The App Generation by Howard Gardner and Katie Davis is a
short book that packs a lot into those pages.
Gardner is the Harvard graduate education school professor famous for
identifying the multiple forms of education, specifically beyond linguistics
(valued pre-19th century generally) and logical-mathematical (valued
more today). He is a huge influence on
my thinking and, to my mind, one of those people who can think past accepted
ideologies to really forge new and important paths.
I was therefore excited to read his new book, written with
co-author Katie Davis.
But I want to digress for a minute. I grew up in and out of Silicon Valley and
worked in the tech industry so I do know something about apps. I also am very skeptical of their true impact
and importance, viewing them more as a diversion than a central area of
importance. I watch my kids and think
they benefit more from technology than are harmed and I really hate reading
about how these new generations are lesser from technology’s impact. They are also empowered and self educating
(at least my kids are).
But when a groundbreaking Harvard professor (whom you
respect) focuses on appa, even I need to take a look.
And I’ll try to be somewhat brief as I hate writing long
reviews, being someone who doesn’t read them.
First, Gardner and Davis have taken on more than apps and
technology and the related impact of them on today’s younger generation. This book is written in a somewhat light and
conversational tone but the actual contents are groundbreaking. Apps are definitional not an encompassing
term.
The authors suggest that generations will no longer define
themselves by historical events but rather technologies. New generations will then potentially define
themselves as separate earlier. Ideology
also has a place…but the new technologies share ideologies so much faster and
effectively.
Importantly, buried in the back, and the key point of the
book, is that today’s mix of technology into education is just dumping the old
media on kids in a new way. Since the
educational system is so slow to change, these incremental “improvements” might
actually make the system worse - but be hard to correct.
The authors then point out that the new technologies make
drawing out and developing multiple types of intelligence easier. Yet those changes aren’t being implemented in
education but rather in the collaborative and creation based “apps” that allow
kids to make something. And kids do create
in massive amounts online, then share their content (both through apps).
Are these apps limiting creativity and defining options such
that they hinder rather than enable innovation?
Perhaps the process is too new to identify. Gardner and Davis see both the upside and the
risks inherent in the massive social and educational changes new technologies
have bestowed. But they do point out
that we can all continue, and indeed must continue, to educate ourselves in and
out of school.
To end, this book tackles education from a new angle. I get frustrated with the pat analysis and
easy solutions I read…most of which I dismiss.
Education is too often reformed within the confines of what exists and
ideologies which are assumed to be true but are too often just retreads of
popular myths. I don’t agree with all of
this book. But many of the issues it
tackles and conclusions it draws are too new to be substantiated with concrete
and demonstrable data. Still, someone
needs to take a stand and look at the problem from new angles (it’s only the
future of our children and country at stake).
No better duo than Gardner and Davis.
And, some of the stories are really more anecdotal than
substantive. Perhaps that compromise was
to broaden the potential audience. It
didn’t work for me; the book did despite that decision.
Another groundbreaking work from Howard Gardner.
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