As we seek to use the technology to challenge our students let us look carefully at the changes we are making so that we indeed enrich their learning. Let us approach these changes in a way that we preserve the best of human communication, take into account the excitement of human thinking, and include the amazing strides we are making in understanding how human learning can be optimized. Without the technological advances that have been and continue daily to be made our databases in every area of inquiry would be far more limited. The amazing growth of knowledge in just the past decade has allowed deeper and more far reaching inquiry to be possible. But it is just that constant and explosive increase of information that can become overwhelming.
Information is only a path to understanding.
It requires the deliberation, thoughtful consideration, and rich synthesis of a human mind to bring together the data if meaning and understanding are to be discovered. There are so many mysteries regarding who we are, what our purpose is, and how best to live our lives that more than just the best use of technology must be considered as we bring these modern strategies into our classrooms. You have probably shared my experience of attending a fascinating presentation from a knowledgeable speaker, sharing the speaker's enthusiasm, and being caught up in the speaker's experience. This experience is quite common today and is encouraged as a positive use of technology in learning. It is supposed to more clearly and concisely communicate information.