People make individualization possible

I really liked this comment from Brian:
The idea that technology makes individualization possible is folly. People make individualization possible, not technology. And besides, nesting a “new” technology within a far more pervasive and confining technology called curriculum does not lead to any meaningful change.

I think the reasons why meaningful change may not result from nesting “new” or even “social” technology within the more pervasive and confining technology of schooling are that
a) teachers are not, in fact, in the real driving seat as far as what really happens in schools,
and
b) because there are too many vested interests in the present system, which is primarily a managerial system, rather than an educational one.

In my present cynical mood, I interpret teachers’ cries for meaningful change in formal education to be like burger flippers in fast food chain starting to say, “Hey! Isn’t it time we fast-food cooks made some decent-tasting, flavourful, truly nourishing food?? Heck, we have the technology to do so! Only those stuffy, boring, corporate suits are in the way! Well, they’ve had their say for too long!”

Oh, yeah? I’d love to see you try!

2 thoughts on “People make individualization possible”

  1. The flip side of this is that people find individualization to be a labor and information-intensive process, and technology should be able to facilitate it.

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