Shifting Focus in Education from the Answers to the Questions

Questions...

“I have a theory of life,” said [Ms.] Chumlig, “and it is straight out of gaming: There is always an angle. You, each of you, have some special wild cards. Play with them. Find out what makes you different and better. Because it is there, if only you can find it. And once you do, you’ll be able to contribute answers to others and others will be willing to contribute back to you. In short, synthetic serendipity doesn’t just happen. By golly, you must create it.”
 
She hesitated, staring at invisible class notes, and her voice dropped down from oratory. “So much for the big picture. Today, we’re going to talk about morphing answerboard solutions. As usual, we’re looking to ask the right questions.” - Excerpt from Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge

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Pop Quiz::
  1. Do general-purpose web-connected laptops enable student learning? Or, do such open-ended learning tools tend to distract from the learning experience?
     
  2. Will you grow to depend more on your daily technological tools, or less?
     
  3. If technology is limited in the classroom in an effort to minimize distractions, how will the way students learn and act in their personal life diverge from how they will learn and act in a limited-technology classroom?
     
  4. Does using the Internet to ‘look up’ the answer to a question constitute cheating? Is this always so?
     
  5. Will you grow to seek more of your information from the Internet, or less?
     
  6. Is the ability to locate and verify information becoming more important than the ability to memorize and recite information? Which ability contributes more to the advancement of contemporary society?
     
  7. Does living in a society ‘rich’ with technology, require an education ‘rich’ with technology?
     
  8. In economic terms, what is the value of education to society? What is the value in social terms?
Extra Credit::
  1. If asked to cite support for your answers to the above questions, how would you do so?
     
  2. Would citations be helpful in evaluating your answers?
     
  3. If plagiarism was easy to detect and was not allowed and hyperlinked citations were required, could you ‘cheat’ on this quiz?
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“Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.” - Albert Einstein
I originally wrote this for EduBlogger 2008 event.

About this entry

You’re currently reading “Shifting Focus in Education from the Answers to the Questions,” an entry on Future Progress

Published:
10.16.08 / 4pm
Category:
computing, convergence, education, free education, future progress, learning, lectures, open data, opencourseware, social development, social technology
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