I’m going to share three experiences with educational technology that have the biggest impact on the thinking and philosophy presented in this book. Each story is from a different perspective; personal, professional, and outsider. Each story has a common theme that reinforced the conclusions presented. It pushed me to develop a Choose Your Own Device (CYOD) 1:1 program and write this book.
This post is part of an ongoing series of chapters from the book CHOICE. Please view this post for an introduction and table of contents.
My son is 6 at the time of this writing. He is growing up in a time that has always accessible computers and always-on Internet. Thanks to cellular data speeds, the terms "offline" or "no internet" don’t come up often. He has always had computers available to him (desktops, laptops, iPads, smartphones, even a smart TV, and my brother’s video games), but he doesn’t see any of these devices as computers. He doesn’t even really understand what a phone is. These devices are all just gateways to the Internet.
The device holds no value to him. The content the device brings him is what matters.
He knows any of these devices will get him to his favorite YouTube Kids shows or allow him to watch Mickey Mouse. The medium in which he gets to the content is irrelevant and doesn't even enter his thinking. He’s asking for a screen, not an iPad or laptop.
This is far different from how I was first exposed to technology. The internet wasn’t ever present and content wasn’t platform agnostics. To play certain games you needed Windows. To use certain programs you needed a Mac. Even the way you accessed the internet was based on the device you had. And there was no guarantee everything would be accessible through the device you chose. The device you chose to use was a critical part to deciding the content and work you did.
These problems are almost nonexistent now. And becoming less and less of a concern, if at all, to students in school today. Every device will access the internet, and any content (or a good alternative) is viewable on the device.
The device no longer matters. It is only a way to access the content. A means to an end, not the end itself.
When I was in graduate school, a classmate and I gave a presentation where we asked which mattered more: content or the distribution. There were spirited points made on each side. Two decades on, I'm struck by this line:
"The device holds no value to him. The content the device brings him is what matters."
Settled by a six year old.