Solving Environmental Problems Using Modern Technology in Education

The Classroom of the Future 

      There have been a lot of conversations happening about the direction public education has taken in the USA lately, particularly since the Common Core curriculum and President Obama's Race to the Top have been enacted.  Ever changing and evolving, the technology used in our classrooms has also been a hot topic: whiteboards, the internet, i-Pads, computers, readers like the Kindle, ThinkPads, digital cameras, social networks like FaceBook and media sites like YouTube are all becoming integrated into the average classroom.  Another hot button topic is the greening up of our schools and classrooms in an effort to be more environmentally conscious but something that is rarely explored is how these new innovations and trends in education will effect the planet on a grander scale than simply how much paper each classroom is recycling.  I think it's a subject worth exploring.

     In the following video called, "The History of Technology in Education" we can see the evolution of education and witness how the changes of taken place and also get a sense of where we are headed.  It's interesting to see how experiential instruction was during the early years of man and ever so slowly it has evolved.  First it moved far away from experiential learning and went to demonstrative instruction, but finally the wheel has turned enough that we have realized that humans learn by doing and education is slowly going back to teachers who have students interacting and participating in the entire process.  If nothing else, this idea of allowing students to participate will help to keep them engaged and tuned in to what is being taught.  

     Obviously the internet was a key development that had a huge impact by allowing students to interact with others across the world in order to develop a wider world view and also to access an unlimited supply of data and information, but another exciting, more recent improvements has come the form of interactive SMART technology that lets students participate and respond in real time.  There is also a growing trend in public school systems that are adopting distance learning for students who may be unable to physically attend regular classes, might have social or mental issues preventing them to successfully acclimate into a mainstream classroom environment, and a great many other types of students with varying circumstances such as those which are home schooled yet able to "borrow" their equipment from the local public schools' and use their curriculum as well as having the public school district's teachers overseeing their progress instead of having to figure everything out privately.  In a lot of ways, distance learning acts like a sort of safety net for students who might otherwise drop out or fail so I feel it is an excellent option and improvement.  

  
     The 2010 National Education Technology Plan called Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology outlines a vision "to leverage the learning sciences and modern technology to create engaging, relevant, and personalized learning experiences for all learners that mirror students' daily lives and the reality of their futures. In contrast to traditional classroom instruction, this requires that we put students at the center and empower them to take control of their own learning by providing flexibility on several dimensions."The plan also calls for "connected teaching" in which educators connect to "resources and expertise that improve their own instructional practices and guide them in becoming facilitators and collaborators in their students' increasingly self-directed learning." (Boss, 2014)

     In an interesting TED Talk called Can technology Change Education? Raj Dhingra
not only believes technology is good, but it can save money and open doors for poorer communities and children who would have been left out in the past.  In his talk he discusses the Firefly project in Turkey and says:

"[. . .] technology can change how we do school so more than 1.6 million children that are getting access to learning that didn't have access to learning before and that's been transform because of technology so what it teaches me is you can actually dream big and make a big impact you may (sic) don't have a lot of money I think that's a lesson away from here so you can achieve a lot with small amounts of money if you think (sic) care from you how to spend it."

Programs such as Firefly can have a major impact on the future of our planet if only by giving the opportunity for students who would have been left out to add their unique perspectives and ideas on global issues.  By allowing the poorest students a chance to learn of the problems and weigh in with their own brand of solutions, we may very well end up finding solutions that we could have never found in any other way.

     Another interesting benefit from all of this technology is a practical one--lowered usage of resources, however the resources I am talking about are more than trees for paper and heating fuel.   For the sake of this discussion, let's pretend that all students attended schools online and were home schooled at least half of each week.   We would suddenly find a major increase in parental participation if only to form parenting co-ops to offer supervision to student's whose parents had to work.  This in and of itself would bring the community closer together.  Once again it would become an important part of every family's life to meet and socialize with others in their community.  Little by little we would see entire communities re-engaging and participating in things outside of their kid's school work.  People who would never have met in the past, would now have the potential to be friends.   When a community is united, resources are shared and single mindedness ends.   Nothing wastes more energy and resources than 5.000 individuals all working separately, but take those same 5,000 souls and have them cooperating and working together and it becomes an efficient force.

     One of the things we know we have to do is reduce the distance we are traveling.  A major solution to environmental problems is buying local from small-time distributors of goods and services.  The closer we can get to the actual maker of any item--the less energy will have been used.  This also helps save resources from transportation costs and packaging materials.  Overall, there is nothing bad to be said about doing business close to home, and nothing is closer than actually being home and having the product or service delivered via internet.  The savings is exponential and far too complicated to attempt to describe here, but if we considered the sheer volume of resources spent and energy expelled by running the giant monolithic style public schools and then think that while those buildings are full of students--the students homes are still being heated and cooled and there is a whole lot of traveling going to and from that school too: teachers, students, suppliers, even the mailman delivering the mail.  The equipment used is massive and it has to be replaced frequently which will eventually end up in landfills.  Consider that the average home already has at least one or two computers and an internet connection.  The financial savings alone would be phenomenal.  Granted, this isn't possible in every community and some areas may only be able to offer such programs to a small fraction of their best students, but every single student which does not physically attend class in an actual school building, is a savings and every savings helps (these things seem small until it all gets added up simultaneously).

     If the school districts could save money in everything from internet connections to trash collection, they could afford then to improve and innovate in other ways, by working toward some truly exceptional school sponsored programs that allow for experiential learning instead of courses stuck 100% within the confines of a classroom.  Teachers could innovate and perhaps run classes that have three days of home instruction and then two days of real world experience with very little to no classroom time required.  Instead of talking about elephants, classes could maybe go interact with elephants at the local zoo and attend a lecture from a local zoologist about the problems elephants are facing in the wild and then perhaps they could create a group project about elephants in a weekly program held by the school as a chance for these home schooled students to demonstrate to the community what they are learning.   The options are endless.

     Even if students are not taught at home and they simply utilize the internet and various types of technology from their classroom.  The teacher has the opportunity to generate communications between their students and students across the globe.  This type of global conversation is vital if the adults of the future have any hope to solving the problems they will surely face.  Making sure the humans of the planet are not only educated, but pooling their intelligence, experience, ideas, and sharing possible solutions with one another without fear and prejudice is becoming mandatory.  The educational systems of the world have an unprecedented opportunity to bring the world's youth together and not only create history, but save the future all through the technology we have readily at our disposal and most of us use every day.  How can we begin to move in that direction is a question that needs to be answered and if not this, what?  We simply can't afford to keep doing what we have been doing and ignoring the problems while simultaneously creating the problems.   Chances are that "we" won't face or solve the imminent problems of tomorrow, but we do have the perfect opportunity to get our youth pointed in the right direction and positioned to make a difference.  We have two choices, try something new or stay on this same path that is taking us over the edge--will we take a chance or ignore it and hope they figure it out when they grow up and it's too late?  Some scientists are already saying it's too late, but I tend to think right now is the perfect time.  

Resources:    

Boss, S. (2014, March, 02). Technology Integration: A Short History. Retrieved from   

      http://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-history

DesiComments.com. (n.d.). Where there is unity, there is always victory. (Image #3) Retrieved from
     http://www.desicomments.com/quotes-graphics/where-there-is-unity-there-is-always-victory/

Dhingra, R. (2012, June, 15). Can technology Change Education? (Video File: 6:51). Retrieved
     from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0s_M6xKxNc

ISE. (n.d.). The Classroom of the Future. (Image #1) Retrieved from http://b.vimeocdn.com/ts/444
      /555/444555736_640.jpg

Paayas, P.  (2014, Jan. 23). Homeschooling is Fab! (and you should do it too).  (Image #2) Retrieved 

      from http://www.theprospect.net/homeschooling-is-fab-and-you-should-do-it-too-14858

SMARTEduEMEA.(2011, Oct. 03). The history of technology in education. (Video File).   

      Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFwWWsz_X9s