After listening to a colleague express his fears about technology dumbing down the curriculum, and hearing his concern about doctors and lawyers googling the answers on the fly; because why bother to learn anything in the world of Google. Are we really encouraging laziness?

I think that it is important to keep in mind that technology is a tool used to learn with, but it has also changed the way we are able to learn, so teachers should make sure that students are equipped with the skills necessary to use these new tools effectively. If I was in med school and for the last ten years a particular procedure was done with a robotic laser, should I still learn the old way simply so I can appreciate how much better the new way is, or in case the laser breaks and for some reason can not be repaired, and I guess it would have to break at every other hospital as well – but you never know?

In the “real” world every test is open book, and most work is done collaboratively. I think revisiting Bloom’s Taxonomy might be helpful.

1. Knowledge: arrange, define, duplicate, label, list, memorize, name, order, recognize, relate, recall, repeat, reproduce state.
2. Comprehension: classify, describe, discuss, explain, express, identify, indicate, locate, recognize, report, restate, review, select, translate,
3. Application: apply, choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, practice, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write.
4. Analysis: analyze, appraise, calculate, categorize, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test.
5. Synthesis: arrange, assemble, collect, compose, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, manage, organize, plan, prepare, propose, set up, write.
6. Evaluation: appraise, argue, assess, attach, choose compare, defend estimate, judge, predict, rate, core, select, support, value, evaluate.