To Know is NOT Enough...

"To know is not enough—you must be able to apply knowledge and demonstrate it in context." - Harvard Graduate School of Education, educator and software developer Tom Snyder.

The title of the post pretty much sums up some of the inherent dichotomy of technology and the use of computers in the education arena. On the one hand educators are aware of the need to keep pace with technology in order to make the field of teaching and education in itself that much more current and relevant, but at the same time, one must also be aware that technology in itself CANNOT, and WILL NOT just be that singular force that would transform education into something that would remain relevant in this day and age. At times in those obscure moments of reflection that time can afford me, I do wonder what are the THINGS that I have done differently from my high-school teachers, that I think I can be proud to say that I have pioneered, and that I feel are things that are different, not just for the sake of being different per se, but more importantly is really something that I can be proud of later on as something that I have done differently, and perhaps more effectively. It sometimes sickens me that as things have progressed so much more over the years, the didactic pedagogical methods are still very much pervasive, not that it is bad, but what I do wonder is that when all have been said and done, and when we observe all these changes that are happening all around us, can we say that, as educators, we have also 'progressed' with the times?

I mean, seriously, with the advent of new knowledge in various fields of assessment and pedagogy, isn't there a need for a small revolution of sorts? Should we relook at our assessment methods then! Could we be more precise in our assessment methodologies, perhaps going beyond the usual pen and paper, beyond just grades, and just start to educate, not for grades alone, but more importantly, to be able to prepare our charges for the 'test of LIFE'.