The promise of technology: Power to the people - ACS Publications

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The Promise of Technology: Power to the People A rallying cry-or at least a philosophy-for many political revolutions has been "power to the people". Often the extant power, in military or police form, was never made available to the revolution; rather it was used to influence the course of the revolution and ultimately to ensure that that power never got to the people. The promise of educational technology, already demonstrated in more-or-less minor ways in a number of institutions, portends a revolution in science education. Judicious use of technology, which a t this moment happens to be computing and interactive video, will empower the two groups of people who have the primary legitimate interest in education-students and teachers. Technology has the power to permit us to establish a system of education that is responsive to students'and teachers'needs. Withholding it can stifle creativity. Any system of education should enable students to develnn a command-not a shallow understanding-of topics .-careklly chosen from the accumulated knowledge ofscience. of which chemistrv is but one facet, albeit a central --one. 'A number of observers have suggested that what is taught in the beginning wurses is often not as important as how it is taught. Engagement of the student is the key to success and understanding. The current entry-level chemistry w u n e is often overburdened with "important" subjects. Beginning textbooks are just too thick and they encompass too many ideas to be effective as an introduction to chemistw. Technology now exists that permits demanding teachers to choose; collection of these important subjects a t a depth t h a t is personally satisfying and intellectually acceptable and that will best meet the needs of their individual students. In effect, it is now possible to create a highly flexible course of study from a student's viewpoint but which also can be readily evaluated by the teacher. And. technolorn -" can ~ m v i d ethe basis for the academic equivalent of evaluating not only apples and oranges within their own kind but also the quality of an apple as it relates to that of an orange. The educational process should enable students to understand that science is one of the most powerful ways of knowing devised by humans. Students should be able to understand the basis of our scientific knowledge, to understand not only what we know, but how we know it. They should understand the absolute need for evidence that science requires for its progress, for the ways ofjudging the ~

qality of that evidence, for the ways in which that evidence is collected, and for the ways in which that evidence is used. As is the case with most human constructs, students should be able to experience the joy of discovery, to grasp the beauty of the human dimensions of science. Students should learn to understand the basis for the limitations as ---well as the power of science. Discovery doesn't necessarily imply the rediscovery the important principles. By discovery some mean that the student is empowered to solve real problems and to recognize the intellectual connections that exist between the laboratory and theory. Discovery implies a recognition that a solution is-indeed, must be-correct and the recognition of the human emotions that come ta the surface in a flash a t the very moment of diswvery. The diswvery event need not be focused on a principle. Simple identification of a truly "unknown" alloy using a self-selected collection of physical and chemical properties can be immensely satisfying. However, to accomplish even this simple goal requires enabling the student to make choices and to execute these choices in either a real or virtual laboratory setting. Technology can enable teachers to make learning become more active, which implies that lecturing (a passive activity for students) will become less important. In effect, the emphasis in education can shift from teaching to learning through the careful use of technology. In many educational settings the laboratory experience is badly neglected. This shameful lack of attention, which can be-und