technology + progressive education

I find it interesting that many progressive ideas about education seem to fit nicely into technology integration in schools. Although Dewey's ideas and those of many other progressive educators have been around for a while, the american school system has remained largely conservative around ideas of curriculum, student/teacher dynamic, standards of knowledge etc. In today's world however, and certainly in the future we will need to embrace the integration of technology into the classroom. It seems possible that this will also mean an infusion of these progressive philosophies into the school system. Critical thinking skills will be essential. Rather than one definitive text that does not expose a variety of perspectives on the content, and therefore does not encourage variant thinking or critical analysis, students will be exposed to an almost infinite amount of perspectives and texts. It will be teacher's responsibility to teach students to think critically and evaluate what they are reading. This means that teachers will also have to incorporate a variety of perspectives into their teachings, something that isn't really practiced very much. I hope the push to use technology in schools will be based in progressive ideas of inquiry, critical thinking, and global awareness. This way, the overall pedagogy of schools might begin to shift to finally incorporate some of the ideas that Dewey wrote about decades ago. I suppose its very possible that technology be integrated empty of any theories about teaching and learning. Due to the very "nature" of the different technologies however, I do hope that the simple use of them in school will invite a wider range of learners, thinkers, and perspectives.

Giselle