How should teaching change in the age of Siri?

Ratzel, M. (2013). How should teaching change in the age of Siri? KQED Inc. Retrieved from http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/11/how-should-teaching-change-in-the-age-of-siri/

Students no longer have to ask a teacher if they can use a calendar. Thanks to voice intelligence systems, such as the iPhone's Siri software, students can now use their smartphones to solve equations or ask basic history, science, or geography questions. Siri uses the Wolfram Alpha intelligent data site to answer queries. 

This author says it won't be long until students realize Siri is their greatest study buddy. In light of these new programs, how should teaching change? While the natural solution is to simply ban smartphones in the classroom, the author suggests that there should be a focus from simply finding the answer to a greater focus on analysis. The author also argues that teachers should actually use programs like Siri to their advantage and push students' thinking. 

The combination of digital tools and Common Core expectations leaves little room for multiple-choice and true-false questions. Educators have to design questions that force students into drawing conclusions. The author gives this example: Rather than asking  them to solve an equation such as 5(5x+7), they can frame an equation as "Is 5(5x+7=25x+7 always, sometimes or never true?"

Analysis: I wish the author had provided ways in which students could use mobile technology/research, such as Siri or a mobile encyclopedia app for example, as a way to supplement an assignment. If the students are going to use them anyways, should the teacher acknowledge that in creating a lesson plan? She does bring up the fact that students can send screenshots from their graphic calculators to show their progression in solving a problem. I wonder if it is possible to use Siri in a way that shows progression through research or problem solving. 

Posted by Julia Mies