Guest author Patricia Brown, Technology Integration Coach at Old Bonhomme Elementary School in Saint Louis, MO: Recently, I engaged in a conversation with a few parents on Facebook who expressed apprehension to learning through technology. Most were striking it down, and calling for an end to Common Core, because in their opinion, it excludes the “basics.” As strong of a proponent for technology as I am, I also understand that technology has its place. Technology is never a teacher replacement. The true power of edtech is the ability to facilitate and extend children's awesome natural abilities and drive to create, explore, experiment, evaluate, draw conclusions--in short, learn--independently, building curious and confident learners. We need to believe in developing a society of entrepreneurs, and not teaching a set of skills to get a job. If your child is at a school that is not teaching fundamentals as a starting point, and the focus is just technology, then you should meet the principal at the front door, with a letter of complaint. Education is evolving, and believe me, that is a good thing. We live in a technology-driven society, and we all rely on it and benefit from it--so why do we want to go back to basics when it comes to education?
