Patrick Higgins, Jr., an educator in Sparta, NJ, makes some good points in this post on his Chalkdust101 blog. First he postulates that the information landscape we exist in has changed and asks the question of how do we take our learned skills and apply them in today's new learning environment:

The information landscape that our current teaching staff evolved with is no longer a relevant model, but the skills they carried through that process are. How do we, then, take those critical analysis skills, those precise tools of skepticism, and apply them to the current, and ever-evolving flow of data that overwhelms our student populace of today?

Next, Higgins states that as educators we should make use of the tools that bring information to us and not waste time looking for it. I agree with Higgins on this point. I am amazed at paltry number of educators that make use of RSS feeds in some type of reader. There is too much information on the web, and much of it is noise, to waste time looking for relevant content. We need to become discriminating consumers of information and use the tools that assist us in digging through the noise. Here is what Higgins says:

It is my distinct feeling that we as students, teachers, and administrators waste far too much time seeking information, when we should be aware of and acutely accessing systems that force information to flow towards us. RSS, social networks geared towards educational professionals, and the creation of personal learning networks should be a pre-requisite for any educational professional entering the field, or migrating one’s practice from one year to the next.

He then asks raises the question of how to best use class time and how to extend learning beyond the four walls of the classroom:

Yet we struggle to incorporate those strategies into our practice as educators in a way that meaningfully leverages the social and cooperative nature of computer technology. This is not to say that our students have to be connected every minute of every day. To the contrary, we are seeking wisdom, not ubiquitous connection, but the restriction of learning to the moments we spend in the classroom with our students is disrespectful of our students time. Why should we set parameters on their willingness to engage in learning? We can provide everything we would have done to “deliver” content digitally and customized for each student we have and according to their needs, thereby reserving class time to that which is most important: discussion and engagement.

As someone who advocates for the use of mobile technology in schools, I also think there needs to be parameters on that use and recognize the pitfalls and shortcomings of such technology. It used to frustrate me when I was the technology coordinator for a school district and teachers would take their class to the computer lab for 3-5 days in a row to research for some type of assignment. Give the students a day in the lab and then expect them to use the time in study hall, before and after school, or at home to continue the research. Better yet, spend a class period teaching the students how to perform relevant searches using some of the tools Alan November advocates for. When I observed these classes I saw more game playing and other non-educational use of the computers than I anything else. As much as the digital footprint of today's students are touted I find many of them lacking in basic search skills. Are we teaching out students how to sift through the noise?

Mr. Higgins then makes the distinction that the use of technology in a classroom does not guarantee learning is taking place, nor does the lack of said technology mean the absence of learning:

Our current teaching staff exists various levels of technological dexterity, much as they exist at varying levels of pedagogical proficiency; we have teachers at all levels of expertise in all areas of professional domains. It is not practical to assume that if a teacher is not incorporating technology into the daily practice in their classroom that they are a poor teacher, much as it not practical to assume that a teacher who is incorporating video, social networking, or social media into their daily practice is an excellent teacher. What we have to engage our staff in is a bigger discussion.

This quote from Tony Bates that says it more succinctly:

"Good teaching may overcome a poor choice of technology but technology will never save bad teaching"

So we are left with Mr. Higgins final question:

What does it mean to be well-educated in today’s society?