Why We Expect More From Technology - 1577 Words

The twenty first century brought on revolutionary changes, which has affected every faucet of human life, globally. Technology has advanced communications and economy. Ideas about interacting and talking robots are no longer dreams, but are part of reality. The world has become modernized and progress continues. And now the new generation is ready to enact another historical milestone, education. Davidson in her essay, â€Å"Project Classroom Makeover†, expresses the need and benefit that can come from merging technology and education together can bring. She realizes the educational system has remained stagnant for long enough, and is in need of great changes. Sherry Turkle in her essay â€Å"Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each†¦show more content†¦Just as society is becoming more interconnected, Davidson realizes the pressing need for education to match society’s change, and the iPod was just the right tool. Duke University students broke fr ee from conventional classroom learning, and paved the way for an interactive education, more befitting of a technological generation. Davidson does not put emphasis or significance on letter grades, instead, she believes it is more crucial for students to learn how to improve intellectually, by working and collaborating with other students. By sharing ideas, and being exposed to fresh and new discussions, students can grow academically. However, Turkle claims merging education with technology has the potential to limit the student’s way of thinking. She warns â€Å"As we’ve seen, such relational artifacts do not wait for children to ‘animate’ them in the spirit of a Raggedy Ann doll or a teddy bear. They present themselves as already animated and ready for relationship† (Turkle 470). Toys such as the Tamagotchi or Furby respond to children interaction, however, Turkle criticizes such relationship, by drawing attention to the children’s incre asing acceptance of robots that can feel and be alive. A robot that has a tiny of autonomy over its actions prevents children from projecting their own ideas onto the toys. With a Raggedy Ann doll, children are able to choose the dolls actions, which requires creativity and thinking. Even though a piece of technology like the iPod is not