Background

"I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them." --- Isaac Asimov

Our lives are full of devices, machines, appliances, gadgets, contraptions, dohickeys, doodads, gizmos, thingamajigs, and whatchamacallits. Our fascination with the novel fuels inventions that quickly reach obsolescence. What are the implications? What are the limits? What is progress? Is there a price to pay?

There is an obvious difference in the way those over 40 and those under 40 respond to these new technologies. As a 40 year old I find myself fluctuating between the two groups as I get excited about the new tools available to employ at work and at home yet feel apprehensive that I might not be successful. I am interested in knowing what motivates people to embrace new technologies and what impedes others. I want to explore how technological advances represent progress for some and a cause for alarm for others.

This summer I will be driving across the country on an interstate highway built to connect the eastern and western parts of the United States in much the same way that the Information Highway connects us to the global village. While both have provided greater access and speed, they can be distant and impersonal. I plan to venture off the interstate highway and visit some of the people and places on roads "less traveled." I will collect these virtual oral histories using digital audio and video recorders and engage in learning new technologies myself (this blog among them).

In preparation for my trip I have revisited Blue Highways by William Least Heat Moon and Working and Hard Times by Studs Turkel, the noted oral historian. A colleague on the Teacher Leader Network, Brenda Dyck of Canada, recently posted an article from the Milken Family Foundation that addresses the generational divide that I am investigating on my journey. I found it very interesting. I hold strongly that this generation of students will require different methods of instruction and teachers will be challenged to meet the demands of tech-savy students.

I invite you to read "The Net Generation and the School" by Don Tapscott.

I hope you will share your thoughts on the article by posting a comment here. I'd love to hear your personal experiences with technology too.