Authentic Information

In chapter one of his book Empowering Students with Technology, author Alan November comments that it's "always a good idea to look beyond the Internet for sources of authentic information." (p. 28) He made this statement in response to a young student who, in his naivety, mistook information found on the internet as both truthful and authentic.  It was not until this same young man conducted a face-to-face Interview with a credible person that he was able to collect accurate and meaningful information for his project. November's quote, coupled with the experiences of this young student, made me wonder if, as a society, we are moving away from the "authentic".  What I am alluding to here are those experiences and sources of information that are genuine.  In many ways, I feel the answer to this question is an easy "yes".
Currently, in the world of education, teachers are being asked to ramp up the ways in which technology is utilized within the classroom. On one hand, this increase makes perfect sense.  Our world is changing to be more technologically advanced and so too much our instruction.  We have a duty to our students to adequately prepare them for what the future holds.  Yet on the other hand, I have a real fear of what this future might look like.  It isn't too hard for me to imagine a world where no one interacts with one another face to face and where we have all developed a hunch on the back of our necks from looking downwards at our IPhones.  Is this the future we want for ourselves, our children, and our students?
In so many situations, we learn that there is a need to find balance.  I think this is true for technology in the classroom as well.  Alan November's statement doesn't encourage us to turn away from the exciting ways in which technology can improve our instruction and our students' learning.  Instead he reminds us that technology isn't the only way.  No matter how advanced we become as a society, we must never loose sight of what is "authentic".  As educators, we must teach our students how to reach for the stars while at the same time keeping themselves firmly rooted in what is real, and perhaps, most important.

Below you will find links to two YouTube videos. While not directly connected to technology and how it relates to the classroom environment, both videos explore the ways in which technology has changed our behavior as a society.

Connected, but alone?

Is Technology Destroying Communication and Connection?