Victoria Chanda

Loyola University

ET 690 Spring 2018

 The World Makers

The advancement of technology has changed our world drastically and continues to

change it. In The End of Education, Postman (1995) mentions how the new technologies “reorder

our psychic habits, our social relations, our political ideas, and our

moral sensibilities”. So many people know how to use the technologies but don’t recognize how

the technologies use us. Postman proposes ten principles that will help humans understand the

impact technologies have on the world.

The first five principles focus on the technological effects on different people, businesses,

technologies and the world. All new technologies will come with different advantages and

disadvantages. Postman discusses how we didn’t need to know how to drive the car, we needed

to know the disadvantage of the technology: what cars would do to our air and natural

landscapes. It is crucial that we are cognizant of not only the advantages of the technologies but

the disadvantages that will naturally follow. It is also important to know that the new

technologies will benefit some people in the world whereas it will harm others. Different people

and industries will be favored when it comes to the development of the new technology and it

will be more easily accessible to these people. The new technologies will compete with old

technologies and may eventually replace the old ones. Technology changes everything. This

includes our perspectives, emotions and intellectual tendencies.

The last five principles focus on the different intellectual, emotional, political, sensory,

and content biases that the new technologies will bring forth. This can be seen when it comes to

digital media such as computers, television, and radio. The technologies don’t just tell us
information; they help us form perspectives on how the world is around us. “The medium is the

message” is a popular phrase spoken by Marshall McLuhan. Humans needs to evaluate the

impact that all technologies have on their lives because it alters the way we experience the world.

Technology Education

Postman (1995) discusses the importance of believing in a god or narrative: “Without a

narrative, life has no meaning. Without meaning, learning has no purpose. Without a purpose,

school are houses of detention, not attention”. When looking at different gods that have failed us

in the past, he talks about the god of Technology. The problem with the god is that we haven’t

included the story of technology in our schools. “Most educators confuse the teaching of how to

use technology with technology education” (Postman, 1995). Students learn how to use a camera

but aren’t taught the different economic, intellectual, social, and political advantages as well as

disadvantages of the technology. That is not to say that learning how to use the technology isn’t

as important. It is just equally as important to understand the backstory and effects the

technology has on the world. Technology can help us in many ways, and it can hinder our

abilities in many ways. Technology creates new worlds for better or worse. It is time for students

to start asking questions about the technologies and stop relying on the technologies for answers.

If students were to learn the ten principles that Postman suggests on pages 192-193 then

they will develop an understanding of how the world was made and how it is continuing to

improve. With this knowledge they will be able to think about all of the technological changes

and come up with a plan to continue to help the technology world grow. “Technology education

is not a technical subject. It is a branch of the humanities” (Postman, 1995). The story of

technology may not be adopted as a core subject in schools, but students need understand that if

we introduce a new technology into our schools then it will change many things in ways that
they are not aware of. If we do not ask questions, then the god of Technology will continue to be

a god that fails in our educational system.

One to One Devices

A technology that is currently in my school system is one to one devices. Providing

students with their own device in the classroom leads to a more personalized education. Different

programs can be downloaded to the computers and students are able to learn at their own pace.

Students develop basic computer skills that will benefit them later in life. It is easier for teachers

and students to share files with one another, there are more creative learning opportunities for

students and if implemented correctly then a chance for online collaboration.

For every advantage a new technology offers, there is always a corresponding

disadvantage. One to one devices in the schools can help push a student forward in the

educational world. Teachers may plan a lesson where students are required to use their device to

visit different sites to conduct research on a specific topic. If a student didn’t plug their computer

back into the cart correctly, they are going to pull it out during the lesson only to realize the

computer battery is dead and needs to be charged. Maybe the teacher pairs the student up with

someone else, or has the student check a book out from the library to complete the research. An

uncharged device prevents the student from participating in the activity for the day. Another

disadvantage is the quality of Wi-Fi at the school. With one to one devices in the school, there

are many teachers and students on the server at the same time. A slow server, or a server that

crashes (as it has done many times at my school) can ruin a lesson or activity and will frustrate

both teachers and students.

A new technology does not merely add something; it changes everything. If teachers are

going to incorporate one to one devices in their classroom they need to be prepared for it.
Teachers need to recognize how to use the device so that it enhances the students learning. Are

they requiring students to complete activities that are meaningful and require students to

investigate, analyze, defend, and inquire? Or are they simply putting students on the computer as

a “filler” during down-time? The goal is to ensure that children are getting a quality education. If

teachers aren’t using the devices in a way that benefits the children, then they should rethink their

strategy and usage in the classroom.

This principle should also be taken into consideration when planning lessons using the

devices that don’t require collaboration. Giving students control of their learning will limit time

spent collaborating with others. Collaborating with others helps students learn appropriate social

behavior skills that are necessary in life. “Educators must guard against computer technology’s

undermining some of the important reasons for having the young assemble in school, where

social cohesion and responsibility are of preeminent importance” (Postman, 1995). It is easy to

plan for activities where students are independently reading books online or developing basic

typing skills through a program purchased by the school. Teachers need to be mindful of the

lessons they create and find ways to encourage students to work together using the devices in a

creative and meaningful way.

The advantages and disadvantages of new technologies are never distributed evenly

among the population. The majority of Title I elementary schools in the Howard County Public

School System (HCPSS) have one to one devices in the classroom, whether it be I-pads,

Chromebooks or Dell laptops. Schools use the funds from Title I to purchase different devices

that will benefit the children. Most non-Title-I schools in HCPSS do not have the means to

purchase enough devices for every child in the school. There may be 30 computers that a whole

grade shares, or a computer lab that you sign up to use. Students at these schools are losing an
opportunity to receive a more personalized education that other students are receiving through

the use of one to one devices. It could very easily be argued that students who attend a non-Title-

I school have access to the technology at home and because of it perform better. I would argue

that although that may be true, at the end of the day, the type of education they are receiving is

different and can easily impact them as learners.

Because of their physical form, different technologies have different sensory biases.

Students are able to access numerous resources online. There are different apps, books, and

online games that can help address the specific needs of students. The different words, pictures,

and sounds will encourage a specific way students understand the content they are viewing.

Different technologies have different social biases. Whether students are watching a video on the

computer, reading an article, or playing a game, they need to be aware of the different social

biases they may come across. Cool Math is a website that recess monitors allow children to play

on during indoor recess. It is interesting to see that the site has cooking games where women are

in the kitchen and racing games where men are behind the wheel. When exposed to different

videos and games such as these, students don’t realize they are starting to build this idea that

different genders and races are ‘good at one thing’ because society tells us so. Different

technologies have different political biases. With one to one devices comes the use of the

internet. Completing research online can lead to perspectives that are one sided. It is important

for students to question the validity of the different resources and look at resources that support a

different side or provide a different point of view.

A new technology usually makes war against an old technology. With one to one devices

in my school, Smartboards are left behind. Smartboards are tools that enrich the classroom

experience. It appeals to visual learners as the content is projected onto a screen, tactile learners
who are able to touch the screen, and auditory learners for whole group discussion. Now that

students are able to complete the same lessons, at their own pace, on their computer or I-pad, the

Smartboard is not used as frequently as it once was. Where there were once 14 Smartboards in

our school, there are now 5. The others were traded in exchange for items to benefit the one to

one devices such as headphones, programs and applications.

The computer lab that teachers once fought over on a daily basis is now left untouched

with cob-webs and lonely chairs. There is no need to have the class travel down to the lab when

the devices are stored in the room. Less of a transition, less behaviors, more time to learn.

Knowing how un-loved the computer lab is, renovations are in the near future. Computers will

be sent to a different school and the lab will turn into an alternative education room.

As stated earlier, humans needs to evaluate the impact that all technologies have on their

lives because it alters the way we experience the world. The ten principles that Postman suggests

on pages 192-193 will help people develop an understanding of how the world was made and

how it is continuing to improve. With this knowledge we will be able to think about all of the

technological changes and come up with a plan to continue to help the technology world grow,

for good or ill.

 References

Postman, Neil. (1995). The end of education: Redefining the value of school. New York: Alfred

A. Knopf.