I am certainly wedded to the idea that technology applied correctly can have a signfiicant impact on student learning. In an essay on evolving ideas about technology and education, Alexandra W. Logue reminds us that the ideas behind some current trends on using technology to 'flip' the classroom are anything but new. I was attracted to this article as it contains references to B. F. Skinner, who I was privileged to hear speak on two occasions while an undergraduate, and Fred Keller and the "Keller Plan", which is how my second semester college chemistry course was structured. If at the time I had known Keller's position on teaching, maybe my opinion of his plan would have been less personal and forgiving, as quoted in the article
My days of teaching are over. But … I learned one very important thing: the student is always right. He is not asleep, not unmotivated, not sick, and he can learn a great deal if we provide the right contingencies of reinforcement.
I am contiually reminded of how quickly we take credit for all of our great ideas, especially as it applies to 'new' methods of teaching. We stand on the shoulders of giants, even though we may have forgotten who they are, or possibly worse, never took the time to research the work that has gone before us.