Quiz: Flattener 4

The fourth flattener in Friedman's The World is Flat has a strong connection with Warlick's question what should our students be learning? After reading the chapter on uploading one major thing stuck out in my mind. Students should be learning technology because technology will the path to success in the future.

The prime example that Friedman gives in this chapter that illustrates that students should be learning technology is the story about Apache. Friedman starts this chapter on the fourth flattenter by saying that he doesnt know what Apache is. When he researches it, he gives the story of the man who created it. When Friedman speaks to Behlendorf, a creator of Apache, he asked him how he got into technology, Behlendorf said, "from a very early age, I was around a lot of science where it was okay to be kind of geeky. We always had computers around the house"(97). Behlendorf even goes on to say that he knew basic programming in grade school. This shows that bhe was introduced to technology at an early age, and it benefited him in the long run. After he graduated from High School, Behlendorf went to college at Berkley to study Physics. However, "he quickly became frustrated with the disconnect between the abstractions he was learning in the classroom and the excitement that was starting to emerge on the Internet"(98). This is a prime example of what students should be learning. The Internet which was just beginning to become popular was excluded from Behlendorf's education at Berkley, a very prestigious school. Even though Behlendor was not exposed to technology in Physics he used his computer experience as a child and worked with others in computer labs and eventually created Apache.

Now many people may think that technology is unnecessary in classrooms, but the technology that we think isn't important right now will be important in the future. It's essential in our society to teach what kids should learn and that is to incorporate technology into the curriculum. Friedman discusses how uploading is becoming extrmely important and common in the computer world. Students must now learn to compose and add to the technological community. Like he said, geeks from around the world are creating wikis that will replace things like encarta. Our students must learn how to incorporate technology into their work. We must prepare students to survive in the community of the future and that is based on technology.