HATS off to Technology

As former president of the Von Braun Astronomical Society, I was often asked which telescope was the "best" to buy or use. A query such as this always brought a smile to my face as I casually explained that this question could not be answered without knowing both who was using the telescope and what they wanted to see with it. The point that I made (other than the one on my head…), was that any type of technology, even one as simple as an optical system, could not be evaluated on an absolute scale. It must, in short, be judged by how well it meets the needs for which it is being used. The "best" telescope is the one that will be used the most by the observer to learn about the night sky. To do this, it must be the "right" telescope for the observer’s purposes. In the same "light", this "view" could be extended to include all types of technology, especially in the field of education. To examine technology in education, we should sit down and take off our HATS…

Now, having lived for many years in the town where NASA began, I think I can safely point out that NASA is often read as "Need Another Silly Acronym". It is true that if we can take something long and distill it down, we can get a "cute" reference to use for more "efficient" communication. So, in that light, what I propose for evaluating technology is a system of HATS, or a Heuristic Academic Technology System. By creating a model heuristic of how technologies will function effectively as a system within an academic or educational setting, we can gain greater insight into the directions to pursue with technological educational enterprises. The following are some of my six HATS for technology:

White Hat (Facts): Technology is pervasive in life and will continue to become more integral into the lives of everyone. Connectivity and the information age are here to stay and provide unparalleled potential access to information and each other across digital domains. The pace of technology integration and implementation is accelerating, requiring more training and technology-based skill sets for people to function effectively in any endeavor.

Red Hat (Emotional): The pace of technology use and integration is both exciting and frightening. The anxiety that accompanies such rapid change is unavoidable. The potential is great for both positive and negative results with students or education in general. However, one can not stand still or he/she will be left behind. An increase in fluidity of educational practice and the erosion of authoritarian knowledge centricity within an educator have provided significant sources of anxiety in the education community.

Black Hat (Analytic): The loss of control over some content and the impact on the personal relationships between teacher and student are major concerns. The benefits for using the technology in any area have not been adequately documented via research methods. How much experimentation should we undertake on our children through technology use? Every minute spent in front of a computer is one lost to develop other skills or relationships.

Yellow Hat (Positives): The ability to connect and collaborate has been significantly enhanced via technology. The drudgery inherent in some tasks can be eliminated such that students can focus on higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy. The variety and diversity of technological options allows for a much wider and deeper set of expression modalities for students and teachers. The ability to publish out to a larger audience will provide a far greater audience than just the classroom community.

Green Hat (Creatives): A new synthesis of ideas can be created online that is far greater than could have been possible before. This new collective consciousness can dovetail creative and innovative ideas together in much greater and deeper methods than ever before. This technological connectivity may change us as a species to become more digitally collaborative.

Blue Hat (Evaluation): What will be the overall cost in terms of each advance of technology. Every advance means me must leave something behind. We must be cautious not to leave behind our values. Will we cultivate the wisdom necessary to know how and when to pursue technologies for human benefits today and in the future? We must not lose sight of the fundamental philosophical and theoretical principles of human society or our own existence as a human culture could be threatened.

The future: (A few ideas…) What technology would be most helpful to the educator of the future? Perhaps a learning preferences measurement tool, or an "understanding indicator" could be developed such that a person’s brain could be "scanned" to determine both how they learn best and what they really understand or not. The ability to monitor ourselves through technology as we learn will most likely continue to advance such that we may be able to design personal learning systems for every individual. Would this make a teacher obsolete? This is why we must create a good heuristic for the classroom and conduct the appropriate research to determine what human beings will need in the future. The HATS must not be ignored. So, what telescope would I choose? Why the one that gives me the clearest vision of what’s out there, of course.