized access to the mass amounts of digital information in the virtual world, they are by no means free. Unlike books, which field experts typically review for accuracy and overall quality, the digital realm of information is essentially unmonitored and full of disorganized and fragmented information. Furthermore, any notion of interpersonal interaction is void and null since people can access virtual information anywhere and anytime, which only supports the growth of the sense of individualism that is consuming our culture. This magnified sense of individualism may conjure images of a desolate, dark, future where the Greek polis crumbles, causing its citizens to return to the hills. However, there is hope, so fear not.
This process requires literacy, a personal and communal discipline that appears to be in decline...fewer of us are reading books, more of us are surfing the WebThe Issue at Hand
The central issue that we face is that our society is not prepared to handle the complex and diverse world that we about to enter. In order to survive in this more fast paced world, we need to alter how we think and upgrade our brains so they are more fluid, flexible, focused, and innovative. Four major skills will play a key role in this neurological upgrade, and it is vital that educators adopt and weave the essence of these skills into the everyday curriculum so that students attain some degree of mastery in the skills that are vital to their survival in the 21st century. The four essential skills to achieving success in the 21st century are Critical Reflection, Empirical Reasoning, Collective Intelligence,Metacognition.
The 4 Big Skills
- Critical Reflection is a process that allows people to see the world from multiple viewpoints and consider alternative outcomes while problem solving. Cookson warns that it is vital that we learn to “distinguish fact from factoid” as we enter into the age of electronic learning due to the vast amounts of data and information that we have available at our fingertips.
- Empirical Reasoning relies on the use of testable hypotheses using observable data. This method is more reliable than widely accepted supernatural explanations for phenomena that are unexplained. The practice of Empirical Reasoning is a form of social responsibility, thus it important that people hold each other accountable to stick with the facts and avoid falling back upon the whimsical notions rooted in supernatural beliefs.
- Collective Intelligence speaks to the idea that it is of great value that we not only recognize, but also accept that all humans are capable of intellectual thought. As a global culture, we need to step away from the idea that education is a personal matter and embrace the potential that lies within the global network of minds and the ability that each individual has to contribute to the overall betterment of the global community.
- Metacognition—or the act of thinking about thinking—is of great importance because we need to assess the general quality of our ability to think, rather than focus on whether or not students can memorize material. If we learn to critique our ability to think and process information, we will without question become more efficient thinkers who are also well versed in the art of problem solving.
21st Century Libraries
In order to fully buy into and accept the 21st century mind, we will need a way share every tidbit of information that we have so that everyone can access it via their portable devices. Cookson believes that a new electronic learning environment will replace the “linear, text-bound culture of conventional schools.” Trends in the classroom show that this is 100% true so far. Knowledge is no longer a fixed value as it was during the age of print. Rather, knowledge has become more “fluid, fast, and far more democratic” due to the rise of the electronic learning age. Instead of the dusty libraries that we are accustomed to today, we need virtual libraries that “host genuine knowledge and enable learners of all ages to interact with each other in knowledge creation”—this is evident in the absurd popular approval and use of Wikipedia.
One of the major differences between the print and electronic learning age is the extent of the user ability to interact with the information and other users. Print information was mostly about the user-information interactions and user-to-user conversation was a distant after-thought. This is a stark contrast to learning in the 21st century because the learning focus shifts almost entirely from the user-information interactions to user-to-user conversations. Again, it is important to note that the majority of information in our new virtual libraries does not undergo the same peer review scrutiny as information in print form, but at the same time anyone can review, challenge, support, or argue the information in theory.
In order to fully buy into and accept the 21st century mind, we will need a way share every tidbit of information that we have so that everyone can access it via their portable devices. Cookson believes that a new electronic learning environment will replace the “linear, text-bound culture of conventional schools.” Trends in the classroom show that this is 100% true so far. Knowledge is no longer a fixed value as it was during the age of print. Rather, knowledge has become more “fluid, fast, and far more democratic” due to the rise of the electronic learning age. Instead of the dusty libraries that we are accustomed to today, we need virtual libraries that “host genuine knowledge and enable learners of all ages to interact with each other in knowledge creation”—this is evident in the absurd popular approval and use of Wikipedia.
One of the major differences between the print and electronic learning age is the extent of the user ability to interact with the information and other users. Print information was mostly about the user-information interactions and user-to-user conversation was a distant after-thought. This is a stark contrast to learning in the 21st century because the learning focus shifts almost entirely from the user-information interactions to user-to-user conversations. Again, it is important to note that the majority of information in our new virtual libraries does not undergo the same peer review scrutiny as information in print form, but at the same time anyone can review, challenge, support, or argue the information in theory.
Socrates believed that learning came from within and that the best and most lasting way to bring latent knowledge to awareness was through the process of continual questioning and unconventional inquiry. For Socrates, answers were always steps on the way to deeper questions.
So What Now?
The four essential skills and the advancements in education–related technology may seem disconnected, but the connection is actually quite simple. Peter Cookson reminds us about what Socrates had to say about education—“Socrates believed that learning came from within and that the best and most lasting way to bring latent knowledge to awareness was through the process of continual questioning and unconventional inquiry. For Socrates, answers were always steps on the way to deeper questions.” This understanding of effective learning through the process of seemingly endless questions and quirky inquiry goes hand-in-hand with the development of the virtual libraries and instant communication because individuals can ask questions to the entire world and have a plethora of response in a matter of minutes potentially. This may not seem like a big deal, but imagine a 3rd grade class in Boston conversing with a 3rd grade class in Moscow via Skype in real time…this is global learning at its finest. While Socrates may find the technology a bit frightening at first, I am sure that he would approve of what these mind-blowing devices and endless virtual libraries allow for in the realm of academia.
References
Cookson, Peter W. "What Would Socrates Say." Educational Leadership September 2009.The four essential skills and the advancements in education–related technology may seem disconnected, but the connection is actually quite simple. Peter Cookson reminds us about what Socrates had to say about education—“Socrates believed that learning came from within and that the best and most lasting way to bring latent knowledge to awareness was through the process of continual questioning and unconventional inquiry. For Socrates, answers were always steps on the way to deeper questions.” This understanding of effective learning through the process of seemingly endless questions and quirky inquiry goes hand-in-hand with the development of the virtual libraries and instant communication because individuals can ask questions to the entire world and have a plethora of response in a matter of minutes potentially. This may not seem like a big deal, but imagine a 3rd grade class in Boston conversing with a 3rd grade class in Moscow via Skype in real time…this is global learning at its finest. While Socrates may find the technology a bit frightening at first, I am sure that he would approve of what these mind-blowing devices and endless virtual libraries allow for in the realm of academia.
References
