Technology Could Redefine Learning. Schools Settled for Substitution.

Following the passing of Jerry Mintz of AERO, I found myself thinking again about Class Dismissed, the 2015 documentary I was featured in. Revisiting my interview brought back ideas I shared then and showed me how much my views on technology and learning have stayed the same.

Technology has always had the power to open up learning: connecting young people with courses, experts, peers, and audiences beyond the classroom. Yet schools have often used it to put familiar worksheets and test preparation on a screen. In the SAMR model, that’s Substitution—the lowest level, where technology replaces a tool but leaves the learning task much the same.

The more ambitious possibility is Redefinition: using technology to make new kinds of learning possible. That could mean students pursuing questions they care about, learning with people across distances, and creating work for an audience beyond their teacher.

I explore this gap between technology’s promise and its use in schools in my new article, “Technology Could Redefine Learning. Many Schools Settled for Substitution.”

What could students do if schools moved beyond substitution?