until these contingencies harden into technological necessities and become nearly unchangeable in future generations. There’s an old story that is basically true: Ordinary Roman carts were constructed to match the width of Imperial Roman war chariots because it was easier to follow the ruts in the road left by the war chariots. The chariots were sized to accommodate the width of two large war horses, which translates into our English measurement as a width of 4′ 8.5″. Roads throughout the vast Roman empire were built to this spec. When the legions of Rome marched into Britain, they constructed long distance imperial roads 4′ 8.5″ wide. When the English started building tramways, they used the same width so the same horse carriages could be used. And when they started building railways with horseless carriages, naturally the rails were 4′ 8.5″ wide. Imported laborers from the British Isles built the first railways in the Americas using the same tools and jigs they were used to. Fast forward to the US Space shuttle, which is built in parts around the country and assembled in Florida. Because the two large solid fuel rocket engines on the side of the launch Shuttle were sent by railroad from Utah, and that line transversed a tunnel not much wider than the standard track, the rockets themselves could not be much wider than 4′ 8.5.”
angelajhayes on 07 Mar 15I read a very interesting article written by Joke Voogt (the Netherlands), Chris Dede (USA).Ola Erstad (Norway), which discusses the importance of ICTs in 21t century learning. They reiterated on the topic that "rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICT) are continuously transforming the way in which we live, work and learn." They explored they skills that are required for living and working in the 21st century: collaboration, communication, digital literacy, citizenship, problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, productivity. I agree with Voogt and Dede when they say that "an important change has taken place in the way new digital tools and collaborative environments have enhanced learning, from an emphasis on reproducing information and content to content creation and sharing in virtual environments, which some describe as a remixing culture. There are 3 main literacies that we need to develop: Technological literacy (to be aware of the interplay between technology and society), ICT literacy (the skills needed to make effective and efficient use of ICT) and Information literacy (the capacity to access information efficiently and effectively) (Voogt and Dede, 2011). I think the biggest statement that they make is "using ICT to shift our educational structures from industrial era schools to new types of 21st century formal educational models is important" (Voogt & Dede, 2011). I believe schools are now on the edge of this shift, but some educators are reluctant. I mean to make that shift, to evaluate how I use ICTs in the classroom and how I use them to transform learning, not just to use them as 'add-ons'.
