What is Technology (elementary)?

As I prepare for the Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference, I have been thinking about the appropriate emphasis for technology in the K-5 years. Wikipedia defines technology as “…a broad concept that deals with a species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt to its environment.” A New Caledonian crow has been observed using technology for the first time (National Geographic 2002). It was observed bending a wire to get food from a hard to reach location. The old adage, necessity is the mother of invention, is appropriate to the process of developing and applying technology. Paper is one of the technologies an elementary student must master early in the educational process. There are tools related to using the paper such as, pens, pencils, crayons, scissors and glue. Each tool represents its own technology. Paper can be folded into artwork, airplanes, and booklets. All of these are obvious in their necessity to the learning process. As I observe students struggling with scissors in the fourth grade, I wonder about the place of electronic gadgetry at that age. Before using the electric pencil sharpener, the old hand crank type must be used to appreciate the consistency achieved with the electric one. The same goes for an electric stapler, calculator, and computer. Spell check is great, but not until a student knows the alphabet inside and out and the basic rules of spelling. A calculator saves time, but ignorance of multiplication facts could lead to a compounding of errors. I would make the case that an invention looking for a use is really a toy. The process of inventing based on need is one which must be learned, and the earlier the better. Perhaps the process of developing and implementing technology is where the emphasis should be for our K-5 students, saving the expensive electronic toys for a time where the necessity is obvious.

Integrating Knowledge

One of the daunting tasks for anyone purporting to be a teacher is the process of distilling what you know to a form which is appropriate for your audience. Mahesh Sharma, Chancellor of Cambridge College in Boston, states that a teacher should have two years of mastery beyond the grade they wish to teach. But mastery of a subject area is only part of the equation for stimulating growth of thinking. The other piece is what I call the integration process with the whole of what we experience. The ability to integrate knowledge allows insightful questions to be asked, disparate pieces to be collected into a creative whole, and a deep appreciation for the complexity of being. I recently went on a 'walk in the woods' with a person who has expertise encompassing the field of ecology and many subjects connected with understanding how ecological processes work. The person is Tom Wessels, associated with Antioch NE College, and the location was Crawford Notch. Tom displays the depth of kowledge which comes with sustained inquisitiveness and long experience. It goes beyond wisdom, in a sense, in that Tom's insights also have a bit of ground truth from data built into them. Integrating knowledge with experience is a goal for an elementary teacher, but my observation is that teachers who embody that tendency in their thinking unconsciously transfer integrative principles through modeling. Tom has a few of his musings available as books. is latest "The Myth of Progress" is appropo of this year of electioneering and decisions driven by advertising rather than data. Check it out!