Chapter 9

Like it or not, technology is here to stay, not only in our everyday lives but in education as well. The big shifts mentioned in the chapter are startling, to say the least. One of these shifts, Richardson's #1 Big Shift about Open Content, is something that worries me. I guess it is because of my hesitant stance toward what is considered the latest and greatest, but I don't like the idea that textbooks could potentially become something of the past. I like the idea of having a textbook, something tangible, real and guaranteed to be peer reviewed and edited. Yes, there may be more current information on the Internet, and yes this information may be accurate, but how can we really be sure? I don't think there is any real reason to fear that textbooks will be pushed aside any time soon, but it is not something I look forward to at any time. Richardson's claims that previous resources such as books in schools and libraries "required more time and effort to find and consume than the average student wanted to expend" (127) is true but that does not make it a reason for relying solely on the new trends of relying so heavily on technology. Sure, it takes time and work to find information when you do research in a library or a with a book. Is that so wrong? Research skills for all formats and media are valuable skills to have. We should not feel as if we have to completely give way to the ease of Internet research. What is easy is not always best, and what is best is not always easy. Too many things today have begun to take the easy way out, and not always with great results. Heaven forbid we ask students to put a little effort into their school work.

I do however, agree with Richardson's Big Shift #9, Mastery is the Product, not the Test (131). There are definitely more ways to demonstrate mastery than by exam grades alone. I for one, do not want to put my trust in a physician, for example, who "mastered" subjects in medical school with merely passing grades. It's not exactly reassuring. I'm not sure what the answer is, as far as the best way for students to demonstrate their mastery of a subject, but I don't think that testing is the best or only option. The use of portfolios is promising, but that also has its limits because it would still be left to subjective standards for evaluation. The idea of how best to evaluate mastery is something that will need to be examined and reconsidered for years to come.