COMMUNICATION AS A MEDIUM OF CHANGE

ABSTRACT

That change is normal is not the issue nor that there are various driving mechanisms of change nor that technology is a medium of change. At issue is how we as educators deal with the notion of technology as an instigator of change. Historically, we have analyzed the superficiality of acquiring various technological components. We have adopted a per head ratio of acceptability with regards to technological accoutrements as if, magically, a certain number would ensure advanced learning by all. What is wrong with this analysis is that it discounts the integral question: How are we being changed by technology? An understanding of how communication has changed through technology should be our focus evolving into a consideration of how we can then learn more effectively. Research shows that educators tend to teach the same way they were taught. However, we were taught in a linear style. If we didn't understand something, we asked or looked it up. A straight line from question to answer. That is not how children learn now. They just "do it", to coin a famous advertising slogan. They don't need the manual to explain things to them; they just need the time and space. To fully understand how technology is changing the way we should be educating our children, we must look more carefully at how communication is changing the way we interact with each other as well as the way our brain functions.