Luncheon with Alan November

Today Alan November spoke at a luncheon we attended. Mr. November is the author of Empowering Students with Technology as well as a new book called Web Literacy for Educators. His talk was about the challenge facing educators today, and the disconnect between what is important and useful for our children and what they are taught in school. One example he gave for this was Barack Obama's Internet campaign for president, which included the use of many Web 2.0 tools and other communication modes that are blocked at many schools. Alan said that this is the first presidential campaign in which the tools that the president used to win the election could not be learned in the school system. (I'm not convinced that candidate Obama's web presence was really what made the difference in the campaign, but it certainly helped.)

Mr. November spoke about the high percentage of new college graduates who return home to live with their parents. He said that this generation of students is being labeled the "Dumbest Generation." He said that part of the problem is that our students don't have an awareness of what their peers in other countries are learning and doing at school. He said from day one he would say to students, Okay, let's find out what students in Taiwan are learning about history. He also said that the debate about 1 to 1 computer access and other movements are misguided, because they are about the quantity of technology. Instead we should focus on teaching our students to communicate and work hard while using technology if it would be appropriate to do so. Instead of focusing on what technology equipment teachers and students need, we should focus on what information we need.