Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology: The Digital Revolution and Schooling in America

Rich Halverson

Fri., June 12, 9:00–10:30, Great Hall (4th floor, Central)

The digital revolution in education has hit education, with more and more classrooms plugged into the whole wired world. But are schools making the most of new technologies? Are they tapping into the learning potential of today’s Firefox/Facebook/cellphone generation, the “born digital” students? Have schools fallen through the crack of the digital divide? In Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology, Richard Halverson (and co-author Allan Collins) argue that the knowledge revolution has transformed our jobs, our homes, our lives, and therefore must also transform our schools. They debate the case for moving technology from the periphery of the classroom to a central role in lifelong learning. Much like the school-reform movement in the aftermath of the industrial revolution, our society is again poised at a moment of radical change. To keep pace with a globalized technological culture, we must rethink how we educate the next generation, or not just students but America will be “left behind”. Their innovative, controversial new book offers a vision of the future beyond school walls, from online apprenticeships, to education within social networks, digitally enhanced home schooling, distance education, videogame learning environments, and much more.