On the Internet: Ed Tech

It takes only a brief moment of online browsing to conclude that the internet has the capability to create miracles. Of course many say that the internet itself is a miracle, but I believe that we are still on a path to extract the potential of this amazing tool, and thus, I emphasize its "capability" over its state of being. Pope Francis declared the internet to be "something truly good, a gift from God" despite its negative side-effects. Right now, I would like to focus on some of the positives.

Ed Tech

The internet contains nearly all human knowledge. This is an amazing thing in and of itself, but it is not the miracle. After all, what use is a random conglomeration of information without much guidance on how to use it? It's not enough to simply splash information on a page and call it a day. 

No, the miracle is how the internet has been used for educational technology. That is, websites created for the purpose of teaching a coherent subject, with facts written by experts, on a well-developed user interface. These sites can act as a legitimate educational class when education is not easily accessible or affordable. In addition to offering resources though, these websites have created new mechanisms that revolutionize the way that we learn information, making it faster and more enjoyable.

This means that anyone who has the desire and willpower to learn a subject, can. Think about the potential that can unlock from people all around the globe. Think about the opportunities for personal advancement that can be given to virtually anybody.

I would like to talk about some good sites that I've encountered.

Duolingo

If you know me well, you've probably heard me talk about this app at one time or another. Currently, Duolingo offers Spanish, French, Italian, German and Portuguese. It's an addictive game, but you actually learn something productive in the end. The site claims to be funded by user translated articles. I'm not quite sure how that works because beginner language students often do not give great translations, but let us be thankful that it does.

Codecademy

All you guys know about this site because we used it in STAC. It teaches HTML, Javascript, PHP, all that good stuff. To me it seems like a coding version of Duolingo, but that's only because I used Duolingo first.

Memrise

Memrise is primarily focused on learning through memorization. This works quite well for learning languages and other subjects. The learning is imagistic and fast-paced, while also making sure you review what you've already learned.

Khan Academy

Khan Academy is a resource for information on all traditional schooling subjects, plus test prep and programming. It is a tool for both students and teachers, offering advice for tasks such as implementing the common core. In terms of traditional learning, it offers all the resources.

What Might John Dewey Think of the Ed Tech Revolution?

I would like to quote from this interesting article on the Memrise website as a closing statement.

"If you believe in that view [the traditional view of education], then access to the traditional learning materials was the big problem, and technology has already mostly solved it. All that remains is to make sure that as many people as possible can get online and get access to the materials, and a way to judge which materials are the very best.

But I think that aims too low. Universal access to information is a good start. But only when we re-invent the moment-by-moment experience of learning will we achieve changes that are worthy of the astonishing potential of technology."