In my world in the last week alone, I never wrote one word other than my signature. I typed everything I sent or used. The files I typed were either saved to a resident hard drive or to a drive in the cloud. I transferred money and checked balances at three different banks electronically. Everyone I needed to contact for some reason or another by written word was sent an email or a text. I made a presentation to a group of people during which I projected a YouTube interview, typed live feedback into a Power Point program, then showed pictures for ideas from a website suited for that purpose. I read correspondence from my doctor and saw a table detailing results from blood work done on a website the hospital uses for all of its patients.
And, of course, last week I used the handiest device yet invented. The news I receive daily was not on my driveway in the mornings, but on my phone whenever I had time to read. I also took a poll from my phone for USA Today and a split second later saw the results of voting from my city, state, and nation. I received pictures of people important to me by phone and attended a song writing session via Skype with my cousin. When I picked up prescriptions from the pharmacy, I knew they were ready because I had received a text message saying so along with the amount. To pay for them I signed an electronic pad authorizing insurance coverage. I had to buy a motor for my dryer this week also. When I paid the amount at the end of the service call, the repairman took out a white square card reader, attached it to his phone, swiped my card, had me sign his screen, and sent an sent a receipt automatically to my email account. A little later, my granddaughter sat in my lap, and we watched my phone screen as I streamed in an episode from Disney's Snow White. And, I did use my phone to make a phone call, but I never dialed a number. I touched the name or picture of someone or pressed a linked phone number.
I'm pretty sure the good Secretary lives in the same world. So, he knows that his announcement today is really an announcement that is at least one decade late, two in my opinion. So, his words were not even important or relevant for 2012. Now, if he had said that the new textbooks would be readable from an app on a phone or a television, then I might have taken notice. If he had remarked that the schools would be required to make teaching videos available like the ones called Kahn Academy, then I would have applauded him. If he had announced a partnership with Exxon Mobil to to fund the use of the new 3D Google Maps for geography, holographic, virtual labs in STEM courses, and 3D manipulative software for reading the stratigraphy of the Earth in geology courses, I would have loved his forward thinking. If he had acknowledged the existence of online high schools and that brick and mortar schools would be phased out in favor of funding for new digital tablets for students to attend the online schools, then I would have been ecstatic.
But he didn't. He announced the use of technology available in the last decade of the 20th century. Electronic textbooks have been available for more than 10 years, widely available for more than 5 years, and most school districts already have them available to both students and parents. Even RSS feeds from a teacher and school are as old as electronic textbooks. So, Mr. Secretary, once again you are acknowledging the state of ill repair for the public schools you oversee. Apparently, you want the nation's students to continue their slide into new depths of failure and ignorance, distancing them behind more and more developing countries. Our country's higher education schools have world class status. But, our lower education schools are second class rather than second to none. Our nation is full of students who would like to use today's tools for information that will prepare them for tomorrow rather than see themselves forced to use yesterday's tools for information that prepare them to maintain what is already known.
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