...Talking of Technology

Continuing the discussion on technology in schools, I've come across some nice quotes:

“It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.” ~ Albert Einstein

“Technology makes it possible for people to gain control over everything, except over technology.” ~ John Tudor

“A computer is like an Old Testament god, with a lot of rules and no mercy” ~ Joseph Campbell

“The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.” ~ Bill Gates

“The greatest danger in modern technology isn't that machines will begin to think like people, but that people will begin to think like machines” ~ Anonymous

“The most exciting breakthroughs of the 21st century will not occur because of technology but because of an expanding concept of what it means to be human” ~ John Naisbitt

I like them all - but the last three really hit at what I see as the issue. Tools magnify the bearer. A bad teacher is a bad teacher, regardless of the technology at hand, and likewise a good teacher is a good teacher with or without technology. Even more significant, a shift in the way we think is inevitable with a shift in the way we live. Some problems and issues are more human than technology knows how to handle, and the more we change to rely on computer generated data and scientifically justifiable practices, the farther we get from human intuition and interaction. The flip-side is that by changing the way we think allows us to find new ways of being human. The internet has opened the world to a global community in ways never before imagined, and technology can help students interact with the material in new ways, and help teachers differentiate lessons.