Thread by @ashleystaz1

What could revolutionize education? #bolt677

Veritasium noted in their YouTube video, when the learning outcomes are the same… the technology used is irrelevant. In fact, “no technology is superior to another”

Link to video for reference:

They further their argument by noting that the role of an educator is to facilitate the learning through the social interaction between learners and students, therefore providing a social environment favourable to learning.

While many argue that internet and computers may revolutionize education - if that were truly the case, we wouldn’t have such pushback from students and teachers alike when schools were closed and moved online as a result of COVID-19 public health measures.

One grade 12 student notes their frustration, “Mogos said spending six hours a day in front of a camera feels like prison and her mental health, along with many of her classmates, is suffering because of it.” globalnews.ca/news/7778899/e…

With media reports such as this one, distance education certainly appears to be losing its credibility for students.

So if computers and internet are not revolutionizing education, what is?

Veritasium notes the importance of the role of an educator in the classroom in their video. The reality seen quite vividly in the last year and a half, is not the technology that makes the difference, but rather the educator.

Anecdotally, my friends with school aged children comment mostly the same, “the online learning is hard, but my child’s teacher is amazing and does the best they can to engage the students online”. I have few friends that speak otherwise about their child’s teacher, but the

Premise remains the same: regardless of the technology, the educator has the biggest impact to the student and their learning.

What will absolutely impact education, is the pandemic pedagogical approach taken by educators in the past year and a half, and HOW will we approach the 2021/2022 school year as we learn and move forward, living with COVID-19?

We know it’s not the technology per se that will make the change, but as Bates argues, is up to administrators on how they will approach instruction and online learning.

See a recent article by Tony Bates here: tonybates.ca/2021/07/19/the… commenting on this upcoming post-secondary approaches to education and its potential impacts.