How to learn and teach in the digital age?

If you go into a classroom, you will see that children are taught there in much the same way as they were ten or twenty years ago. Of course, technology has come to school – for example, children use laptops and tablets. But the approaches themselves have changed little. Although we are surrounded by technical innovations, we try to squeeze them into old models. Education is often built according to one scheme: the teacher conveys information to the student. Technology is perceived as an intermediary in this process.

We are too fixated on the translation of existing models, while right now we have more opportunities to create new ones. The ideas of the great psychologist Jean Piaget are close to me. He spoke of learning as a way of actively creating new knowledge. We ignore the opportunities that the digital age opens up. It offers a completely new approach to answering the questions: what and how to learn? where and when to study? with whom and from whom to study?

Technologies change not only the way information is exchanged, but also allow us to model the objects and laws of the world around us. For example, in our lab at MIT, we created the StarLogo programming language – you set parameters for many small objects and then model how they interact. For example, you can write a behavior program for birds, and then run it on a computer and see how they behave in a flock. Or program the movement of cars in the stream to see how the traffic changes. Previously, in order to study the behavior of birds in flocks or the mechanism of the movement of cars in a city, it was necessary to write many different equations and perform complex calculations. Now, with the help of programs, these steps can be skipped – the creation (design) of objects in the real world makes it easier to create abstract models in the mind.

We took this approach when we partnered with LEGO. Our joint development – the Mindstorms set – allows children to create real robots. Children assemble them from the details of the designer, program their behavior, while in practice getting acquainted with such concepts as feedback, control, artificial intelligence. Through play actions with the designer, the child discovers the intricacies of engineering.

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We often use the word “make” in relation to these activities. Children master skills at all levels, going from simple to complex. With digital technology, it becomes easier. For example, we can develop a program and immediately test it to see if it will work. We no longer need to carry out long preliminary calculations, build complex plans and algorithms. We can experiment more freely, create working prototypes quickly, try them out in real time, refine them. This simplifies the entire chain of creating new devices. In addition, it stimulates the birth of new ideas.

So, we can re-answer the questions of how and what to learn. What about where and when to do it? Here technology also gives us more freedom. Let’s say it doesn’t have to be school, and it doesn’t have to be in the form of a school day from eight to three. We can create suitable conditions at home and practice after school. Summer, winter, anytime. We can choose with whom and with whom to study. The class brings together children of the same age, with approximately the same cognitive abilities. But in fact, we learn most effectively in an environment where there is diversity. We need a variety of experiences, different styles of thinking and behavior. Technology can facilitate this by creating educational social networks where people of different ages and with different skills can interact with each other and learn from each other. Beginners can learn from experts, but experts also learn by explaining their ideas to others.

Technology allows us to rethink the entire structure of schools, their place in society. If I made decisions, I would get rid of most of the barriers that exist in schools. For example, there are barriers between different disciplines. Children study separately mathematics, physics, chemistry, language. But, in my experience, the best results can be achieved with project-based learning. When children work together on large projects, they go beyond specific disciplines, learn to borrow the achievements of different sciences and apply them with precision. Technology can break down the barriers between school and society. For example, they could invite city specialists to classes, cooperate with institutes and professional associations. The school should not be isolated from the world. On the contrary, she must constantly be in contact with him.

We should always remember that it is not the technology itself that matters, but how we use it. Technology can help us rethink how we think about learning models, but it can also mothball traditional models. For me, the main question remains – how much a child really owns technology, understands it and can freely handle it. If he uses a device or program in order to comprehend the world, study and design something, this is a good sign. If he only receives information – clicks on interactive buttons, follows links, searches in a search engine – his creative potential remains low.