Tapscott spent most of this section of the book talking about how to change the way education and company's work to better accommodate the Net Generation, which is a peculiar way to go about things. He says that education is still stuck in the industrial age, and that it is inhibiting students from learning; that we need to change the education system ASAP to be able to teach students the things they need to know. I both agree and disagree. I believe that the education system is lagging behind and isn't helping students learn as well as it could. For the most part, I believe that is because the teacher to student ratio is ridiculous, and that students are not receiving enough face time in the classroom with their teachers, and at home with their parents. Technology is great, and it is a great boon to education. But this generation of students wants to learn hands on, not from lectures or watching videos. We want to experience things. If you want us to learn, then show us, and let us try it over and over again until we remember how to do it.
I disagree with Tapscott's analysis in that the education system is responding too slowly. It is responding as quickly as it is able. Teaching is a very conservative profession, and many current teachers are comfortable in their ways and are happy to keep trucking along. This does not make them bad teachers, it makes them challenging to learn from. My girlfriend is about to graduate and become a student teacher. She has stories upon stories about all the new technologies that she is learning about, the new ways of teaching, the concept of lifelong learning (which her personal pedagogy is based around), and how to create a student focused classroom with minimal lecture, and maximum collaboration and discussion. The way my girlfriend is going to teach her students is much different than the ways I was taught in the classroom. This is a sign of progress within the education system. It must start with the new teachers, while they are in college, and it will trickle down to the students as soon as the previous generation of teachers is settling into retirement. And so on and so forth with each upcoming generation. Tapscott was wrong in saying that it is taking too long, it is happening, the new teachers are up to date and ready to teach, they just need to be given positions.
In high school, I learned via discussion and actually doing things. I cannot remember ever being lectured for a whole class period. And now that I am in college, most of my classes are purely lectures. Only one or two actually mix it up and do something different, and only one of my classes is a non-lecture based class. To shift from constant discussion and computer based learning to lectures and note taking was a bit of a shock, and to be honest, I am bored through most of my classes. I retain information for tests, and then I promptly forget it because it has not proven worthy of remembering, it has no place in my future, and does not help me advance myself to be a desirable employee. Colleges are definitely falling behind in that regard. There has to be a better way to do education, especially since I am majoring in Digital Technology. My classes shouldn't be about books, philosophy, and ideas. It should be about learning how to create digital media, interact with technology, and change the way our culture works.
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